In March, Grand Valley State University swimmer Aaron Beebe was on top of the Division II swimming world when he became the first individual national champion for GVSU in the 200-meter butterfly, but his success didn’t stop there.

He just wrapped up a week competing in the 2012 United States Swimming Olympic Trials.

Held at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb., Beebe qualified and swam three events against the best U.S. competition, coming away with faster times then when he arrived. In the 200-meter freestyle, Beebe came away in 68th out of 127 athletes with a finishing time of 1 minute, and 52.19 seconds. He won his heat by .37 seconds.

In his best event — the 200-meter butterfly — he ranked 53rd out of 145 from the start, but dropped .72 seconds from his seed time and finished in 30th. He swam his final race, the 100 meter butterfly, on Saturday finishing 93rd.

Heading into the trials, Beebe felt prepared and mentally stable for the tough competition he faced. It wasn’t until the heat sheets came out, that the realization finally sank in that Beebe would be swimming at the trials.

“It makes me extremely proud,” Beebe said. “I have accomplished one of my major goals, which was to be able to compete on the same level as Division I swimmers. It was extremely fun and very satisfying to go out and beat people who have much nicer facilities and much more funding.”

With four years of collegiate swimming underneath his belt, Beebe didn’t feel the pressure or the nerves he thought he would while competing. Surprised that he wasn’t overwhelmed before his race, he said that the many high-level competitions at GVSU have prepared him for the trials.

“I achieved all of my goals and had such a wonderful time are Grand Valley, that no matter what the result of the meet was going to be, I would have been happy with it,” Beebe said. “I had no pressure going into the meet, I was swimming to have fun.”

There is no surprise that his teammate and co-captain, Sam Soukop couldn’t have asked for a better swimmer to represent Grand Valley at the trials. Soukop praised that Beebe was a phenomenal teammate, who always set the tone for practice and helping everyone achieve their goals.

“Aaron showed people what a lot of hard work and dedication can do,” Soukop said. “I think he set the bar pretty high as far as what one can achieve at a Division II school and hopefully it motivated current and future swimmers to chase after it at Grand Valley.”

Motivation and dedication aren’t the only keys to Beebe’s success. He strives to have confidence in knowing that he had trained well. Knowing this was going to be the biggest meet of his life, he prepared mentally for the intimidating atmosphere.

“Overall, I wasn’t too nervous, I was just taking it in and enjoying the experience,” Beebe said. “It was a little bit nostalgic when I swam my last event because this could be the end for me.”

Taking time to enjoy the meet was important to Beebe because this could be his last. Ending his college career last spring, he hasn’t decided if he wants to keep swimming or throw in the towel.

Even if it is the end, Beebe was thankful for those who have helped him along in this journey.

“When you come this far, there isn’t a short answer for who you want to thank,” Beebe said. “I want to thank everyone who has helped me throughout the years.”

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