Jessica Wierzbicki, a two-time Washington State 4A champion and All-American in the 100 fly for the Wenatchee Panthers has announced that she has committed to the U. S. Air Force Academy (USAFA). John Pringle, head coach of Velocity Swimming in Wenatchee, Washington told SwimSwam, “the USAFA [is] a school she considers the perfect environment for her to continue to develop as a swimmer and scholar. Jessica, is a 4.0 student in high school and plans to study aerospace engineering. Jessica chose USAFA over TCU, the University of Houston, and the University of Hawaii.”
“My year-round coach with Velocity Swimming, John Pringle, helped me throughout the entire selection process narrowing down my choice of schools and ultimately meeting with many of the coaches with me over the summer. It’s been great to have that level of support from someone that knows me as well as he does both in and out of the water. His guidance helped me fully appreciate the importance of looking beyond the need for a warm, sunny environment when making my college choice.
“I can’t imagine a better environment for me to reach my full potential both academically and as an athlete. It’s kind of funny because when I was initially making a list of important selection criteria going someplace warm was at the top of my list. Colorado Springs in the Winter will be like where I live in Washington now and it’s not warm, in fact there’s snow on the ground most of the time. I wanted to join a program where I could not only make an impact my Freshman year but grow and develop and hit my long-term personal goals. I had a bit of a setback this past year after catching mono two weeks before Spring championship season this past March having trained incredibly hard to try and make an Olympic Trial cut. They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and now fully recovered I am ready to make a statement both this weekend and as I look forward to becoming a Falcon.”
Wierzbicki made her announcement in advance of the Washington State High School 4 A State Championship Meet on November 11-12, 2016 in Federal Way. There she took third in the 100 fly and seventh in the 100 back, still on the road back from her bout with mono. Nonetheless she went 24.93 on the butterfly leg of the medley relay and 24.07 anchoring the 200 free relay. Her best SCY times are:
- 100 fly – 54.42
- 200 fly – 2:01.32
- 100 back – 58.17
- 200 IM – 2:07.59
- 50 free – 24.70
- 100 free – 52.82
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