Wawasee High School senior Bre Robinson has chosen Purdue as her collegiate swim future. Robinson will officially sign with the school in early November. (Photo by Mike Deak)

SYRACUSE – The ‘Little Engine That Can’ will soon graduate to a locomotive.

Wawasee senior Bre Robinson hasn’t been big in stature, attitude or flash in the pool. But the superstar swimmer has made a splash decision, signing with Purdue University on a full-ride scholarship to continue her swim career as a Boilermaker.

“What I loved about Purdue was that everyone seemed so real,” Robinson said. “They weren’t just selling me on their school and being a salesman like a lot of the other places were. Everything they told me, I felt they were being honest with me. It’s the honesty that I fell in love with the most.”

Purdue was one of five major choices Robinson narrowed down, along with Kentucky, Northwestern, North Carolina State and Tennessee. She had made contact with several other big-time programs, including Notre Dame, but felt Purdue head coach John Klinge and his staff were legitimate in their approach and created an atmosphere she felt most comfortable. Along with the academics, which Purdue placed as high as swim priority, choosing a biology major with an aim for pre-med was a direction she could not pass up.

Robinson has been part of a major resurrection in Wawasee swimming. The Lady Warriors opened a lot of eyes in the area last season by winning Northern Lakes Conference and sectional titles, and doing so by defeating perennial champion Northridge in the process. Needing to go back to the 90s since Wawasee had won any major swim titles, Robinson was a major part of the team’s success.

Returning for her senior year, the expectations for the team will only heighten, which is the challenge Robinson wants.

“Signing with Purdue isn’t going to change any of my or the team’s goals,” Robinson said. “We still want to win sectionals and all that, and me going to Purdue next year isn’t going to change anything my senior year.”

The first three years of high school swimming for Robinson have been incredible. As a freshman, she was part of a team that broke 59 pool, school, conference or sectional records, which then carried onto her sophomore and junior seasons. As a junior, she lowered the school standard in the backstroke (53.96) in finishing second in the state. She also finished second in the state in the butterfly, to which Robinson has been a state finalist six times, all of which were top-three finishes.

At Wawasee, Robinson holds the backstroke, 100 free (50.67) and 200 free (1:49.71) school records and was on the record-setting 200 and 400 free relays teams. Robinson also has her name attached to seven of the 11 Wawasee pool records and has her name on at least one placard at all seven of the Northern Lakes Conference pools.

Bre follows older sister, Brittany, down the Division 1 swim lane. Brittany signed a letter of intent with the University of Louisville after a stellar career at Wawasee. Bre said Brittany stayed out of the process, letting the decision be her own.

“I wasn’t too surprised with some of the process, because my sister told me about how Louisville recruited her,” Bre said of Brittany’s advice. “But she wasn’t really too hands-on with me choosing a school. She was dealing with her own college stuff, so she hasn’t really said much about it.”

Someone has helped a lot, and Bre was ultra-thankful to have in tow, is mom, Julie. Not just the Wawasee head coach for swimming, but aware of how her other daughter’s recruiting process went, and able to pass along advice in making a tough decision.

“You have to know what you are actually getting,” Julie Robinson said. “Does the coach really look at them as a student athlete and not just an athlete. Did the coach make it a point to say you need to get your degree, and not just what you can do in the pool. It was very important that school mattered, and not just swimming.”

Added Bre, “It is really nice just having her a couple hours from Purdue. She can come when she wants and it’s not too far. It will be nice to have her cooking close to home.”