Dryden ‘07 alum Sheila Ariel inducted into IC Hall of Fame

On October 27, the Ithaca College Department of Intercollegiate Athletics inducted its 53rd Hall of Fame class, and it featured one of the greatest local swimmers in recent memory.

Sheila Rhoades Ariel swam for the Bombers’ women’s swimming and diving team from 2007 to 2011 and had an illustrious career in the pool. The Dryden native was a 16-time All-American—the eighth-most in program history—and excelled in the sprint events. When Ariel saw that Intercollegiate Director of Athletics Susan Bassett’s number pop up on her phone, she knew instantly what the call would be about.

“To hear her say, ‘We’re inducting you in the Hall of Fame,’ it’s been 12 years coming at this point, and it’s just amazing to hear those words,” Ariel said. “I knew that I had a very successful career, but to actually see it run its course and be inducted in the Hall of Fame is something that I didn’t ever think was going to be possible when I started as a freshman, so [I’m] honored and shocked.”

In addition to her plethora of All-American accolades, Ariel still holds school records in four events: the 50-yard freestyle, the 100-yard freestyle, the 200-yard medley relay, and the 400-yard medley relay. Ariel has had time to reflect on the lasting legacy she’s had on the program.

“I think so much time has gone by, but it still hasn’t really sunk in the gravity of my accomplishments,” Ariel said. “ It’s hard to really get a grasp on what that means. As a freshman, you walk in and you see the names on the record board and you don’t think that’s ever going to be you, and then what happens when it is you? It doesn’t get old to walk into that pool and see your name up on the board and see it with your teammates on the relays. It takes you right back to when you made that cut and when you made that time and just the memories that I had at IC.”

Ariel’s standout season came during her junior year. She was named the Empire 8 Swimmer of the Year and placed in the top five nationally in the 50-yard freestyle (third) and the 100-yard freestyle (fourth). Ariel credited the work she put in outside of the pool for her outstanding junior campaign.

“I started doing a lot more cross training,” Ariel said. “As my four years went on, I had pretty terrible shoulders —as swimmers tend to have—so I did a lot more time in the weight room. My now husband (then boyfriend) Mike did a whole weight program that I started following. He got me into running, which is now my primary sport, so I just did a lot more in addition to that really high-intensity sprint training.”

While picking out which college to attend is an arduous process for many people, that wasn’t the case for Ariel. Ithaca College was the only school she applied to. After all, her father worked in their IT department, so she was used to being around campus from a very young age.

“I was going to IC as a 3-year-old walking around the campus, and I grew up knowing that’s where I was going to be,” Ariel said. “I decided I wanted to be a physical therapist my freshman year in high school. Once I truly understood that Ithaca had a great PT program, it just made sense. It just all fell into place and the fact that they had a swim team was just a bonus.”

Ariel came into the college scene off the back of a phenomenal high school career at Dryden. She was an all-conference performer during all four years with the Lions and was part of the 200-yard freestyle team that broke the conference record during her senior year. She was fortunate enough to be coached by Vicki Alexander, an icon in the local swimming scene who racked up over 200 wins. Ariel expressed her gratitude to Alexander for helping her prepare for the collegiate level, where she would be coached by her now-fellow Hall of Famer, Paula Miller.

“I don’t honestly think I would have swam in college if she hadn’t pushed me toward it,” Ariel said. “She kept telling me ‘You have talent. You can do this.’ All these recruit letters came in and I had no idea what that even meant, so she walked me through the process and encouraged me to reach out to coaches and reach out to Paula… We’ve had time to reflect and talk about my career and what she meant to me. I hope she is well-aware of how high I hold her in my heart.”

Ariel was not the only inductee from Tompkins County. Lansing’s Rachael Palladino received the honor after staring for the women’s soccer team from 2009 to 2012 and becoming the all-time leading scorer in program history.