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Will Downend of Brown Deer, Wisconsin, has announced his commitment to swim and study at St. Olaf College, beginning in the 2026-27 season. He trains year-round with the Schroeder YMCA and is set to graduate from First Colonial High School in the spring.
Downend, a distance freestyle specialist, credits his coaches Chandler Lewis and Emilio Perez, along with his former coach and longtime mentor Ricky Perez, for helping him reach this point in his swimming journey.
He confirmed his commitment in an email to SwimSwam and provided the following quote:
I’m thrilled to announce my verbal commitment to continue both my academic and athletic careers at St. Olaf College! First and foremost I would like to thank my parents and teammates who have supported and pushed me every step of the way. I’d also like to recognize all of my amazing coaches I’ve had through the years, especially Coach Chandler, Coach Emilio, and Coach Ricky— I couldn’t have done it without your guidance. Finally, I’d like to thank Coach Bob and the rest of the coaching staff at St. Olaf for this amazing opportunity! Excited for the next 4. Go Oles!
Downend consistently dropped time in almost every meet last season. At the Schroeder YMCA Invite in November, he swam 1:54.14 and 5:12.73 in the 200 and 500 free, both times undercutting his previous bests. At the SSTY Western Great Lakes Open a week later, he dropped his 500 time to 5:11.76.
In February, he broke 18 minutes in the 1650 for the first time, notching 17:59.70 for fourth at the Regional Championships in Mequon. He went on to clip his 500 PB with a time of 5:11.75 at the Wisconsin LSC Senior Championships, where he secured 37th overall.
He wrapped up his short course season at the Wisconsin YMCA State Championships, held in mid-March, which is where his current personal bests come from. His best finish came in the mile, where he produced 17:56.95 for seventh, while he touched 10th in the 500 free (5:09.48) and 12th in the 200 free (1:53.11).
Top SCY Times:
- 200 Freestyle: 1:53.11
- 500 Freestyle: 5:09.48
- 1650 Freestyle: 17:56.95
St. Olaf is led by head coach Bob Hauck, who is heading into his 37th year at the helm of the program. The team competes in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), where the men finished fifth out of six teams at this year’s meet.
At last season’s conference meet, where the ‘A’ and ‘B’ finals were scored, Downend’s best times would have placed him 9th in the 1650 free, 17th in the 200 free, and 19th in the 500 free. It took times of 1:52.72 and 5:05.14 to make the top 16 and score in the two shorter events, while his current 1650 PB would have earned the Lions nine points.
On the team’s 2024-25 depth chart, Downend would have ranked third in both the 500 and 1650 free, in addition to sixth in the 200 free. Freshman Travis Eling led the way in all three events with times of 1:45.85, 4:48.16, and 16:59.27.
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