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If college administrators and coaches got together to create the ultimate student-athlete, Kayla Heising, a 20-time All-American who graduated with a 3.86 grade-point average as a mathematics major and double-minor, would be the prototype.
A look at Heising’s athletic accomplishments with Wooster’s swimming and diving team are enough to rank her among the best in program history, but when taking her academics into consideration as well, it’s hard not to place her in a league of her own.
“Kayla was a true student-athlete,” said former swimming coach and current athletic director Keith Beckett. “She embraced the entire NCAA Div. III experience, with clear goals both in swimming and in the classroom. She worked hard, she was coachable, she had raw talent, she was a leader, she excelled in her academics. She had a rare drive and hunger for greatness that propelled her to the highest level.”
Heising took an already successful program to another level during her time on campus, as the Fighting Scots placed in the top-10 at the NCAA Div. III Championships in each of her four years at Wooster, beginning with a 10th-place showing her freshman campaign. It was then that Heising burst onto the scene and collected her first three All-American certificates, all coming as a member of relays, including sixth-place while anchoring the 200 medley relay (1:48.97).
As Heising got more experience in individual events, she became an even bigger contributor. She led the Scots to seventh-place at the NCAA’s as a sophomore, the team’s highest finish there in 13 years, behind five All-American efforts – all which came in then school-record times. Highlighting her performance that year was a fifth-place showing individually in the 50 freestyle (23.74) and fourth-place with her teammates in the 200 medley relay (1:47.40), where they shaved off significant time from the year prior.
Now square in the prime of her collegiate career, everything came together for Heising and the Scots during her junior year. She collected the maximum seven All-America honors at the national meet in 2003, propelling Wooster to fifth-place overall, which tied for the best-ever finish in program history. Heising came as close as one can come to becoming a national champion in an event, as she placed second in the 50 free in 23.32, just .12 behind the winner. She also was named North Coast Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Year that season, a feat only one other from Wooster has achieved in NCAA Div. III’s preeminent swim conference.
Heising was nearly as good as a senior, as she swam to five more All-American awards, as part of Wooster’s seventh-place finish at NCAA’s in 2004. She once again excelled in the 50 free (23.96), finishing fifth, which gave her three top-five finishes in her signature event at nationals during her career.
While Heising was piling up athletic accolades at Wooster during her time in the pool, she was also doing the same in the classroom, highlighted by being named NCAA Woman of the Year for the state of Ohio as a senior. She was also a two-time Academic All-American®, with first-team honors her junior year, a two-year member of Phi Beta Kappa honorary society, presented her junior independent study at the 2003 National Conference of Undergraduate Study, and earned a post graduate scholarship from the NCAA.
Heising, who broke seven school records during her time on campus, and still owns the top times in the 50 free (23.32), 100 free (51.24), and 200 medley relay (1:47.40), is now a mathematics teacher for at-risk students in her hometown of Wauseon, Ohio.
“My greatest achievement is following my calling as a high school mathematics teacher,” said Heising. “I have made it my mission to emulate my professors and coaches at Wooster for my students in Wauseon, so that they may someday be able to look back and feel they were given the same support and encouragement that I was given in college.”