Former WHS Swimmer Cody Cline Now Places His Focus On Science

Cody Cline was a rising swimming star when he was a student-athlete at Wellington High School. Today, he stays a rising star, however with a distinct position in life. He’s a scientist with Eurofins, which relies in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

As a swimmer, Cline’s mission was to swim quick. As a scientist, his mission is to work sensible.

“I am a scientist at Eurofins specializing in raw material testing using cell-based assays,” Cline defined. “My work involves evaluating the biological activity, quality and safety of raw materials through in vitro cell-based methods, ensuring accurate and reliable results that support research, product development and quality control. I enjoy being in the lab, getting hands-on with a variety of different cell types and learning new techniques and analyses.”

After graduating from WHS in May 2016, Cline attended Brown University, the place he lived the lifetime of a collegiate student-athlete within the Ivy League Conference. There, he pursued quicker instances within the swimming pool as a member of Brown’s swimming staff.

Meanwhile, within the classroom, he studied for his bachelor’s diploma in well being and human conduct, which he earned in May 2020. He has been residing in Lancaster since 2023 and has been working at Eurofins since 2021.

While at WHS, Cline certified for the Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) State Swimming & Diving Championships in all 4 years of highschool.

On Nov. 9, 2012, as a freshman, Cline certified for the championships within the boys 500-yard freestyle. Cline swam the race in 4:53.38, ok for 18th place. In the boys 200-yard freestyle relay, the staff of Cline, senior Kamil Baska, senior Francisco Sarmiento and sophomore Cash Hollister completed thirteenth with a time of 1:32.29.

On Nov. 16, 2013, as a sophomore, Cline once more earned his strategy to the championships. There, he completed fifth within the boys 200-yard freestyle (1:41.24) and sixth within the boys 500-yard freestyle (4:35.57). In that yr’s boys 400-yard freestyle relay, Wellington’s staff completed in eleventh place (3:14.32). The 4 members of that relay quartet had been Cline, juniors William Layne and Cash Hollister, and freshman Colin Smith.

On Nov. 7, 2014, as a junior, Cline, who additionally swam for the Wellington Wahoos swim staff, completed second within the state within the boys 50-yard freestyle, and he swam on Wellington’s boys 200-yard freestyle relay staff, which completed first in a successful time of 1:25.50. The 4 members of the relay staff had been Cline, Layne, Hollister and Smith. That identical foursome additionally completed in third place (3:09.89) within the boys 400-yard freestyle relay.

At the 2014 state meet, Cline and Brody Heck, his longtime rival from Boca Raton High School, had the start of a two-year battle for state supremacy within the Class 4A boys 50-yard freestyle. In 2014, within the morning preliminary race, Cline (20.59) and Heck (20.63) had the quickest qualifying instances. That put them in adjoining lanes for that night’s state championship last, throughout which Cline and Heck swapped their morning instances. Heck swam the boys 50-yard freestyle in 20.59, whereas Cline was 4 one-hundredths of a second slower at 20.63. In the race, Heck was first, and Cline was second. Later that night time, they clashed once more within the boys 100-yard freestyle state championship last. Heck gained the race (44.55), whereas Cline took sixth (47.09).

The following yr — on Nov. 14, 2015 — when Cline was a senior, Cline and Heck went head-to-head once more within the boys 50-yard freestyle on the state championships. This time, Cline gained the state title, clocking in at 20.14. Heck was second at 20.18.

With that victory, Cline grew to become the primary particular person state champion in WHS swimming historical past. Just like in 2014, he and Heck had been the highest two swimmers within the boys 50-yard freestyle after the morning preliminary race. In the preliminary race, Heck had the quickest qualifying time (20.25), whereas Cline had the second-fastest qualifying time (20.37). Again, that night, each swimmers competed in side-by-side lanes. This time, Cline prevailed.

Cline’s recollection of that race is vivid.

“In that 50 free final, I took one breath,” Cline recalled. “For the entire race, I was watching Brody out of the corner of my eye. I knew it was going to be a close finish. At one point, I thought he had me beat.”

To perceive how briskly Cline’s time of 20.14 was again in 2015, if he recorded that point at the latest FHSAA Class 4A meet — precisely 10 years later — Cline’s 2015 time would have been second-best within the boys 50-yard freestyle. Coincidental as it might appear, however the 2025 Class 4A state champion within the boys 50-yard freestyle additionally got here from WHS. It was Julian Granison, whose successful time (20.11) was simply three one-hundreds of a second quicker than Cline’s successful time 10 years prior.

On that very same November night time in 2015, Cline completed in fourth place within the boys 100-yard butterfly with a time of 49.45. In two relay races, he was a member of the boys 200-yard freestyle relay, which completed in tenth place with a time of 1:28.60. His different relay teammates had been three juniors — Colin Smith, Wyatt Boswell and David Wells. Cline was additionally a member of the boys 400-yard freestyle relay staff, which completed in sixth place with a time of three:14.63. His relay teammates in that race had been Colin Smith, Wyatt Boswell and freshman Joshua Balbi.

At the conclusion of the swim season in his senior yr at WHS, Cline was named Palm Beach County’s Swimmer of the Year. During his 4 years of competing at WHS, he was named MVP of the boys swimming staff on three events.

While swimming at Brown University, Cline’s best calendar yr was 2019, the place set private finest instances within the 50-yard freestyle (19.46 on Feb. 28, 2019); 100-yard freestyle (42.87 on March 2, 2019); 200-yard freestyle (1:35.31 on March 1, 2019); and within the 100-yard backstroke (49.35 on Dec. 7, 2019).

His commencement from Brown marked the top of a protracted, record-setting profession within the pool. Cline has changed his swimming time with basic train and all kinds of outdoor endeavors.

“I made a huge effort to try getting into running, but it never stuck,” Cline mentioned. “Nowadays, I just lift at the gym and try to eat as healthy as possible. While I am not at work or working out, I am usually gaming on the computer that I built, building Lego botanical sets because I can’t take care of real plants to save my life, or gaining critical real-world experience as a cinephile on my couch with my cat named Pants.”