It was 75 degrees Fahrenheit with a chance of a light rain when Mikel Schreuders prepared to swim Nov. 28. The 17-year-old freshman was in San Domingo, Dominican Republic. Forty degrees and nearly 2,000 miles separated him from Columbia, Missouri.

The youngest member of the Missouri team was representing Aruba at XXXIII Invitational International Delfines del Naco, a club meet in the Dominican Republic. Schreuders was chasing history for his home nation.

Schreuders won the 200-meter freestyle by more than eight seconds. But it was his time, not his first place finish, that made the swim significant. He touched the wall in 1:51.17, over a half-second under the Olympic qualifying time of 1:51.75.

“When I got behind the start blocks I was like, ‘If I do it, I do it. If I don’t, I hope I get another chance,’” Schreuders said.

In past years, Aruba has gotten to send one swimmer to the Olympics. Previously, though, no Aruban swimmer had ever achieved an official qualifying time. Schreuders changed that.

Ismael Santiesteban is the head coach of Schreuders’ club team in Aruba, Stingray Swimming. At the meet in the Dominican Republic, Schreuders and fellow Stingray swimmer Allyson Ponson both earned Olympic qualifying times.

“For Aruba, it is something historical,” he said in an email.

Oddly enough, this was not the first time that Schreuders posted an Olympic qualifying time. A week before, the freshman posted a time of 1:51.02 while swimming for Mizzou at the Tennessee Invitational.

But the Tennessee Invitational was not an International Swimming Federation-sanctioned meet, and Schreuders’ qualifying time did not count.

Going into his swim in San Domingo, Schreuders just hoped to repeat his performance from Tennessee.

“I was just thinking, ‘Okay, let me just do what I did again,’” he said. “So when I touched … I’m like: ‘Yes. Finally. This is the real thing. This counts, so I made it.’”

During the race, Schreuders was motivated by his mother, sister and teammates cheering him on. He could see his supporters as he came up for air.

When he first saw the people cheering, Schreuders was worried that he was not going fast enough to meet the Olympic qualifying time.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I think I’m not under the pace I want to go,’” he said. “So I was trying harder, and when I touched, it was an awesome feeling.”

Though Schreuders has met the qualifying standard, it is not certain that he will compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Aruba is planning on sending a team, but the country can always change its mind.

This uncertainty does not change Schreuders’ approach to his sport.

“I’m just going to keep training and try to be faster,” he said.

Schreuders has already made an impact at Mizzou. Aside from junior Michael Chadwick, the freshman holds the fastest 200-yard freestyle time on the team. He also helped the Tigers qualify their 400-yard freestyle relay for the NCAA Championships.

Schreuders’ lifestyle as a swimmer has changed since he joined the Tigers. In Aruba, he normally had six practices a week. At Mizzou, he has nine and has also started weightlifting.

When Santiesteban saw Schreuders in San Domingo, the coach saw a changed swimmer from when Schreuders left Aruba in August.

“I saw a big difference in him, I knew I would,” Santiesteban said. “He has gained a lot of strength since he has been (at) college.”

Greg Rhodenbaugh, Schreuders’ coach at Mizzou, feels this growth will only continue.

“Mikel is really young for a freshman,” Rhodenbaugh said. “He’s going to get stronger. He’s going to get more experience. He’s already got a wealth more of experience than he had coming in.”

Though earning a medal at the next Olympics is unlikely, Schreuders’ club coach has high hopes for years to come.

“Mentally and physically, he is ready for anything,” Santiesteban said. “As … a young swimmer I knew he had it in him to become a talented swimmer. In my opinion, if he keeps doing what he is doing he could become a medalist at the Olympics.”

Rhodenbaugh is looking forward to seeing the progress his swimmer makes “on the elite level.”

“I’m excited that he qualified and glad that he did what we knew he could do,” Rhodenbaugh said. “But that’s just the next step for him. He’ll take the next step at the end of the season, and he’ll take the next step at the Olympics.”