Lauryn Parrish showing leadership in and out of the Jayhawks’ pool

By RICHIE HALL
There are two things that can instantly be associated with Lauryn Parrish: Swimming and leadership.
Those two qualities often go together quite nicely. Parrish was known as a leader before she jumped into the pool at the University of Kansas in 2017, having been a solid swimmer for Fishers High School and the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award winner.
After moving to Lawrence, Kan., Parrish didn’t skip a beat in the pool, becoming a part of a steadily improving team. She also has proved her leadership abilities again by being named one of the three senior captains for next season’s Jayhawks women’s swimming team.
Parrish joins two other midwestern swimmers, Dannie Dilsaver of Lincoln, Neb. and Ellie Flanagan of Columbia, Mo. as Kansas captains.
“It was pretty exciting,” said Parrish, who is finishing up her junior year at Kansas. “We have a pretty special team full of leaders, to be quite honest. To be even nominated was really cool.”
Parrish said being named a captain is “a real honor,” but also is “a real responsibility that I acknowledge.” She noted that leadership starts with the senior class, and even extends down to the freshmen.
Leading as a freshman is something that Parrish knows about. She earned All-Big 12 honors for her performance at that conference’s championships as a first-year swimmer, where she participated in three relays and was a three-time finalist in individual events. Parrish again received all-conference honors as a sophomore when she was named to the All-Big 12 First Team.
Parrish had to battle illness during her junior year. “I got really sick with a form of pneumonia in early January,” she said. But she still came back to have what she called a “solid” season. She was part of the runner-up 800 freestyle relay squad and had eighth-place finishes in the 200 free and 200 backstroke, and was again named to the All-Big 12 team.
“It’s still quite an honor that I’m very thankful for,” said Parrish. “I’ve used this time off to get really healthy and add a little fuel to the fire heading into my senior year.”
At the Big 12 championships, Kansas scored 831 points, a school record for the Jayhawks. The University of Texas won the meet with 1,012 points, a difference of 181 points, but Parrish noted that Kansas has been significantly closing the gap over the years, saying that her freshman year, the Jayhawks were about 500 to 600 points behind the Longhorns.
“My coach has really worked hard recruiting really good people and going from there. Our culture speaks wonders,” said Parrish, crediting that for Kansas’ improvement in competition.
“This season was actually our most successful season ever as a program,” said Parrish. In addition to the record amount of points at the Big 12, the Jayhawks had a swimmer qualify for the NCAA championship in the backstroke events, then had a diver qualify as well.
“We’re really proud of them,” said Parrish. “I would say we had at least five or six school records go down this year. We had a really special senior class that we’re really going to miss, but we have a great group of incoming freshmen. I like the good energy coming in.”
Out of the pool, Parrish is serving as the president of the University of Kansas’ student-advisory committee. Parrish said the committee is the voice between the Jayhawks’ student-athletes and the administration, as well as to the Big 12 and NCAA.
“We also have different committees, so we focus on mental health, diversity and inclusion, student-athlete development, different events for our student-athletes and different ways of communication,” said Parrish.
Recently, Parrish joined with other student-advisory presidents from across the Power 5 conferences to draft a letter that would be sent to the NCAA asking that senior spring sports athletes be granted an extra year of eligibility due to the cancellation of spring sports this season after the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA agreed to grant athletes that extra year.
“That was pretty cool and a big honor to be a part of,” said Parrish.
Due to the pandemic, there have been some adjustments for student-athletes, even those who are not currently competing in-season. Swimming is no exception, with athletes currently out of the water. Parrish said that the team’s coach has invested in dryland training, and is checking in on his athletes, “making sure we’re doing okay, physically and mentally.”
“I started swimming when I was 5, that was 16 years ago,” said Parrish. “I’ve been out of the water for seven and a half weeks, and that’s the longest I’ve been out of the water. That’s the only option. I have a roommate who lives in the Netherlands and every pool over there is closed. Everybody is on the same playing field.”
The pandemic has also caused an adjustment to Parrish’s upcoming internship. She will be interning at the AT&T corporate headquarters; she was supposed to go to Dallas but as of now will be doing the internship online.
Parrish is a marketing major and is enrolled in Kansas’ business school. “I’m getting a certificate in professional sales,” she said. She’s excited to get started in sales, as she enjoys the competitiveness and the face-to-face interaction.
But before that, Parrish has one more year in Lawrence, Kansas, a place she speaks very highly of, from the athletic department to academics. While she’s sad she only has one more year left as a Jayhawk, Parrish said the pandemic is making her realize how fortunate she is to be at the University of Kansas – “It’s my home away from home,” she said.