STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Allyson Kraff competes for the Stony Brook swimming and diving team in a pool. Her preference, however, is the ocean and other natural bodies of water.
"Personally, racing in open water for me is totally different than racing in the pool," said Kraff, a junior freestyle swimmer from Garden City. "In the pool, the lanes are six feet wide. There are lane lines between each other. You're not going to hit anyone in a pool. It's just not going to happen. It's very controlled.
"In the open water, it's every person for themselves. You're all on top of each other. It can be 20 people jockeying for a position, but it's awesome."
Although Stony Brook trained in the department's aquatic center this fall, most indoor pools and facilities were unavailable for much of this year due to the pandemic. Yet thanks to her experience training in open water, and equipped with her own wetsuit, Kraff swam outdoors in waters as cold as 55 degrees.
"I've been doing some training in some lakes and some bays to stay fit, which has been a big help," she said.
Kraff transferred to Stony Brook from Division III Albright College in Reading, Pa.
In her first season competing with the Seawolves, she earned America East Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition last academic year.
"I knew that I wanted to swim Division I, and I wanted to attend a program that would allow me to excel in the pool as well as the classroom," Kraff said. "I also wanted to go somewhere that wouldn't take away my ability to swim in open water."
In open-water training, buoys are approximately 700 to 750 yards apart depending on how the current is flowing. She tries to do at least 5,000 yards collectively each practice.
"In the open water, you can swim as freely as you want, no gear, no paddles, just you and the water," Kraff said.
While still preferring the open water, Kraff recognizes the benefits of pool training.
"Pool training allows you to focus on a lot of different things," she said. "The ability to concentrate on a specific muscle group, your arm position and your pull are some of the things that a pool lets you really focus on."
For all the time Kraff has spent in the open water, she emphasized the importance of maintaining a healthy respect for its power.
"It's one of those things where, because of my experience, I don't have a fear of the water, but I definitely have a respect for it," she said. "You never know what can happen. The water is more powerful than just you when you're out there."
No matter what the circumstance, Kraff has always sought the next challenge. In the summer of 2019 alone, Kraff swam a total of 20K in open-water races.
That drive, along with her genuine passion for the sport, portends a bright future.
"The hope for me is to never stop swimming. Maybe not as competitive in the future, but I hope to continue swimming my whole life," Kraff said. "Whether it's for exercise or just for fun — maybe even become a teacher in the future and coach a team — to share the love that I have for the sport with a new generation of kids."
