Walker, a senior, concluded a career that included a trip to the Class 2A state meet and, this year, four Orange Belt Conference championships.
She also played a key role for the Lady Longhorns, who won the conference team championship every year that Walker was a member of the team.
“We always had good teams at St. Cloud (the St. Cloud Aquatic Team club program), so, yeah, I thought we could be good,” Walker said. “This year, I didn’t know about our boys team because they had lost so many good swimmers, but they had a great season and they won (the conference championship) too.”
Walker won conference titles in the 50 freestyle (26.08) and the 100 backstroke (1:05.62). She joined teammates Lindsey Saute, Lindsey Christovich and Camille Missigman to win the OBC 400 relay championship, and she teamed with Darcy Tsikerdanos, Christovich and Missigman to win the 200 medley conference title.
Walker, who qualified for the 2A Region 2 meet in all four events, and reached the regional finals in the 50 freestyle, is the Osceola News-Gazette Female Swimmer of the Year.
She also was the News-Gazette’s Swimmer of the Year as a sophomore.
Walker said her philosophy never changed during her high school career. She wanted to get into the water and go as fast as she could.
“I like the 50 free the best,” she said. “It’s over fast.”
Harmony girls coach Lori O’Rourke said Walker, the team’s points leader, will be missed after she graduates.
“She was instrumental in capturing the OBC title this year as well as during the past three years,” O’Rourke said. “We have seen her grow as an individual and a team member. She led her Longhorns with pride and class throughout her high school career.”
Walker, a dual-enrollment student at Valencia Community College, said she plans to attend Brigham Young University in Utah or North Central College in Illinois, located near Chicago.
“I may swim at North Central. The coaches have asked me to go there and compete,” she said.
If she goes to BYU, she will join former Harmony classmate O’Neill Chambers, a receiver for the Cougars football team.
Walker leads a solid cast of county swimmers this year that includes her Harmony teammates, along with standouts like Osceola’s Sarah Lambert and Gateway’s Alex Martinez and Melissa Morgan.

Swimmer of the Year: Bethany Walker (Sr., HHS)
All-county team: Harmony: Lindsay Christovich (Sr.); Lindsey Saute (Fr.), Darcy Tsikerdanos (Sr.), Briana Felitti (Jr.), Camille Missigman (Sr.), Lauren Meulener (Jr.), Rachel Walker (Fr.). Gateway: Alex Martinez (Jr.), Melissa Morgan (Soph.). Osceola: Mariah Kenny (Sr.); Sarah Lambert (Soph.).