Kickapoo senior Liz Reida was used to going from the end of her cross country season directly to basketball practice (Reida played on the state champion team at Nixa as a sophomore and the third place team at Kickapoo as a junior).
But Reida did not play basketball as a senior and was advised to take two weeks off at the end of cross country season after rupturing a ligament in her ankle (she still finished all state with a 17th place finish).
She was bored and was talked into going to a swimming practice with her cross country teammate, Heidi Schmitz. "I didn't even own a swimsuit so I went in shorts and a sports bra," Reida said.
The coach brought Reida a suit and before the end of the day Reida found herself on the Chief swimming team.
"I had never taken a lesson and had zero experience in swimming," Reida said. But at the end of the season Reida not only was still on the team but she was at the St. Peters-Rec Plex at the state meet as an alternate on the 200-yard and 400-yard relay teams.
"Liz is just an athlete," Kickapoo track coach Jeremy Goddard said. "I think she would be great in just about any sport she plays."