Minot High senior Rylie Webb competes in the 200-yard individual medley during a high school swim meet at Magic City Campus last Saturday.

It’s one thing to be a natural born swimmer, it’s another thing to be a natural born swimmer and train your entire childhood.

Minot High School senior swimmer Rylie Webb started taking swim lessons when she was four-years-old.

“After that, I got pushed into swim club,” Webb said with a laugh. “My lessons teacher said ‘you need to go to swim club’ so I went to the Minot Swim Club when I was five and started competing from there.”

Webb originally started with backstroke because it was the only stroke she could do. Over the years, Webb worked to learn and perfect every single stroke to become a well-rounded competitor.

Breaststroke quickly became Webb’s go-to, but it came at a cost.

“After eighth grade, I had just swam (breaststroke) so much, it was just really painful to me,” Webb said. “So I transitioned to fly and then to distance freestyle.”

Approaching her junior year, MHS swimming head coach Emily Jensen needed point scorers in breaststroke. Jensen approached Webb about switching gears to breaststroke again and there was no question in Webb’s mind to make the switch back.

“When we asked her to move it was kind of an absolute thing, like whatever we needed her to do she was willing to do that for us,” Jensen said. “We can put her in each event and she would be versatile and helpful to our team.”

Breaststroke is still something Webb has to be careful with as she has trouble with her patellar tendons, but she has learned to manage her pain and prevent further injuries.

“When I had to take that break (from breaststroke), it was a little hard on me because I really did like swimming it, but to just be back in it now is good,” Webb said.

With the amount of time and effort Webb has put into swimming, it’s not surprising she also dominates in the individual medley. The medley utilizes every single stroke and it can be a challenge to transition between every single stroke in less than a minute’s time.

“You gotta have a really good grasp on how you should swim your 50s and then be able to transition from fly to back, back to breast and just get ready to keep going with the next stroke,” Webb said.

Ever since Jensen stepped on as the Majettes head coach, Webb has been someone that has stood out to her.

“She is a tough competitor, she doesn’t like to lose and she puts it all in everyday at practice,” Jensen said.

Webb recalled that when Jensen took over the team her freshman year, Jensen came on with many different ideas and has had fun growing up with her, the entire coaching staff and the team.

“Since I started as a head coach four years ago she has come leaps and bounds mentally with herself,” Jensen said. “She used to be super hard on herself, have a lot of anxiety about pleasing other people and doing really well and I think in the last couple of years she’s really grown from that and flourished as an athlete.”

Having overcome her own mental challenges, Webb likes to take the younger swimmers under her wing and help them realize their full potential because she understands what it’s like to stand in the way of your own success.

“I love just watching the girls do what they want to do to achieve their goals and it’s just awe inspiring to watch them grow,” she said.

The Minot High swimming and diving team is comprised of nine seniors, seven of which are in the lanes and one has been with Webb since eighth grade.

“Hannah Zaderaka, we both got pulled up together (in eighth grade), so just being here with these girls that I’ve just grown to love so much is just hard on the heart to realize we won’t be able to do this again,” Webb said.

Webb is excited to be finishing out her final season with the team that has shaped who she is today as a person and a swimmer.

“I have some time goals that I’d really like to achieve this year,” Webb said. “Mostly I just want to see my team get that second place this year (at state), or first, but second place would really, really be useful because we’ve gotten third for the past couple of years but I think we can get second this year. We’re looking pretty good.”

When it comes to swimming after high school, Webb said she has looked at the University of Mary and hopes to tour the school after the season.

“It’s a possibility,” Webb said about competing in college.

For now, with the state meet in sight, Webb is fully focused on finishing the season with a bang.

Webb and the Majettes will be back in action Friday, Oct. 12, at the Hulbert Aquatic Center in West Fargo.

Sports Spotlight is a weekly feature profiling interesting people affiliated with sports in the region. We welcome suggestions from our readers. Email the sports department at sports@minotdailynews.com.