Courtesy: Loras Athletics
The Loras College Swimming and Diving teams is proud to announce the addition of 17 new student-athletes for the 2020-21 season. This class includes student-athletes from five different states which include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
“My goal was to bring in student-athletes that matched our values as a college and as a team. These incoming students fit very well with our philosophy and I am very excited to welcome them to the family.”- Head Coach Nick Wyllie.
The following 17 student-athletes will help continue to uphold and build the Duhawk program.
Lucas Williamson from Bloomington, Illinois will join the Duhawks from Central Catholic High School. His best events include the 50 and 100 yard freestyle as well as the 100 butterfly. His 100 freestyle would already place him 3rd fastest in Loras College history. He is currently ranked 78th in the state of Illinois and his best freestyle times would have already placed in the top 3 at the Liberal Arts Conference Championships.
Emilie Klimiuk out of Glenbrook Aquatics hailing from Glenview Illinois, excels in both Individual Medley and middle distance freestyle events. She is currently ranked 392nd in the state of Illinois and will make an immediate impact on the team. Klimiuk will join the Duhawks with times that would already score at the Liberal Arts Conference Championships.
Brad LaGrange brings a depth of events to Loras but excels in freestyle. LaGrange comes from Indianola High School in Winterset, Iowa where he is ranked 47th in the state. His best freestyle times would already score at the Liberal Arts Conference Championships.
Ellianna Stine joins Loras from Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. She swam for Fort Atkinson High School and excels in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley. She will have an immediate impact on the team, especially in butterfly where her current best time would put her in scoring position at the Liberal Arts Conference Championships.
Mel Littlefield comes to Loras from Warsaw, Indiana where he swam for Warsaw Community High School. Mel placed top 6 in both the 50 and 100 yard free at the 2020 IHSAA Boys Sectional. His sprint freestyle best times would already place him in scoring position at the Liberal Arts Conference Championships.
Taylor Hrabak comes to Loras as a transfer student from Iowa State University. Hrabak is originally Marshalltown, IA. She is another well rounded swimmer with a breadth of events in which she will succeed. Although her strong suit is freestyle. Her best times would already place her in scoring position at the Liberal Arts Conference Championships.
Jon Broas from Winona Senior High School out of Winona Minnesota is another swimmer with a wide variety of events. Jon placed top 10 in both the 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley at the MSHSL Boys Sectional Championships. Currently ranked 169th in the state of Minnesota, his butterfly, individual medley, and backstroke best times would place him in scoring position at the Liberal Arts Conference Championship.
Grace Van Petten joins the Duhawk Family from Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Grace swam for Glenbard West high School. She is another freestyler who can do both sprint and middle distance. She will make an immediate impact to our freestyle core.
Payton Markowski out of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin will bring depth and talent to the breaststroke and individual medley events. Coming off a spectacular year, his current best times would already place him in scoring position at the Liberal Arts Conference Championships. He is currently ranked as the 169th recruit in Wisconsin.
Gabrielle Held from Stevens Point, Wisconsin comes to Loras with specialty in mid-distance freestyle. Her best 500 freestyle time would be knocking on the door of scoring at the Liberal Arts Conference Championships. Held has a lot of potential and will be a great addition to the team.
Noah James joins the Duhawk family from nearby Johnston, Iowa. Noah is an up and coming butterfly and individual medley swimmer. He is currently ranked #93 in the state of Iowa. His best times would already place him in scoring position at the Liberal Arts Conference Championships. He will make an immediate impact on the team.
Izaak Miller joins Loras from Newton, Iowa. He swam for Newton High School with his best events in butterfly and sprint freestyle. He will look to not only contribute in butterfly but build his repertoire as he continues to impact and score big points for the Duhawk team.
Kevin Andrzyk comes to Dubuque from Bridgeview, Illinois. He is a very well rounded swimmer with his best events including the 200 individual medley, the 100 butterfly, and the 500 freestyle. His success is only scratching the surface of his potential. His current best time would already place him in scoring position at the Liberal Arts Conference Championships.
Brian Day joins the Duhawks from local Dubuque Senior High School. Brian excels in both breaststroke and distance freestyle events. He is currently ranked #101 in the state of Iowa. His best times would already place him in scoring position at the Liberal Arts Conference Championships.
Bobby Solis arrives at Loras from nearby Bettendorf, Iowa. Solis excels in middle distance and distance freestyle events. With recent time drops his times are knocking on the door of scoring at the Liberal Arts Conference Championships. He will make a great addition to the team.
Jacob Wright from Flossmoor, Illinois will look to make an impact in the butterfly and sprint freestyle events. Coming from a multiple sport background, Jacob’s improvement in the pool has lead him to a path to become a Duhawk. He will make a great addition to the Loras team.
Cody Watts comes to Loras from Marion, Iowa where he competed for Linn Mar Community High School. He is primarily a breaststroke and individual medley swimmer. After taking a few years off of swimming, Watts is looking to gear back up and he is ready to compete at the college level.
