Susan Harman

Your Prep Sports

None of the three oldest Roghair daughters can quite explain how they ended up as competitive swimmers. If it’s anyone’s fault it’s Jasmine’s. She was the first and she led the way.

“My mom just wanted to sign us up for as many different sports as she could because she didn’t have those opportunities when she was a kid,” Jasmine said. “So she signed us up for things like soccer and dance. But swimming was the one that really stuck for me and my younger sister Ariel, and we just continued to do it for years and years now. And then my little sister just followed, I guess.”

The little sister in this instance is West High freshman Aurora Roghair.  She is already turning heads for the Women of Troy, leading them in all four freestyle events and the 100 backstroke. Her time in the individual medley is third-best behind Lily Ernst and Melanie Housenga. She was anchor on the 400 relay that has the sixth-best time in the state.

Ariel, a sophomore at Macalester, and Jasmine, a senior at Truman State and an NCAA qualifier as a sophomore, provided the blueprint for Aurora.

“I didn’t know that my mom signed me up for the swimming team until we were driving to the first practice,” Jasmine said, chuckling. “She kind of forced me for awhile.”

But Jasmine and Ariel liked the sport and made friends through the club. Aurora tagged along to watch her big sisters compete in club meets

“We definitely liked it at a young age,” Aurora said. “When I was younger they would tell me stories that I would love the water.”

Her first meet was outdoors at Clinton at age 7

“That was a lot of fun because your whole team is there cheering,” she said.

She was hooked.

She stayed with club swimming, making gradual improvement along the way. This year she elected to join the West High team as well. It’s not a choice that all club swimmers make.

“We wanted her to try it for sure,” Ariel said. “Some people never try it, and then they don’t really know if it’s something they’d like to do. She really liked it a lot, and she’s happy that she went out.”

“It seemed like a lot of fun,” Aurora said “They had a close group that you can be with all the time and motivate.”

West coach Byron Butler said Aurora is a chip off the old block in other ways.

“She can do just about everything,” he said. “It’s something the Roghairs have always brought to the table is that versatility. All three that I’ve had the privilege of coaching have had that. They’re also some of the most coachable athletes, willing to do what the team needs.

“I’ve put Aurora in some events that maybe weren’t her best, but she’s always embraced that. I know I’m going to get a fantastic effort from her in every single event on any given day.”

Butler said Aurora came to high school swimming with great form, and his mission is more to reinforce her good habits and try to improve on areas like her turns and starts. In between her speed is as good as any prep swimmer in Iowa.

She sees herself primarily as a freestyler, but her backstroke is top flight too. As a freestyler she can do the short sprints and the long hauls, but she thinks her niche is middle- to long-distance races. She swims the mile and the 1,000 in club, so the high school 500 is really a walk in the park. She has the maturity and understanding to adjust her pace and her mindset to races as different as the 50 and the 500 in the same meet.

Technique is one thing, but Aurora has that inner drive, work ethic and competitiveness that separates the top athletes.

“She works really hard, races really well and competes against whoever she’s swimming against,” Ariel said. “And that has a lot to do with her success.”

“She’s always loved it more than me and Ariel I think,” Jasmine said. “She’s always loved the competition and the practices and being challenged to work as hard as she can.”

Her sisters see it. She does not take a practice off. She keeps pushing. It’s always her best effort regardless of the stakes.

“She knows how to prepare for every race no matter how (important) the meet is,” Jasmine said.

“I think Aurora is the best one out of all of us,” Ariel said.

Butler described her as having D-I maturity in terms of academics, practice habits and knowledge of the sport.

“I already envision her being an incredible leader for this team as a senior,” he said. “She’s really meshed well.”

And why not? Aurora has always made friends with teammates and rivals alike. It’s never deterred her from competing ferociously once she’s in the water.

So far Aurora says she’s happy with the way the season has begun.

“I’m definitely happy with my times especially since we’re still working hard,” she said. “As a team we want to attack all of our meets and not roll over. So I think we’ve done pretty well.”

Oh yeah, there’s still another Roghair in the pipeline, 12-year old Jade.

   “Jade is motivated by all the fun Aurora has and all the success she’s had,” Jasmine said. “Jade wants to be like Aurora.”