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Dylan Walsh of Lake Bluff, Illinois has announced his commitment to continue his education and swimming career at Southern Illinois University. Walsh graduated from Lake Forest High School last spring, and is currently taking a gap year to focus on swimming and coaching.
Walsh is an ASCA Level 3 coach who serves on the coaches committee for Illinois Swimming. He is an assistant coach at Coho Swim Club, where he also trains, and is a volunteer coach for the Libertyville Stars Swim Club. This summer, Walsh plans to be an assistant coach for athletes at Special Olympics Illinois.
“I love the team atmosphere, team, coaches and the Exercise Science program at SIU. It feels like a great fit for me.”
Walsh swims a wide range of events including IM, fly, and distance free, but his best area is currently backstroke. He recently competed at the ISCA Senior Cup, where he recorded his top finish in the 100m backstroke at 21st (1:01.31). Another one of his highlights was the 200 IM, where he hit a personal best time of 1:58.66 to finish 29th out of prelims.
Prior to the ISCA Senior Cup, Walsh recorded a number of long course personal best times at Speedo Sectionals. He dropped over a second in his 100m backstroke lead-off leg for the medley relay (1:00.24), and improved his 200m back by well over two seconds en route to a 19th place finish (2:11.71). He also dropped in the 200m IM (2:16.68) and 50m back (29.13).
Over the course of the past short course season, Walsh has managed to lower both his 100 and 200 back by a total of two seconds, while his 200 IM has come down by nearly three seconds.
Top SCY Times
- 100 back – 52.32
- 200 back – 1:53.18
- 100 fly – 54.59
- 200 IM – 1:58.66
Under the direction of head coach Geoff Hanson, the Salukis finished 3rd as a team at the 2024 Men’s Mid-American (MAC) Championships. Walsh would have been closest to scoring range in the 200 back, where it took a 1:52.20 in prelims to make it back to the B-final.
Jered Moore was SIU’s top backstroker this past season with times of 46.73 and 1:42.56. His swims earned him the 200 backstroke title at the MAC Championships, while his 100 was done during the lead-off leg of SIU’s winning 400 medley relay. Moore is a 5th year and will not be on campus this fall when Walsh arrives.
Walsh joins Willem Huggins and Ryan Emmens in Southern Illinois’ incoming class this fall. Both Huggins and Emmens are Illinois natives as well.
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