Dec. 30, 2008
THE CAMPBELL FILE
Who: Marissa Campbell
Year: Freshman
Events: freestyle, butterfly, backstroke
Born: Nov. 11, 1989
Hometown: Albuquerque (Manzano High)
Parents: Andrea & Ted Campbell
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
When the name for Marissa Campbell was plucked from thin air 19 years ago, mom wasn’t trying to be prophetic. Andrea Campbell just liked the sound of it. “I was looking through baby books and that’s the one I liked,” said Andrea. “How ironic is that?”
Or how prophetic is that? Marissa: “of the sea; goddess of water.”
It’s easy to look back and think that maybe UNM’s Marissa Campbell was destined to make a huge splash in some sort of body of water. Fortunately for the University of New Mexico, that splash is being made for the Lobos swim team.
“She was a huge catch for our program,” said Tracy Ljone, the Lobos swimming & diving coach. “She was looking at some big schools and our main rival was Indiana. It was huge for us that she stayed here.
It’s no surprise that Campbell, only a freshman, already has emerged as the star of this team. At Albuquerque’s Manzano High, she was a high school All-American and the New Mexico state champ in the 100-yard butterfly, 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, and twice in the 100-yard backstroke.
You want more? Campbell never lost an individual race during the regular season during her four years at Manzano High and never lost a race period as a junior and senior.
You want more? Campbell is the only woman prep swimmer to ever win all eight events at the All-City meet — a feat that took four years because you can only swim in two events each year. “I went after that on purpose,” said Campbell. “I wanted to be the only swimmer to have ever done that.”
As a Lobo, you hope that Campbell goes after a few more things on purpose: like maybe becoming the first Lobo woman swimmer to make the NCAA meet in more than 20 years. “I think she’ll do it,” said Ljone. “She has great potential. Her training is more consistent now and we’ve already seen some great drops in her times.”
Yeah, drops good enough to smash UNM’s school record in the 100-yard backstroke and is .02 away from the 100-yard freestyle — records set in 1993 and 1988. Ljone expects Campbell to set more than a few UNM records before Campbell leaves the UNM pool. Ljone also plans to get Campbell in the water a whole lot more. Like for practice.
“In high school, it’s sometimes practice when you want to and she was so good, she didn’t really have to train that much,” said Ljone. “She is extremely talented and strong. Now, we’re working on getting her to buy into training. In college, it’s more frequent and regular training. Marissa is a sprinter. Sprinters don`t always like to train that much.”
Said Campbell: “What I hate is morning practices. But you learn to deal with it. Once you get to the pool and you’re awake, it’s not so bad.”
Campbell’s introduction to water came in Wyoming watching her older brother swim. At that time, she was an accomplished gymnast and also a child model.
“She was modeling in Denver,” said mom. “We were driving to Denver almost every weekend and I told her she had to pick one, chose between modeling or swimming. She picked swimming.”
Marissa said one of the reasons she decided to stay home and go to UNM was because of her close relationship to her mother. “My mom is everything to me. I don’t know what I’d do without my mom,” said Campbell, who lives in the UNM dorms. “She is just always there for me.”
Said mom: “If she has a problem, I get a phone call. I try to be both a mom and a friend. But if there is something I think she needs to be doing or get done, I’m the mom.”
Campbell said her goals at UNM are to win some Mountain West titles, set some more school marks, and qualify for the NCAA meet. She also is thinking about the Olympic Trials.
“Marissa is really competitive,” said Lobo teammate Ashley Grisdale. “She doesn’t take things to a too serious level, but she doesn’t like to lose. Before a meet, she seems relaxed, but I think a lot of that is because she is so confident. She knows that she can do it. She’s a great swimmer.”
If there is kind of a family secret about Marissa, it’s a joke about her unfair advantage in the pool, which is created from her appetite
“Oh, my goodness, that girl can eat,” said mom. “And it all goes to her feet. For a small girl, she has big feet. We tell her feet are like flippers and that they probably help her swim.”
Marissa doesn’t dispute any claims about her appetite.
“I eat a lot, a whole lot,” she said. “I eat more than my brother and he’s 250 pounds. I`m always eating. I would list that as one of my hobbies. I guess it`s good that I`m a swimmer and can burn it off.”
Yeah, and if you ever feel the need to burn off a few extra calories, Marissa, just go visit coach Ljone. She’ll probably be able to think of something you can do.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous articles are available at The Richard Stevens Corner