Freeport grad Alexis Schrecongost takes off with Edinboro swimming after transferring from Toledo

Like a lot of athletes, Alexis Schrecongost had visions of being a Division I athlete. During her time as a swimmer at Freeport, she proved herself worthy of competing against the nation’s best, earning a scholarship to Toledo.

But Schrecongost found out that being a Division I athlete sometimes it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

After one year competing for the Rockets, Schrecongost put her name into the transfer portal. She wound up latching on with Edinboro and has found a home.

Specializing in freestyle and breaststroke, Schrecongost has a number of first-place finishes for the Fighting Scots — individually and as part of relays — and heads into February with the third-best time in the 100-yard breast (1 minute, 5 seconds) in the PSAC. Coach Chris Rhodes, in his 22nd season, said Schrecongost’s versatility has had a trickle-down effect on his lineup.

“We can move some people around and put them in some areas where they’re fitting in very well,” said Rhodes, who added he recruited Schrecongost while she was in high school. “She’s really helped us there.”

Schrecongost has settled in nicely with the Scots after a tumultuous start to her college career.

The chief reason she decided to leave Toledo was because it didn’t have her desired major: K-12 phys ed/health education. During the recruiting process, she was told she would be able to pursue that degree, but, she said, that turned out not to be the case.

Schrecongost knew just three weeks into school — long before the swimming season started — that she was going to leave.

“I thought it was a good fit, and I thought they had my major,” she said. “I liked the school. I liked the coach. I liked the teammates, obviously. … The only reason I moved from Toledo was they didn’t have my major, and they said they did, so that was a big turn of events.”

But, for the time being, Schrecongost was stuck. She kept her desire to transfer to herself and went through the season. She did well, qualifying for the Mid-American Conference championships in three events and helping the Rockets’ 200 medley relay finish seventh in the conference.

She also qualified for the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America national tournament, which has standards similar to NCAA “B” cut times.

Once the season ended in mid-March, she revealed her desire to enter the portal. On May 6, 2023, she packed up, said her goodbyes and left Toledo.

“That was a little hard because I made a lot of friendships there,” Schrecongost said. “But everyone understood why I was transferring.”

Edinboro quickly came back into the picture, and it didn’t have anything to do with Staci Schrecongost, Alexis’ distant cousin who swam for the Fighting Scots about a decade ago.

Alexis would be able to get her desired major at Edinboro, which was a huge plus, but she also wanted to make sure the team would be to her liking. Rhodes said Schrecongost spoke with Stephanie Sipple, a Penn Hills grad who had just finished her eligibility with the Scots. Sipple had been through a situation similar to Schrecongost: starting at a Division I school (Cleveland State) before deciding to compete elsewhere.

Schrecongost also spoke to Leia Ross, a Fox Chapel grad who swam with Schrecongost for a year with the Killer Whales club at Fox Chapel High School. Ross is a senior who competes in backstroke and breaststroke for the Fighting Scots.

“I knew she was going to be very honest with me about everything here,” Schrecongost said. “Anytime you’re talking to any coach, they try to make it all rainbows, and I knew she was going to be honest with me.

“That’s also what I liked about the second time of this recruiting process: Coaches were very honest with me. There was no BS going on.”

Now settled into her new program, Schrecongost has taken off. She said after nearly two months of having to train on her own with no teammates to push her, it took her a little while to feel comfortable in the water again. But she has found her rhythm, and Rhodes is ecstatic about her performance as a swimmer and a leader.

“She has a very good understanding of what she needs to do and where she is at,” he said. “If I tell her something I see, she understands what I am saying. She’s very ‘swimming smart,’ I guess you could say.

“What kind of has surprised me — and it has been great — are her leadership skills and how she has really engulfed herself into the team atmosphere and at Edinboro. … I know I value her opinion when she brings me an idea or has questions, and I know the tam is valuing her leadership as well.”

Schrecongost said she can see improvement in her times, particularly in the relays. She said she has achieved personal bests in all of her relay splits this season.

Part of that is technical. Schrecongost said, in particular, there is a lot of attention paid to reaction times off the starting block, which has helped her shave precious ticks off her splits.

The other part is mental. Schrecongost said she is much more relaxed and free when practicing and competing.

“I felt like since (Toledo) was Division I, I had to go close to my best time every single time,” she said. “But here it’s OK not to go that time. So that has taken a lot of pressure off of me. I don’t feel as anxious before my races.”

Schrecongost has her sights set on the PSAC championships, which begin Feb. 14. She said she hopes to make the NCAA “B” cut in the 100 breast and, possibly, the 50 free.

Rhodes said he believes all-conference status for Schrecongost and the relays are well within reach. Further, he is confident Schrecongost can go even higher.

“Our goal together is to get her to nationals,” he said. “And I honestly believe she can get there.”