Hayley Oke has loved swimming ever since she can remember. But, not like most people enjoy it: her competitive spirit, drive, and focus on improving are netting some great results.
Not the least of which is a spot on the team at Fresno State University for the 2025-26 school year. The NCAA division one school in California competes in the Mountain West conference this year before joining the powerhouse Pac-12 on July 1, 2026.
“Anything that I ever do, I’m just competitive,” explains Oke, 17. “Even if it’s not even supposed to be competitive, I make it a challenge like in my mind.”
She is excited at the opportunity to swim against top talent in the United States. Though she doesn’t know what the training schedule and how many meets there will be in total, Oke is aware that the Mountain West conference championships and NCAA national championships will be on the calendar.
Though other schools were on her radar during the recruiting process, she choose Fresno State because of their coach Jeanne Fleck and the good vibes she got from her visit. Oke will be majoring in Biological Sciences.
“The girls are amazing, coaches that are amazing, the weather is amazing,” says Oke. “And I think because I grew up having female coaches that it just felt so much more comfortable. There are all these great places with all these great opportunities, but something really stood out to me (at Fresno State).”
For all of her competitive swimming career, Oke’s head coach has been Heather Lee. She credits Lee for helping her and her teammates get more powerful in the pool.
“She pushes us really hard, even though sometimes we really don’t like it,” Oke says with a laugh. “But we’ll appreciate it in the long run.”
Having won multiple medals in a variety of disciplines since she began competing, the Huntsville High School and Muskoka Aquatic Club (MUSAC) swimmer is well positioned to make a splash down south.
Most recently, Oke won double gold at OFSAA (the school provincial championships) in the 100 m backstroke and 100 m butterfly. At the Ontario Age Group championships, Oke had a bunch of personal bests and a silver medal in the 200 m backstroke.
Oke says she’s been working hard on her backstroke distances. It’s been paying off. So far, the shorter distance races (50 m and 100 m) in a variety of disciplines have been her specialty.
However, she isn’t dismissing longer distance swimming just yet. At a regional meet this year, she won the 1,500 m freestyle.
“I like to say freestyle is my favourite because it’s the easiest,” says Oke.
Before heading southwest to sunny California, Oke still has a few meets left in Canada, including the world championship trials in Victoria.
After that, she’s planning on taking a break to spend quality time with her family before the big move. Oke credits her sister Teaghan, also a MUSAC swimmer, for inspiring her swimming career.
“My parents are really excited for, like, my whole family is really excited for me,” she says of the move to Fresno State. “It’s really special for me and really special for my family because it’s something that I’ve really worked hard towards.”
Oke says young people looking for a sport or activity should try swimming if they get the chance. She says there is a lot to gain from it – both physically and socially.
“The majority of my team, we just have so much fun at practice, we make it fun for everyone,” she says. “It’s a great experience.”
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