Makenna Sherman, a junior at Faith Lutheran, holds Southern Nevada’s top times in the 200-yard freestyle and the 500 free this season. Her path to the top of the pool began when she was just a toddler, diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
Doctors recommended swimming for pain relief, and Sherman has been in the water ever since. Now 17, she is off medications and has not had a flare-up in three years.
“Makenna was 15 months old when stuff started happening,” said her mother, Ali Sherman. “We didn’t know what it was and it was getting worse daily.” After seeing a rheumatologist in Los Angeles, the family got answers.
This season, Sherman’s times include 1:59.94 in the 200 free and 5:12.66 in the 500 free, along with second-best marks in the 100 butterfly (1:01.57) and 200 individual medley (2:16.32), and third-best in the 100 backstroke (1:01.84).
Last summer, she won the 7.5-kilometer junior title at the USA Swimming 2025 Open Water National and Junior Championships in Sarasota, Florida, and later competed in World Aquatics Open Water Cup events in Italy.
“I wasn’t expecting much,” Sherman said. “But after I got third the year before it was a lot easier for me.”
Crusaders coach Stephen Blank noted that open water swimming requires courage. “It’s like Thunderdome out there,” he said. “You have to be really confident.”
Sherman has committed to swim for the University of Utah after graduating next spring. “I talked to a lot of schools and had four visits in a month,” she said. “But I thought I would fit best at Utah. I love the campus and the coaches.”
Her mother believes the arthritis has shaped her daughter’s mindset. “Most people don’t even know she has it,” Ali Sherman said. “I think it’s a huge part of her success.”
Regionals are scheduled for May 5-8, followed by the state meet May 14-16, both at the Pavilion Swimming Pool. This year, the Sandpipers of Nevada swim club has banned members from competing for their high schools, altering the competitive landscape.
“That has changed the landscape in many ways,” Blank said. “This has cleared the field for middle-of-the-pack swimmers who now have a chance to make it to state.”
