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High school senior Adam Polzien from Waxhaw, North Carolina, has verbally committed to the admission process* at the University of Pennsylvania for 2026-27. He wrote on Instagram:
I am excited and honored to announce my verbal commitment to the admissions process at the University of Pennsylvania to further my academic and swimming career! I am extremely grateful to God, my parents, my teammates and all of my coaches through the years for their unyielding support. Furthermore, I would like to thank Coach Mike, Coach Maddie and Coach Andrew for providing me with this incredible opportunity. Go Quakers!
Polzien swims for Marvin Ridge High School and Mecklenburg Swim Association and specializes mainly in distance freestyle. Over the past year, he’s taken a big leap forward, dropping from 1:45.12 to 1:41.47 in the 200 free and from 4:36.03 to 4:31.86 in the 500 free. He also trimmed a few tenths off his mile, going from 15:48.00 to 15:47.81. All of his current PBs were set at local meets within the past two months; he swam his 500 best at the SwimMAC November LC Invitational and his 200 and 1650 times at last month’s ATOM Winter Invite.
Over his high school career, he has qualified for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) Championships three times, with his final appearance set for next month. As a freshman, he placed 24th in the 500 free (4:52.69), before improving to ninth as a sophomore (4:38.51) and taking 12th as a junior (4:40.70).
Beyond high school, Polzien qualified for Winter Junior Championships in 2024 and Futures the past two summers. At 2024 Winter Juniors, he finished 40th in the 1650 free (15:48.00) and 84th in the 500 free (4:36.03). His best Futures performance came at the 2024 meet, where he placed 12th in the 1500m free (16:25.85).
Top SCY Times:
- 200 Freestyle: 1:41.47
- 500 Freestyle: 4:31.86
- 1650 Freestyle: 15:47.81
Penn, a Division I swimming program competing in the Ivy League, is led by head coach Mike Schnur, who is entering his 18th year at the helm. The men finished seventh out of eight teams at 2025 conference championship.
Polzien is poised to make an immediate impact at the conference level, as his personal best times in the 200 free and 1650 free would have scored last season, placing 22nd and 24th, respectively. His personal best in the 500 free is about six seconds shy of the ‘C’ final cutoff (4:25.44).
On the team’s 2024-25 depth chart, Polzien would have ranked fifth in the 1650 free, seventh in the 500 free, and 10th in the 200 free. With eight months to continue developing before arriving in Philadelphia, and with several swimmers ahead of him set to graduate, he should contribute in dual meets and could factor into the team’s 800 free relay down the line.
Polzien will join the Quakers’ class of 2030 with #4 diver in the class Tristan Yang and swimmers Matt Vatev (“Honorable Mention”), Ethan Chung (“Best of the Rest”), Lewis Zhang, and Velizar Filipov.
*Note: A verbal commitment between an Ivy League coach and a prospective student-athlete is not an offer of admission, as only the Admission Office has that authority. The coach can only commit his or her support in the admission process. Ivy League Admission Offices do not issue “Likely Letters” before October 1 of the prospective student-athlete’s senior year of high school. The Likely Letter, while issued after an initial read of the student’s application, is not an offer of admission to the university.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].
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