In an interview with The Malibu Times back in February of 2012, Malibu High School senior swimming phenom Jordan Wilimovsky outlined his goals in the pool for when he joined Northwestern University’s swim team later that fall.
“I am real excited to swim in college,” Wilimovsky said. “I would love to make the NCAAs at some point.”
It didn’t take long for Wilimovsky to achieve his goal.
Wilimovsky became the first swimmer in the university’s history to swim a sub-15:00 time when he touched in 14:58.80 in the 1,650-meter freestyle this past Saturday at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. Wilimovsky, 18, broke his own school record, which he set at the Big Ten Championships a couple weeks earlier.
“I was really happy. It was my goal to set the school record,” Wilimovsky said. “I was really excited when I found out.”
Seeded 29th in a field of 36 of the country’s best collegiate mile swimmers, Wilimovsky finished 24th as he shaved five seconds off his previous school record of 15:03.07. The Northwestern 1,650 freestyle record had not been broken since 2004. In a span of 16 days, he broke the record twice.
Quite an achievement for any athlete, let alone a freshman. Only four other freshmen finished ahead of Wilimovsky in a race that requires 66 laps of swimming.
“It was kind of intimidating being around all the great swimmers,” said Wilimovsky, who also qualified in the 500 freestyle and swam a time of 4:25.56. “Next year I want to score points and not just compete. Competing at the NCAA’s was an incredible experience. It was awesome to be there.”
Olympian Connor Jaeger, who swims for the University of Michigan, won the NCAA championship in the 1,650 freestyle, weeks after winning the same event at the Big Ten championship.
Wilimovsky, a 2012 graduate of MHS, qualified for the NCAA Championships after a sparkling effort at the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Ind. He captured eighth place among 32 swimmers to advance to the highest level of competition at the collegiate level.
Wilimovsky’s coach was impressed by his performance in just his first year of collegiate competition.
“I think he’s done an amazing job, especially since he’s only a freshman,” Northwestern coach Jarod Schroeder said. “He’s been our best long distance guy. He relishes hard work and he has a tremendous attitude.”
Wilimovsky’s conquest of the school’s 9-year-old 1,650 record became complete in early March at the Big Ten Championships. Competing in the final heat of the mile, Wilimovsky’s time of 15:03.07 obliterated the record of 15:08.78 set by Brian Davis in 2004.
Other firsts included Wilimovsky becoming the first freshman at Northwestern to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 2008 and the first in an individual event since 2006.
Add it all up, and Schroeder feels very fortunate to have Wilimovsky as part of his team for another three years.
“We were very blessed to get him. For a freshman coming in, he has exceeded all our expectations,” Schroder said. “A lot of credit goes to Dave Kelsheimer (coach of swim club Team Santa Monica) for preparing Jordan for the collegiate level. He has a huge upside. Starting this week, it’s back to the drawing board to prepare him for open water nationals.”
During the offseason, Wilimovsky trains with Kelsheimer and Team Santa Monica. Kelsheimer reached out to Schroeder last year in an effort to get Wilimovsky a scholarship at the Division one level. Northwestern offered and Wilimovsky accepted. He hasn’t looked back.
“It’s been awesome. I love the school and the swim program,” Wilimovsky said. “I’ve been training hard and been happy with all my times.”
Now his sights are set on the 2013 USA Swimming Open Water National Championships that will be held in May at Castaic Lake in nearby Santa Clarita.
“It will be nice to come back home to compete,” Wilimovsky said.