University of Iowa Athletics

Kaelynn Heiberg

Class Sr.
Hometown Minnetonka, Minn.
High School Hopkins
Kaelynn Heiberg - Women's Rowing - University of Iowa Athletics

2017-18 — Appeared in 12 competitions on the 1V8+ crew… finished 13th overall (15:35.304) at the Head of the Charles on Oct. 22… defeated Southern California (6:19.4) in the third round of the Pac-12 Invitational on April 1… conquered Michigan State (6:17.70) in the morning and defeated Michigan (6:17.8) in the afternoon at Ann Arbor on April 7.. won against Yale and Princeton (6:10.8) on April 14… finished second (6:45.954) at the Longhorn Invitational on April 28.. placed third (6:24.668) to help Iowa to a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championship on May 13… finished second in Heat 2 of the prelims (6:26.997), first in Heat 1 of the semifinals (6:28.33), and fifth in the petite final (6:35.50) to help the Hawkeyes to an 11th-place national standing at the NCAA Championship on May 27… earned Academic All-Big Ten… named CRCA National Scholar… named Big Ten Distinguished Scholar… received CRCA Honorable Mention All-America honors.

2016-17 —  CRCA Scholar Athlete… Academic All-Big Ten… Big Ten Distinguished Scholar… competed in six races with the 1V8+ crew… placed second (6:45.8) at the Big Ten/ACC Double Dual… helped the 1V8+ crew to a second place finish in the morning session (6:40.90), and a first place finish in the afternoon session (6:51.20) at the Big Ten Double Dual… placed second (6:32.77) on the first day of the Lake Natoma Invitational… helped the 1V8+ crew to first place finishes at the Big Ten/Big 12 Double Dual (6:55.132), and  the Tennessee Invitational Conference Challenge (6:34.7)… helped 1V8+ crew finish fifth (6:35.990) at the Big Ten Championships… helped team to a fifth place finish at the Big Ten Championships (95 points)… named to UI’s fall Dean’s List… letterwinner.

2014-15… Competed with the 1V8+ and 3V4+ crews at the Head of the Des Moines, against Kansas and Indiana in the fall… competed with the 2V8+ crew at the Big Ten Double Dual, the B1G/Big 12 Challenge, against Tennessee, and the Big Ten Championships… helped the 2V8+ crew top Michigan State for a win of more than four seconds at the Big Ten Double Dual… helped the team finish second at the B1G/Big 12 Challenge… lead the 2V8+ crew to a dominating performance in the Petite Finals of the Big Ten Championships, beating Rutgers by 28.528 seconds… helped the team to a sixth place finish, the second highest scoring performance at the Big Ten Championships in program history, and the highest since 2003.

Before Iowa… Member of high school’s Nordic ski team… captain of Nordic ski team her senior year… took 1st place in the Women’s 8 at the 2013 Northwest International Rowing Association Championship Regatta… took 1st place in the youth Women’s 4 at the 2013 Milwaukee River Challenge… and member of the National Honor Society.

Personal… Daughter of Mark and Christine Heiberg… sociology major.

Why Iowa… Iowa had the welcoming Midwestern vibe I know and love, and so much school spirit. I love the positivity, opportunities and commitment to academics as well as athletics that the University of Iowa offers.

My favorite aspect of rowing is… I love rowing because it is the ultimate team sport. The team is literally in the same boat and it makes it easier to work harder than you thought possible when you’re working for the collective betterment of everyone in the boat.

What made you want to become a rower… I started rowing when a friend handed me the flyer for our local youth rowing club. She said it would be good cross training for Nordic skiing and that the people were all really nice. Soon Nordic skiing became cross training for rowing. I just fell in love with the sport that first day.