Athlete Spotlight: Janci Pangburn

By Autumn McPherson

Photo by Autumn McPherson

“My dad knew swimming was a good sport to get into that you could do your whole life,” said Janci Pangburn, sophomore, who participates in the 50, 100, 200-sprint freestyle as well as the 200, 400, 2im, and 800 freestyle for the Nanooks swim team.

“Neither of my parents swam. They just decided to put all my siblings into swimming. My dad threw me in the water and said, ‘Swim,’ and I’ve been doing it since I was seven. I have been swimming for 12 years now.”

When asked why she chose UAF, Janci said, “I chose [UAF’s] team because I have personal connections to [it]. I also just wanted to live in Alaska and experience what this place is. I feel like Alaska is very underlooked, and there’s no other place like it, so I had to live here at least for a year.”

Perhaps surprisingly, Janci notes that “swimming doesn’t affect my class schedule personally. Some people have to move around their classes to conform to our busy swim schedule. We have to hit twenty hours of practice every week, so that can get a little rough.”

Janci notes that one of her “biggest accomplishments is just being a part of this team. That’s the highlight of my swimming career. I have never gotten along with eighteen girls as much as I do with this team.”