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Sometimes the best fit is in your own backyard.
Beth Starling, who grew up in Wooster, originally felt it was taboo to attend school in her hometown. Yet upon looking at other small, liberal arts colleges, none really stood out. Enter a childhood coach.
“I knew Keith Beckett from when I was younger,” said Starling. “I took lessons from him and we spent one summer deconstructing and rebuilding my stroke. It just seemed kind of fitting to attend (The College) and swim for Keith.”
Starling’s impact on the team was visible from the get-go, as she was one of NCAA Div. III’s top breaststroker throughout her career. She earned 10 All-American certificates, including five as an individual – a total tied for the eighth-most in the tradition-rich program’s history.
Beckett, now Wooster’s athletic director, confirmed that notion. “I had the distinct privilege of getting to know Beth and assist with her swimming development very early in her competitive career. As an age-group swimmer, I worked privately with her on stroke mechanics and other aspects of her swimming. I knew from those early days that I wanted her to be a Fighting Scot. My assessment was spot on, as she contributed to the program and entire campus community in a very significant manner.”
As a freshman, the breaststroke specialist helped Wooster to its first top-10 national finish in a decade. She earned three All-American honors, helping the 200 and 400 medley relays finish in the top-10, and individually, Starling touched 14th in the 200 breaststroke (2:25.05).
“With two of the top teams in the country competing in our conference, it became our goal to get closer and closer to those teams each year, and distance ourselves from the rest of the schools,” said Starling. “Those team accomplishments were some of the most memorable moments in my career. We aimed for a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships every year.”
As Starling gained more experience, her times continued to drop. She placed third in the 200 breast (2:22.90) as a sophomore, one of the program’s 14 top-three individual finishes at the NCAA’s all-time. That season, Starling garnered four All-American honors in all (100 breast, 200 breast, 200 medley relay, and 400 freestyle relay), and won the 200 breast NCAC championship (2:23.16) – a rare feat in the best swim conference in Div. III. To date, Starling is just one of 11 Scot women’s swimmers/divers to have finished first in an individual event at the NCAC Championships.
“Her worth ethic, positive attitude, always present smile, and willingness to be coached and trust the process are but a few of the attributes that made her one of (our) greatest swimmers of all-time, as well as one of my all-time favorite student-athletes,” stated Beckett.
Starling turned in three more All-American performances her final two years at Wooster, capping her career with a sixth-place finish in the 200 breast (2:22.84) as a senior.
Starling, who remains the school’s second-fastest performer in the 200 breast and third-fastest in the 100 breast, is still very active with swimming. She coaches the Medina Makos (age group) and Highland High School, and she still competes, most recently at the U.S. Masters National Championships in August.
Starling, who majored in business economics at Wooster and went on to obtain an M.B.A. at Baldwin Wallace University, now lives and works in Medina. She is a marketing manger for OEConnection, a technology company in the automotive industry. She has received the company’s MVP and President’s awards.