Going swimmingly in Rosemount

When the Class 2A, Section 3 girls' swimming and diving meet wraps up Saturday, it's unlikely Rosemount sophomore Coltyn Weaver will be left standing as one of the top finishers even in her favorite events.

Her grades in school -- mostly A's and B's with two C's -- aren't going to garner a single-digit class ranking, either.

But if you think being the best of the best is what matters most to Weaver and her family, you couldn't be further away from the truth.

"We've come a long way, baby," Weaver's mother, Angie, said with a smile.

Four years ago, with Coltyn growing increasingly frustrated with academics as her sixth-grade year continued, she was found to have Attention Deficit Disorder. But that turned out to be an incorrect diagnosis.

After a trip to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, it was determined that her troubles were instead a result of Convergence Insufficiency Disorder. Though Coltyn had 20/20 vision, she had double vision or saw words jump from line to line on a page, rather than seeing words clearly, because of a neuromuscular block.

"It's like roads being covered in snow," Angie Weaver said.

Two years ago, Coltyn underwent a 30-week program to clear the neurological pathways. She did weekly exercises at a vision clinic in Bloomington and every day at home.

It's an ongoing process, but everyone involved agree that Coltyn is about 90 percent better than where she was.

"She thinks there's a lot of words that are big that other kids her age have in their vocabulary," Angie Weaver said. "But it's unbelievable. Not bad considering she didn't really start reading 'til she was diagnosed in sixth grade."

Early in the process her parents required Coltyn to find an extracurricular activity to give herself a break. That turned out to be swimming.

She finds the water relaxing and a nice respite from what continues to be a daily grind at school.

Her times have improved drastically this season as a member of the varsity team, and she has a goal this week to go even lower in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle and in the 100-yard butterfly.

"I just kept swimming more and more and getting better and better," she said.

Earlier this season, another swimmer's time in the 200-yard individual medley was erroneously posted under Coltyn's name. It made all the top lists in newspapers and on the Internet.

But just as she doesn't allow her parents to help her with nightly homework, Coltyn has cleared up the error with those who have called or texted in words of congratulations.

She hopes with hard work and added practice that sometime in the next two years she'll get those times for real.

And if there's anyone who knows how to forge ahead toward a lofty goal, it's her.

"I never feel myself getting sad anymore," Coltyn said. "I used to wish I could do better, but I couldn't. This year, definitely since my grades are so good, I'm a lot more confident in myself. I know I can do better if I tell myself I can. And it happens."