INDIANOLA, Iowa — Freshman phenom Brenna Yeutsy is making a big splash on Simpson’s swim team this season.

Yeutsy was a two-time qualifier for the state meet and was named to the academic all-state team as a student at Johnston High School.

She said her best event and focal point for training is the 500-meter freestyle, where she broke her first Simpson record.

“My favorite event is the 200-meter free because it’s more of a sprint than a distance race, and it pushes me.” Yeutsy said.

The hardest part of swimming for her is pushing herself in practice day in and day out.

Yeutsy’s first season at Simpson is already shaping up to be one of the program’s more impressive seasons in recent memory. She set the school record in the 500-meter freestyle (5:34.73), the 1,000-meter freestyle (11:36.78), and is a member of the record holding 800-meter freestyle relay team (8:41.67). She is also the recipient of back-to-back IIAC Swimmer of the Week awards.

“Brenna is a tall young woman. She has very good strength and works to improve that all the time,” head coach Tom Caccia said. “With long bodylines, she is naturally fast. She combines that with good technique and an outstanding work ethic.”

Yeutsy attributes her success in the pool to a young start and good coaching along the way. Since it is early in the season, the swimmers haven’t started decreasing their work in practice to increase the times they can achieve in meets. Because of this, Yeutsy has only set school records, not personal records. At this point in the season, she is faster than she was at this time in high school.

Caccia met Yeutsy her sophomore year of high school and kept in contact with her, which is a large part of the reason Yeutsy is at Simpson.

“I had watched her in several high school meets at Johnston and the state championships. I asked her to consider a visit to Simpson and things went well from there,” Caccia said.

“Katie Ledecky is a role model for me because she is a distance swimmer. I’ve read a lot about her and how she trains and how humble she is about her success,” Yeutsy said. “She gives her coaches a lot of credit for success, and I admire that because it’s not always about how much natural talent you have. It’s about how much you dedicate your time and how well your coaches push you.”