Chloe Miller named Globe's female swimmer of year
Jul. 2—Chloe Miller certainly doesn't swim like a prototypical sophomore.
She earned an all-state medal and played an integral role as the Carl Junction Bulldogs finished sixth at the Class 1 MSHSAA Girls Swimming and Diving Championships this past winter.
Sixth place tied last year's finish as the highest in program history for the Bulldogs — a program that was started just five years ago.
Miller, the daughter of Carl Junction coach Stephanie Miller, has been named the Globe's female swimmer of the year for the 2021-22 school year.
"Chloe has a huge respect for other swimmers," Coach Miller said. "She knows that year to year as rosters change, so can the competition. What I love for Chloe is that she is showing a very mature athlete's mindset for an underclassman. Chloe will take the accolades from last season, and they will make her work even harder to improve upon them next year. She loves having a team that is close and trains hard."
Miller finished as the runner-up in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.39 seconds — Rogersville's Maggie Atwood won the race in 23.67.
"At state, she was really looking forward to the 50 with Atwood," Coach Miller said. "Atwood put down a great time. Chloe performed great at state, but I know she was not totally satisfied with her performance. I think that's why she is fun to watch because she is always looking at where to give more and get faster."
In other individual events, Miller tied for sixth in the 100 freestyle with Parkway Central's Emily Zhang in 54.61. She swam two relays and placed fourth in the 200 medley (1:53) with teammates Skyler Sundy, Abigail Wilson and Ally Montez also competing.
The other relay Miller competed in was the 200 free that took ninth (1:42), joined by teammates Sundy, Montez and Elyanna Dogotch. Miller also put together a standout showing at the COC meet, winning the 50 free (25.17) and 100 free (54.95).
Miller swam on two winning relays as well in the 200 medley and 200 free. The Bulldogs took second at the COC meet.
Webb City, coached by Shawn Klosterman, won the conference title in the last event of the meet. Miller trains year round with Klosterman at Berzerker swimming.
"He clearly is a pretty amazing coach," Coach Miller said.
Stephanie Miller said she's excited to have the opportunity to coach her daughter over the next two years at Carl Junction.
"I feel like I have the best gig I could ask for watching her success from the deck," Miller said. "I just hope time can slow down just a bit.
"Chloe is training hard this summer and going to junior nationals. One of her favorite things is to compete with fast swimmers. It's one of the things I love about her."
