As a triathlete in his home country of France, it was only natural that Merrillville senior foreign exchange student Mael Guillermin would follow his fall cross country season with a winter in the pool.
“We always talk and share information with other coaches when we have athletes that might have potential,” Merrillville coach Ladd Downham said. “I had been communicating with our cross country coach and heard that he had a foreign exchange student with triathlon experience. I’m always looking for more athletes, so I had interest.”
Guillermin is accustomed to open water swimming and longer distances, but the transition to the pool has been smooth for the Pirates’ senior. He swims the 50-yard freestyle (25.42 seconds), the 200-yard individual medley (2:19.65) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.54).
His teammates and Downham have helped ease the adjustment to the United States.
“One time in practice, (Downham) said, ‘If you have a lane, you have a chance,'” Guillermin said. “I think of that quote before every meet.”
Guillermin’s arrival came at the perfect time for the Pirates, who lost their top individual medley and breaststroke swimmer last season.
After this year, Guillermin will graduate from high school with plans of remaining in the United States to study law. He hopes to pursue a degree and possibly swim at Valparaiso University beginning next fall. First, he will return to France in June to redo his visa.
“It’s an unforgettable experience; I like it here,” Guillermin said. “The culture is different; everything is different. Everybody is nice at Merrillville.”
Although swimming terminology occasionally causes some confusion for Guillermin, the language barrier has been minimal, allowing him to communicate well with his Merrillville teammates.
Foreign exchange students are nothing new to Merrillville swimming, as the Pirates have had one almost every year since Downham took over the program. Students from Spain, Brazil, Mexico and Hungary have swam for the Pirates in recent years.
“Every once in a while, we’ve had one where the language barrier is more different and they didn’t pick up the language quite as well,” Downham said. “When Mael came in, he was very knowledgeable and speaks English very well. He has a wonderful accent that all of the kids love to hear.”
Starting young: First-year Griffith coach Theresa McLoughlin launched a middle school team last spring in order to lay a foundation for a successful program.
The middle school swimmers competed against teams from Hammond and East Chicago. In addition, the Panthers have six middle school students who practice with the high school team during the season. According to McLoughlin, IHSAA rules state that middle school swimmers can swim with high school swimmers as long as they do not compete at the same time.
“They got in early with the kids that we have this year,” McLoughlin said. “They learned the strokes and how to do our workouts. That will make it easier for them to compete during middle school season, and also give them an interest in swimming in high school.”
Deepened talent pool: This season’s dual meet with Highland showed the progress made by the Hobart girls team this season.
The Brickies prevailed 134-40 to capture their first win against the Trojans in Jon Foddrill’s four-year coaching tenure. Two years ago, Highland won by 53 points.
“Our depth is off the charts,” Foddrill said. “The reason our girls are so good right now is that the second and third swimmer in each event are starting to catch up to the top swimmer. We’re not getting first, fifth and sixth, we’re getting first, third and fourth.”
Brandon Vickrey is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
TOP 5 GIRLS TEAMS
1. Chesterton
2. Crown Point
3. Munster
4. Lake Central
5. Valparaiso
Swimmer of the week: Kankakee Valley’s Allison Schultheis won the 100-yard freestyle (59.17) and 100 backstroke (1:07.93) in the Kougars’ 115-71 victory over Merrillville on Monday. Schultheis also was on the victorious 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.
TOP 5 BOYS TEAMS
1. Chesterton
2. Munster
3. Lake Central
4. Valparaiso
5. Crown Point
Swimmer of the week: LaPorte’s Justin Dusza cruised victory in the 200-yard individual medley in Tuesday’s 124-60 win over Mishawaka Marian. His time of 2:07:4 won the event by 27 seconds. Dusza also won the 100 back in 57.65.
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