Medley Swimmer Looking to Make History for Hillcrest

Townview senior hopes to qualify for fourth state meet and earn a medal

Katherine Yao has never been a student at Hillcrest High, but she’s one of the most decorated swimmers in school history.

The senior at Townview Center, the gifted and talented magnet school for Dallas ISD, is attempting to use her gifts and talents in the pool to make a fourth consecutive appearance at the UIL state meet in February.

Yao lives in the Hillcrest attendance zone, which enables her to compete for the Panthers since Townview does not have an athletics program.

She has qualified for state in each of the past three years in the 200-yard individual medley, which is a challenging combination of all four strokes — backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle. She placed fifth as a freshman, sixth as a sophomore, and eighth last year.

“I have a really complicated relationship with the IM,” said Yao, who takes a similar love-hate stance with her best leg, the butterfly. “I like swimming it, but because I swim it so often, I fail in that event more than in any other event.”

Her goal is to reach the medal podium on Feb. 18 in Austin, which would make her just the second Hillcrest swimmer to accomplish that feat. Rebecca Brandt won gold in the butterfly in 2015 despite attending Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Yao said she hasn’t been fully healthy for the state meet in those previous appearances, so she’s optimistic about 2023. She tries to focus on the clock and let the results take care of themselves.

“Swimming isn’t just about winning meets or medals. It’s also about improving my time,” she said. “It’s like competing with yourself.”

Yao has been drawn to the pool since her father put her in a floatie when she was less than a year old. When she was 8, she joined a competitive swimming club, later switching to the nationally prominent Dallas Mustangs in 2014.

“It’s taught me how to be disciplined,” she said. “I was a more laid-back type of person, but it encouraged me to be more competitive.”

Yao hopes to swim in college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she’s been accepted and plans to major in biochemistry.

However, competing with the Panthers has always held special meaning, especially as she’s taken on a leadership role in a growing program that has spawned multiple regional qualifiers in recent years.

“I help them improve their strokes and teach them how to swim faster. It’s a different dynamic,” Yao said. “The vibe you get is different.”