LARAMIE, Wyo. (12/8/21) – The thick black line at the bottom of the pool, a pair of walls, foggy goggles and a pacer dinging in one's cap. That's a snapshot of Katelyn Blattner's therapy.

With everything that accumulates in her life – from school to meets to personal life – Blattner finds peace with her swimming routine. It's an escape, a decompression and most of all work necessary to embrace the large target that resides on Blattner's back.

"Swim practice is the time where I tune out all of the school and other stuff," Blattner said. "Practice is my happy place. I don't have to think about anything else and just focus on what I can improve, and how I can get better in my strokes."

Blattner is a four-time Mountain West Conference champion, two each in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles. She was once the hunter and now she's the hunted, eager to face any challenge that presents itself.

Blattner dons conference crowns, but that's a mere fraction of her impressive resume. And it's a resume that's been built over time.

Blattner began swimming simply because it's what her older brother did. The competitive nature drove her to chase her brother and that pursuit earned Blattner a meteoric rise in swimming performance. 

Blattner garnered looks from numerous colleges. She narrowed it down to four, one being the University of Wyoming and another being Missouri State – where her brother enjoyed a successful swimming campaign.

Blattner settled on Wyoming for a number of different reasons. Laramie embodied a close-knit community lifestyle, the proximity to mountains was unique to Blattner and the family-like atmosphere present on the swim team was second to none.

Blattner arrived at UW as a diversified swimmer, competing in the individual medley as well as mid-distance freestyle events such as the 200- and 500-yard freestyles. She began to hone her focus into those freestyle races as a sophomore and a significant payoff followed.

Positioned near the middle of the pool, with a few faster seed times beside her, Blattner, as a junior, got her hand on the wall first in the 500 at the Mountain West Conference championships. It's a memory she relives a few times a year, remembering fondly the emotions of that day.

"My dad recorded it on his iPad, and I remember my mom and dad screaming so loud," Blattner said. "I watch that a couple times a year since then just feel that rush again. That's something I really enjoy about racing. You get those jitters, and using them to go fast is something I really hone in on."

The poise in a big situations is an attribute unique to Blattner. She rises to match the stage she's competing on, and it's exciting to watch it all unfold from a coaching perspective.

"She's one of the few athletes that isn't afraid to race anybody, and she is going to put everything she has into beating the person next to her," head coach Dave Denniston said. "It's so fun to watch as a coach. There are a lot of times when you're watching a race, and you're trying to figure out little areas where your swimmer could improve. With (Blattner), I just sit back and enjoy being a fan."

And it's been quite a remarkable ride as a fan and coach of Blattner. She backed up her 500-yard freestyle MWC title with another individual championship in the 200-yard freestyle.

She took those titles and the targets associated with them into her senior campaign. What she and no one else expected was COVID-19 and all the negative noise and reverberations surrounding the pandemic.

Wyoming didn't have a fall season in 2020, meaning all Blattner had was her therapeutic training sessions. The only problem with that was the fact that much of her practice time was altered, paused and shifted due to numerous COVID-related issues out of her control. 

"She was one of the people that the COVID protocols – not having any meets in the fall – hurt the most," Denniston said. "She loves to race, and not being able to race last fall you could tell ate at her quite a bit. Knowing we weren't able to train the way she likes to train was another thing that wore heavy on her."

Competitions resumed during the winter and into the spring. Blattner fought through the adversity of COVID and the expectation to repeat and successfully defended both her individual titles.

"I was a little bit nervous because last year was a very interesting year," Blattner said. "The roller coaster that it was – not having as much time, practice wise – and just the mental toll that it was being quarantined and all that sort of stuff. I knew I had a target on my back, but that doesn't really phase me. I'm going to get up and race no matter who's next to me."

The season ended much more noteworthy than how it started. A sweet end to what was mostly a sour season.

That made the NCAAs decision to allow an extra year of eligibility to winter athletes – because of COVID – a curious case for Blattner. She already had another year of academic requirements, and the opportunity to chase more championships and personal-best times ended up being too much to forgo.

"The toll swimming has on your body and being a collegiate athlete is pretty difficult," Blattner said. "It's not for the faint of heart, so I just really needed to make that decision as to whether or not I was mentally and physically ready for that again."

Blattner has collected quite a bit of hardware and accolades in her time at Wyoming. She's on the record board in the 500-yard freestyle. She's won four individual league titles and has the opportunity for a couple more.

She's a two-time captain, and above all a reliable student-athlete Denniston can lean on for anything.

"What's really cool is having somebody you know you can put in any event, in a dual meet, and they can win it," Denniston said. "She also brings along two or three people with her. She has set a standard, and that's a really cool thing to make the team better for the future."

So while those countless practice laps are important to Blattner for tranquility purposes, they're even more impactful for Wyoming swimming. They provide an example of the work required to achieve greatness – something Blattner has in spades.

Her mark at UW won't soon be forgotten. She done so much of her team, university and community, ensuring that when Blattner's final wake settles, her impact will still be felt.