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Deep Dive with Cameron Kelley
5/26/2020 2:14:00 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Heading into 2019-20, junior Cameron Kelley was coming off a sophomore season in which he finished eighth in the 1650 free and helped the 800 free relay team to a fifth place finish at the 2019 Big Ten Championships. As a result, head coach Kelly Kremer tabbed Kelley as a potential breakout pick for his upcoming junior campaign.
Kelley did not disappoint, registering eight individual first place finishes in dual meet action this past season. On top of that, Kelley finished seventh in the 500 free and 16th in the 1650 free at the 2020 Big Ten Championships. With Kelley's senior season on the horizon, Gopher Sports sat down with Minnesota's star distance freestyle specialist to get the inside scoop.
GopherSports: What have you been doing to keep busy the past two months?
Kelley: "With school, it's been kind of interesting. My classes require a lot of in-person stuff. One of them is a lab, where there's in-person sessions where you get your data and do the experiments. Out of class, you work with your group to create these 70-page reports, so it's been interesting and somewhat difficult to figure out what was supposed to happen in the lab, how you were supposed to configure everything to get your data and then working with your group over Zoom or whatnot to just try and build these massive reports with what you think was supposed to happen in the data that they gave you."
GS: How would you assess your 2019-20 season and what are your biggest takeaways?
Kelley: "I think I had a lot of good points this season. I think I stepped up a lot in terms of being a leader and someone who needs to get it done at meets and whatnot. But, I think there are still some areas I need to improve on massively. I know my mental stability when it comes to some of the longer races doesn't tend to always be there. And I know I'm heavily relied upon there, so I really need to step up there and get a lot better."
GS: Who is a teammate that really impressed you this past season?
Kelley: "I've got two, Nick Saulnier and Max McHugh. For Nick, he went to the same high school as me, so I've looked up to him for a long time. To see him tough out the season with the stuff he's been dealing with was super impressive. And then Max, obviously, a Big Ten champion after dealing with what he did, it was just amazing."
GS: Looking ahead, who might you tab as the next breakout Gopher?
Kelley: "I don't really have one person but in general, the distance group as a whole I'm really excited for next year. This year, it was just me, [Aidan Dillon] and [Aidan Dulaney] that pretty much toughed it out in the distance races every meet, and then Justin Torres also had some action there. Next year, I'm really excited to have this big group of guys who are going to be doing the 1000 and 500 [freestyle]. Sawyer Grimes, James Freeman and Chris Nagy – I'm really excited to have this new group as a whole all pushing each other at practice."
GS: Is the infamous wooden sword coming back next year or is it getting retired?
Kelley: "I have two, so I might bring both. To be completely honest, I don't know how I got my hands on them. There's a friend of the family who has some [unique] stuff and I think that's how we came across them. I just know that somehow they ended up in my possession and I enjoy having them."
GS: What did you see out of the 2019-20 freshman class that stood out you?
Kelley: "I think it was really cool to see how they all stepped up, considering all of the things that happened to us. We were thrown a lot of curveballs throughout the season and they just held tough, stuck through it and really hung with it until the end. They kept everyone going and pushed on."
GS: What is your favorite part of being a Gopher?
Kelley: "My favorite thing is that it's always a group effort to do things. While swimming is in large part an individual sport, there's always a sense of togetherness when we're doing things. Whether it be grinding through a workout or just hanging out, eating dinner or studying, we're always focused on the team part and being as successful as we can be."
GS: What is the most memorable moment of your Gopher career so far?
Kelley: "I try not to put anything on too big of a pedestal, just so I keep moving forward rather than look on the past. There are a lot of things I like to take pride in. I've had good swims at Big Tens, my mile from sophomore year especially. My 500 from this past year, I was seventh. Those were two nice things. One of the things that I really take a lot of personal pride in is if we ever come up in a situation where we lose one of the first relays and we're already in a hole, I like to take pride in stepping up and winning the 1000 [free] just so we bounce back a little bit."
GS: Is there a particular swimmer that you look up to or try to emulate in the pool?
Kelley: "This is a bit of an unconventional answer, because it's not a swimmer, but one of the athletes I try to emulate my swimming after is Russell Westbrook. When he steps on the court, he just goes 100% right away. I know with some of my swims, I'm not necessarily able to hold the longest or build into things, so I try to emulate that. Go right in and keep going until you can't."
GS: Are there any specific areas of your swimming you're working on improving for the next season?
Kelley: "Once I get back in, I'm going to have to really focus on building my base back up. I'm going to really hit on trying to build that base back up and get to where I was before. From there, I'm going to focus on being able to stay mentally strong in the water. Stay focused, keep going and try to build up that speed a little bit, too."
Kelley did not disappoint, registering eight individual first place finishes in dual meet action this past season. On top of that, Kelley finished seventh in the 500 free and 16th in the 1650 free at the 2020 Big Ten Championships. With Kelley's senior season on the horizon, Gopher Sports sat down with Minnesota's star distance freestyle specialist to get the inside scoop.
GopherSports: What have you been doing to keep busy the past two months?
Kelley: "With school, it's been kind of interesting. My classes require a lot of in-person stuff. One of them is a lab, where there's in-person sessions where you get your data and do the experiments. Out of class, you work with your group to create these 70-page reports, so it's been interesting and somewhat difficult to figure out what was supposed to happen in the lab, how you were supposed to configure everything to get your data and then working with your group over Zoom or whatnot to just try and build these massive reports with what you think was supposed to happen in the data that they gave you."
GS: How would you assess your 2019-20 season and what are your biggest takeaways?
Kelley: "I think I had a lot of good points this season. I think I stepped up a lot in terms of being a leader and someone who needs to get it done at meets and whatnot. But, I think there are still some areas I need to improve on massively. I know my mental stability when it comes to some of the longer races doesn't tend to always be there. And I know I'm heavily relied upon there, so I really need to step up there and get a lot better."
GS: Who is a teammate that really impressed you this past season?
Kelley: "I've got two, Nick Saulnier and Max McHugh. For Nick, he went to the same high school as me, so I've looked up to him for a long time. To see him tough out the season with the stuff he's been dealing with was super impressive. And then Max, obviously, a Big Ten champion after dealing with what he did, it was just amazing."
GS: Looking ahead, who might you tab as the next breakout Gopher?
Kelley: "I don't really have one person but in general, the distance group as a whole I'm really excited for next year. This year, it was just me, [Aidan Dillon] and [Aidan Dulaney] that pretty much toughed it out in the distance races every meet, and then Justin Torres also had some action there. Next year, I'm really excited to have this big group of guys who are going to be doing the 1000 and 500 [freestyle]. Sawyer Grimes, James Freeman and Chris Nagy – I'm really excited to have this new group as a whole all pushing each other at practice."
GS: Is the infamous wooden sword coming back next year or is it getting retired?
Kelley: "I have two, so I might bring both. To be completely honest, I don't know how I got my hands on them. There's a friend of the family who has some [unique] stuff and I think that's how we came across them. I just know that somehow they ended up in my possession and I enjoy having them."
GS: What did you see out of the 2019-20 freshman class that stood out you?
Kelley: "I think it was really cool to see how they all stepped up, considering all of the things that happened to us. We were thrown a lot of curveballs throughout the season and they just held tough, stuck through it and really hung with it until the end. They kept everyone going and pushed on."
GS: What is your favorite part of being a Gopher?
Kelley: "My favorite thing is that it's always a group effort to do things. While swimming is in large part an individual sport, there's always a sense of togetherness when we're doing things. Whether it be grinding through a workout or just hanging out, eating dinner or studying, we're always focused on the team part and being as successful as we can be."
GS: What is the most memorable moment of your Gopher career so far?
Kelley: "I try not to put anything on too big of a pedestal, just so I keep moving forward rather than look on the past. There are a lot of things I like to take pride in. I've had good swims at Big Tens, my mile from sophomore year especially. My 500 from this past year, I was seventh. Those were two nice things. One of the things that I really take a lot of personal pride in is if we ever come up in a situation where we lose one of the first relays and we're already in a hole, I like to take pride in stepping up and winning the 1000 [free] just so we bounce back a little bit."
GS: Is there a particular swimmer that you look up to or try to emulate in the pool?
Kelley: "This is a bit of an unconventional answer, because it's not a swimmer, but one of the athletes I try to emulate my swimming after is Russell Westbrook. When he steps on the court, he just goes 100% right away. I know with some of my swims, I'm not necessarily able to hold the longest or build into things, so I try to emulate that. Go right in and keep going until you can't."
GS: Are there any specific areas of your swimming you're working on improving for the next season?
Kelley: "Once I get back in, I'm going to have to really focus on building my base back up. I'm going to really hit on trying to build that base back up and get to where I was before. From there, I'm going to focus on being able to stay mentally strong in the water. Stay focused, keep going and try to build up that speed a little bit, too."
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