“The team has gotten so much stronger throughout the season,” said Julie Collison, Notre Dame’s boys swimming team coach.
On Friday, February 20, NDA students Quinn Collison, Aaron Miller and Brennan Johnson competed at the state level for multiple different events. Jack Monfils, a Southern Door Co-op also competed at state as an NDA swimmer.
Collison achieved a best time in his 100 Fly and 15th in the state. He also got a best time in the 100 Back and 10th place overall in the state.
Monfils finished 12th in the 200 IM and 5th in the 100 Breaststroke. For the medley relay; Miller,Monfils, Collison and Johnson finished 16th in the state.
“It was the first time in Notre Dame history that we have had a relay make it to state,” added Coach Collison. “We are looking forward to growing more as a team next season.”
Overall, the team finished in 18th place out of the 29 schools that competed.
Since the team is somewhat small, it requires hard work and support from every person.
Having a small team can have negatives, but one big positive is the relationship the team has with each other because of the time spent together.
Throughout the season, the team has prepared inside and outside of the pool, like lots of technique work, conditioning, endurance training and goal setting.
“The swim team is a great group of young men,” Coach Collison shared. “Some have been swimming since childhood and some are new to the sport. All of the students have improved this year and have become more confident and experienced swimmers.”
Collison herself has been swimming since she was very young. She even went to DePauw University in Indiana to continue her swimming career there.
She competes in open water swimming events in her free time and is also a licensed physical therapist, which makes her have a pretty good background to be a swim coach.
Collison has coached this team for two years now. “I am learning so much every season,” she said.
“I really look forward to coaching this team next year and hope we have even more students joining this team and experiencing a wonderful sport,” Collison stated.
