Courtesy: Millikin Athletics
The Millikin University swim team is proud to announce the addition of 14 new student-athletes for the 2018-19 season. This is the largest class Millikin has brought in since 2012, which includes swimmers from Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, Utah, and Illinois.
“Our goal was to bring in student-athletes that met our criteria of strong academic success and values that matched our own, both in and out of the pool. We are excited for what these swimmers will bring to the program, our future looks very bright!”-Coach Duesterhaus
The following 14 student-athletes will help continue to build the Big Blue program.
Felix Archer comes to Millikin from Saint Clair, Michigan where he is currently ranked 123rd in the state. He will have an immediate impact in the backstroke and sprint freestyle events, where his current best times would already place him in scoring position at the CCIW Conference Championship.
Avery Fisher out of Scottsdale Aquatic Club, is a standout distance freestyler and backstroker. She is currently ranked 73rd in the state of Arizona. Fisher will join Millikin with times that would already score at the CCIW Conference Championship.
Brigid Duesterhaus brings a depth of events to Millikin but excels in sprint freestyle, butterfly, and backstroke. Duestherhaus is ranked 155th in the state of Illinois and boasts a 100 butterfly time that would have placed 6th at the CCIW Conference Championship. She will be joining Millikin from Decatur, Illinois.
Olivia Marquardt joins Millikin from Vandalia, Illinois. She is currently ranked 204th in the state of Illinois with her specialty being butterfly and backstroke. Her current best 100 butterfly time would have placed her 2nd at the CCIW Conference Championship.
Alex Kennedy from the West Chicago Sharks out of West Chicago, Illinois adds another great addition to the distance freestyle and individual medley group. Her current best times would already place her in scoring position at the CCIW Conference Championship. She is ranked at 233rd in the state of Illinois.
Jaden Lockard comes to Millikin from Centennial, Colorado where she is ranked 172nd in the state. She is another well rounded swimmer with a breadth of events in which she will succeed. Her strong suits are butterfly and the individual medley.
Nick Nemeth joins the Big Blue Family from close by Bourbonnais, Illinois. He is ranked 314th in the state of Illinois. He is another swimmer with vast time drops in recent swims. His success in the breaststroke events would have placed him in scoring position at the CCIW Conference Championship.
Hope Roderick out of Edwardsville, Illinois will bring depth and talent to the distance freestyle group. In addition she has had recent success in butterfly and backstroke. She is currently ranked 332nd in the state of Illinois.
Katie Cully from Marion, Illinois comes to Millikin with specialties in mid-distance freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. Cully brings a wealth of experience and will make an immediate impact to the team. She is ranked 203rd in the state of Illinois.
Nicholas Canton joins the Big Blue family all the way from Hacienda Heights, California. Nicholas is an up and coming sprint freestyler, with large time drops in recent swims. He will be a great addition to the Millikin sprint freestyle core as well as backstroke.
Madeleine Erdmann comes to Millikin from Taft High School in Chicago, Illinois. She excels in butterfly but will look to make an impact in distance freestyle events as well. Relatively new to the sport she will continue to excel and drop times in the future.
Blaze Ogden joins Millikin from Layton, Utah. He swam from Clearfield High School where he excelled in butterfly. He will look to not only contribute in butterfly but build his repertoire as he continues to drop time in other events.
Kannitha Ross comes to Millikin from Chicago, Illinois. Having only begun the sport of swimming recently, her success is only scratching the surface of her potential. She will look to make an impact in both sprint and distance freestyle events.
Christina Hoving arrives at Millikin from nearby Oakley, Illinois. Christina began swimming with the local Decatur Swim Club, where she excelled in freestyle and backstroke. She will make a great addition to the team.