Hailey Reinhard likes to keep herself busy. In the fall, she competes in cross country before transitioning from land to water to be a part of the Emmaus swimming team. When spring rolls around, she will be back outside running track.

In addition to all the competition, she maintains grades that are good enough to enable her to be accepted at Bucknell University where she will compete in cross country and track. At Bucknell, she will be reunited with sister Kera, who is also on the cross country and track and field teams.

“My arms are usually pretty weak coming off the cross country season into swimming and then this season we were doing more yardage in practice, so that was hard to get used to,” said Reinhard. “Now though I have gotten a lot stronger and in races I feel like the extra yardage we did is really paying off and I am in great shape. In the spring, it’s much easier to go into track because I feel like my breathing is better than it normally would be.”

As a senior, Reinhard has become a team leader on the swimming team. She has found a way to lead with somewhat of a gentle approach, which has made her popular with her teammates.

“Sometimes, the kids that are the true leaders may be respected by their teammates, but they’re not really liked,” said coach Tim O’Connor. “Hailey’s teammates love her, and she definitely has their respect because of how hard she works. She is the type of kid that meets the goals we set for her and then looks to go past that and achieve even more.”

The dual meet season is over, and the swimming schedule now goes into a different phase. The Cedar Crest Classic will be held Saturday with swimming taking place at Parkland High School and in two weeks, the District 11 Last Chance Meet takes place at Emmaus as swimmers have a final shot to post times fast enough to qualify for districts. Just one week later, swimmers head back to Parkland for districts, vying for a spot in states two weeks after that.

“I really would love to get to the podium with some of my teammates in relays and hopefully, get to states, too,” said Reinhard of the upcoming battle in districts. “I am ready to give it my all in the postseason and see how it ends up for me.”

Not coincidentally, states are being held at Bucknell, a place that Reinhard is familiar with because of swimming and visits to see her sister.

“Their facilities are top notch and that’s one of the things that attracted me to Bucknell. Plus, it’s a beautiful campus and I always enjoy being out there,” said the future mathematics major.

Seniors always have a bittersweet feeling when their sports season begins to wind down. Reinhard has the spring sports season after swimming, so it has not fully hit her that things are coming to an end. When she looks back over this season and her career as a swimmer at Emmaus, she has fond memories and values all the demanding work that she and her teammates put in that enabled them to succeed. She also sees the value of supporting each other.

“It has been great to have the support of my teammates,” said Reinhard. “Just seeing them on the side cheering for me when I’m swimming and it’s amazing to know that I have all those people supporting me out there. It’s a great feeling.”