Our choices carry weight. Sometimes heavier than we may predict. For high school athletes deciding where to commit, those choices can make or break their college careers. But for some, it can make them one of the most decorated athletes in a program’s history.

That was the case for Emily Lundgren. After four years in the Crimson and Gray, Lundgren walks across the stage not just as a graduate, but as the most successful swimmer Washington State has ever produced.

However, four years ago, she never thought she would be a Cougar.

“I honestly thought I was going to stay in California,” Lundgren said. “I kind of wanted to get a little bit away from home, just to kind of explore a little. But, I definitely never expected to go to Washington.”

One phone call later, Lundgren flipped the script.

“After my very first phone call with WSU, they got pretty high on my list,” she said. “Just the culture that they had here and the team I felt like I would fit in really well.”

And fit in she did. Early on, Lundgren found a team full of veteran faces that she could look up to, learn from and feel accepted by.

“When I was a freshman the whole junior class were people that I really looked up to,” she said. “I think they welcomed me with open arms. A lot of them were my training buddies like [Kaya Takashige] and [Alex Vartiainen].”

Takashige and Vartiainen taught Lundgren a lot, and that did not stop after they left.

“They taught me how dual meets worked and how October is the hardest part of training,” Lundgren said. “They’re huge support systems honestly, throughout my whole college career because I still am in contact with them.”

Despite her countless records, Lundgren had no idea she would wind up being the most successful swimmer in the program’s history.

“If you would have told my freshman self what I would do I definitely would say you were lying,” she said. “Because, I came in not really expecting to do much at all. I didn’t think I was going to break a school record, let alone go to the NCAA’s my freshman year.”

She was not alone in that surprise.

“I don’t think that we had that in mind,” WSU swim coach Russell Whitaker said. “[But] we knew she was going to be good.”

For Whitaker, the secret behind her success is obvious.

“I think what sets her apart is the passion,” he said. “Her freshman year, nothing against it, she was dead last in her event. But, I think she was able to learn from that.”

In light of all the success, much of it still feels surreal to Lundgren.

“Even still now I don’t believe that a lot of it happened,” she said. “A lot of people say I’m the most decorated swimmer and I’m like ‘yeah I don’t think so’… it still doesn’t feel real.”

With four years of record breaking swimming under her belt, it can be hard to single out a specific memory. But for Lundgren, one stands out right away.

“The Pac-12 championship my sophomore year,” she said. “I finally broke a minute barrier in my [100-meter] breast which was something I was trying to do for three years at that point. Placing second behind someone who was a national champion in that event two years prior… I just remember that race and getting out of the water and my whole team was there which was amazing.”

Going into her junior year, Lundgren was hit with a conference calamity. The rupture of the Pac-12 caused her to think hard about her future, and whether that future was on the Palouse.

“It definitely was super weird,” she said. “There was a lot of unknowns and people were asking if I was going to enter the portal [or] if I was going to leave.”

But, once a Coug always a Coug… and Lundgren bleeds Crimson and Gray.

“We have this Coug head in our locker room,” she said. “I’d be so upset if I couldn’t sign that because I didn’t graduate here.”

The rest is history, literally. Her decision to stay on the Palouse primed her to close out a historic collegiate career, dominating in the Mountain West Conference and in the NCAA National Championships.

However, Lundgren is much more than the records, awards and trophies on her mantle. Out of the water she likes nothing more than to sit down at a drum kit and jam out to Slipknot.

That’s right… Slipknot… the heavy metal band. Lundgren plays along to their songs on her own kit, much to the astonishment of her roommates.

“My favorite one to play on the drums right now is probably Neuro Forte by Slipknot,” she said. “I don’t let anyone hear me play it, except like my family. But, my roommates are like, ‘this is a little crazy’.”

The hobby is not random. Lundgren’s brother Johnathan plays the guitar with his band back home in California, making the instrument a way for her to connect with her family.

When pressed about her favorite bands, a heavy metal theme peaks through, with a personal touch added in.

“Tool, Slipknot, Metallica… [and] I’m going to throw my brother’s band in there,” she said. “I’m going to say The New Machine.”

Fans wanting to listen to her brother’s music can stream it on Spotify, or catch it live if they happen to be in California. Lundgren herself makes it to as many concerts as she can, but when she is stuck in Pullman, it’s up to her dad to bridge the gap.

Her father often puts her on FaceTime and turns her towards the stage so that she can watch her little brother follow his passion. Kevin Lundgren, Emily and Johnathan’s dad, sparked both of their love for music.

“We always kind of listened to rock and stuff with my dad in the car,” Emily said. “So now being able to kind of play that and bond with both my brother and dad over it has been fun.”

If you catch Lundgren driving around campus in her Jeep, chances are it’s Taylor Swift blasting from the speakers, according to her. But run into her at the pool, and it’s nothing but Tool, Slipknot, Metallica and Iron Maiden bumping in the headphones.

Who knows, maybe hardcore rock is the key to record-breaking success in the pool.

Her time at WSU may be over, but her career in the water is just beginning. With the 2028 Olympics on the horizon, Lundgren is locked in on training. But even after that, she has her sights set on her professional career, using her digital technology and culture degree to highlight athletes like herself.

“Hopefully continue with the creative video track and just be a huge advocate for women’s sports,” she said.

You will be hard pressed to find a Coug athlete more dominant than Lundgren. Now in her professional career, fans best be prepared for a future of endless records, medals, awards and obviously… jam sessions.