If you ever decide to step foot into NYU Palladium’s natatorium to watch a swim meet, you’ll likely find your attention grabbed by a standout performer. Standing at about 5 feet, 5 inches tall, with brown hair, pale skin and a quirky personality, it’s most likely Caitlin Marshall. 

“NYU checked all the boxes for me,” said Marshall. 

Hailing from Noblesville, a small town in Indiana, the sophomore swimmer wanted to make sure that she went to a school located in a big city that would offer her a “different college experience.” NYU’s outstanding academics and the opportunity to swim at the university influenced her choice to commit to the Violets.

Immediately upon her arrival at NYU, Marshall proved to be a strong force on the team, as she claimed the Division III National title in the 200-meter butterfly as a first-year. This year, she also placed in the top eight in all of the events that she swam at the NCAA championships.

This season, Marshall kept getting better, and had a very successful run posting best times in the 200- and 1650-yard freestyle, as well as a personal best and new team record in the 500-yard freestyle.

Marshall attributes much of her success to her teammates and friends.

“Getting to share a lane with some of my closest friends has been a blessing and a curse,” Marshall said. “Sometimes it makes me want to smack one of them if I get a correction, but in the end everyone is just trying to help each other out. Without my friends and teammates, I wouldn’t have the motivation or aspiration to swim.”

Swimming, a very demanding sport, can get difficult, even for the best athletes. Marshall said that the toughest part of this swim season was her schedule. Due to her required classes, Marshall often found herself doing workouts alone. Luckily, the few practices that she did have with other people kept her motivated.

Of course, with all the hardships and arduous practices that come along with being a student athlete, Marshall said she sees the good parts of it as well. She recounted her favorite part of this year — the team’s training trip to Florida over the winter. It was an especially meaningful time for her, since the trip was canceled last year due to COVID-19. Not only was the team able to get some sun, they were able to “have time to bond outside of the city,” something that is very important to Marshall.

With this season, another chapter is done, but another one begins next year. Looking forward, Marshall said she hopes to see more records broken. The women’s team this year has already smashed seven team records, but Marshall has a lot of faith in her teammates and coaches that more can be done.

“I can’t wait to see what we have in store,” Marshall said. 

Contact Nicole Ranile at [email protected]