K.C. Lemon
Sprinter Freestyle Backstroke 0
Ht
5'
9"
Class
Senior
Hometown
Tacoma, 
Washington
Last School
Woodrow Wilson High School
Roster Years
1987-1991


Personal

  • B.S. in health and a secondary education certificate from BYU, 1992
  • Married to Alan with one daughter

Career Highlights

  • Five-time All-American
  • Finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships all four years
  • All-HCAC team 1988-91
  • Named Western Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Year 1991
  • By 1991, she had broken school records 22 times
  • Her records in the 100 backstroke and the 200 backstroke still stand
  • Received a total of 11 All-Conference honors
  • Received Academic All-WAC honors
  • Was recognized as an Academic Athlete by the Cougar Club

Before BYU

  • Prepped at Woodrow Wilson High School
  • U.S. senior national qualifier
  • Northwest Senior Regional Champion in the 100 backstroke
  • U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier
  • Honor student

After BYU

  • Returned to BYU as the strength coach for the women’s swim team
  • Currently lives in Provo with her husband

Post BYU Honors and Societies

  • Inducted into the Woodrow Wilson High School Athletic Hall of Fame 2000
  • Inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame 2001
2001 BYU Hall of Fame

2001 BYU Hall of Fame

In the spring of 1987, BYU women's swim coach Stan Crump met Kathryn Cline Lemon, better known as K.C., at the USA Senior Championships and invited her to visit campus. She signed with the Cougars before heading home. When she returned to Provo from Tacoma, Washington, that fall, she had already qualified for the Olympic Trials.

During her freshman year K. C. set a new BYU record in the 100 backstroke and finished seventh at the NCAA Championships. Her strong showing there qualified her for the first of five All-American honors she would win over the next four years. She finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships three more times.

In 1990, after winning the 100 backstroke at a summer regional competition, K.C. was honored as the Pacific Northwest Swimmer of the Year. By 1991 she had broken school records 22 times. Not until the 2001 season would her records in the 50, backstroke and the 400-medley relay fall. By then she had held the record in the 50 backstroke for 13 years and the record in the 400-medley relay 10 years. Her BYU records in the 100 backstroke and the 200 backstroke still stand as of 2001.

K.C. dominated the conference, winning first place in the 100 backstroke and being named to the All-Conference team every year of her four years of competition. By the end of her BYU career, she had received a total of 11 All-Conference honors.

In 1991 she was named Western Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Year, and last year her alma mater, Woodrow Wilson High School, inducted her into its Athletic Hall of Fame.

Performing as well in the classroom as she did in the pool, K.C. received Academic All-Conference honors from the WAC and was recognized as an Academic Athlete by the Cougar Club. In 1990 she was also recognized by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). In 1991 she was awarded the Leona Holbrook Spirit of Sport Award in recognition of her excellence as a leader in women's athletics.

K. C. graduated from BYU in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in health and a secondary education certificate, earning a GPA 3.58 in spite of her rigorous training and competition schedule.

For a time she returned to the university as the strength coach for the women's swim team. K.C. and her husband, Alan, have one daughter, Kate.

Freshman Year 1987-1988

  • HCAC and Cougar Club Scholar-Athlete
  • All-HCAC, winning first in four events
  • Qualified for NCAA in the 100 and 200 back and placed seventh in the 100 for an All-American citation
  • Set a new BYU record in the 100 backstroke
Sophmore Year 1988-1989

  • All-HCAC team for being first in four events at the HCAC championships
  • Consolation finalist in the 100 back at the U.S. Senior Championships
  • NCAA All-American
Junior Year 1989-1990

  • Won the 100 backstroke at a summer regional competition
  • Honored as the Pacific Northwest Swimmer of the Year
  • NCAA All-American
  • Earned All-Conference accolades
  • Recognized by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America for outstanding academics
Senior Year 1990-1991

  • Named Western Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Year
  • Earned All-Conference accolades
  • NCAA All-American
  • Awarded the Leona Holbrook Spirit of Sport Award 
Graduate Year

Redshirt Year

Medical Redshirt Year