Wolverine men get big distance pickup with Wilton Y’s Stephen Holmquist

The Michigan Wolverines reloaded their distance corps this week, picking up a verbal commitment from former YMCA national champion Stephen Holmquist.

Holmquist comes from the YMCA powerhouse Wilton Y in Wilton, Connecticut. He’s a classic distance man who gets better as the distance goes up, and adds some solid 400 IM potential to boot.

Holmquist’s Top Times

• 1650 free: 15:24.09
• 500 free: 4:29.80
• 200 free: 1:42.66
• 400 IM: 3:54.03

On top of those times, Holmquist might have been even more impressive in long course, where he won a YMCA national title in 2013 (the 800 free) and holds a Connecticut state record in the 1500.

“I was impressed with the Distance Program at Michigan that Coach Bottom and Coach White have developed,” Holmquist told SwimSwam in an e-mail. “It is the best in the nation.”

No doubt a big draw for Holmquist was the work Michigan did with NCAA champ and Olympian Connor Jaeger, who graduated last spring as one of the top distance swimmers in NCAA history.

The Wolverines have won 4 straight Big Ten titles and are just one year removed from their NCAA championship season. Holmquist will join the program next fall. In addition to the team accolades, there was another pull for Holmquist to pick Michigan: family history.

“I am excited to follow in my Dad’s footsteps of swimming for the Wolverines,” Holmquist said of his father Peter, who competed for Michigan in the ’80s. “GO BLUE!”