On Feb. 27 and 28, the Normal West swim team competed in the Swim & Dive State Championships at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, Illinois.
Unlike other IHSA sports, IHSA swimming & diving has just one class, which means all of the state’s fastest swimmers compete over the two-day meet.
The Normal West’s med. relay made up of junior Cooper Franz, junior Pierson Odland, senior Josh Sunkel and senior Jaxon Tomera was the lone relay to take their shot at the state meet.
Junior Cooper Franz competed in the 100 free and 100 back, placing 10th in the 100 back.
Junior Pierson Odland competed in the 500 Free and the 100 breaststroke.
But it was freshman Ethan Rocke, who competed in the 200 Free, 100 Free, 50 Free and 100 breaststroke that make this meet one for Normal West’s record books.
Along with setting various school records, Rocke was good enough to win 4 different events and be the first AWD (Athletes with Disabilities) state champion in Normal West history.
Rocke is also the first athlete to win a swim event at state for Normal West since 2017.
For Rocke to win state, he had to have immense dedication to his training and practice.
“I started swimming when I was younger. I was always interested, but never swam competitively,” Rocke commented.
Rocke had a different path than everyone else when it came to his journey to being a state champ.
In fact, he uses a wheelchair each and every day, but that doesn’t affect his practice and training.
When asked about Rocke’s training, head coach Dawn Fudge had great things to say.
“His training is not any different at all- there is a variety of talent across the entire team. We have boys that have just started swimming and others who have been swimming competitively since they were 5 years old,” Fudge noted.
In general, swim practices are geared to what a specific swimmer needs to do to improve in technique and speed.
Because of this, Rocke is able to practice the same time frame as his teammates, and he uses the swim equipment just like his peers.
However, one thing that sets Rocke apart from other swimmers is his persistent dedication and work ethic that led him to make continual improvements.
When asked what his biggest challenge was this year, Rocke said, “During the beginning of this season, I wasn’t able to do flip turns, but I started practicing and made it happen.”
Although swimming tends to feel much more like an individual sport, there is still a team-aspect that Rocke noted as an important impact on his success.
In fact, Rocke’s teammate, senior Josh Sunkel, is the name that Rocke listed as one of his biggest impacts this swim season.
“He’s always nice to me and is a really good friend,” Rocke noted.
And as Rocke was able to raise up 4 state medals, he admits that his favorite part of the weekend was probably the time he spent with his Sunkel and his other teammates.
“My favorite moment was probably celebrating, and hanging out in the bus. It was a great time,” Rocke added.
Head coach Dawn Fudge also made major impacts to Rocke’s swim career and was thrilled to see him have so much success on a big stage.
“It was FUN and fantastic! Loved seeing a smile on his face the entire weekend and also having him drop time in all his 4 events was exciting!” Fudge added.
Any athlete making it the IHSA State swim meet is a huge accomplishment, and winning state in 4 events is a wild accomplishment for any level of high schooler.
Accomplishing all of that as a freshman leaves little left for Rocke to accomplish in the swim world, so his goals are still unknown.
“I don’t really have any goals yet. I guess I’ll figure it out in the future,” Rocke commented.
For now, Rocke will plan to train over the offseason and look to improve his times in preparation for his sophomore season.
One thing is for certain, though, Rocke’s performance is a feat that will indefinitely get his names plastered on Normal West record-books for life.
