by Mark Seguin
Concordia University St. Paul (CSP) has a unique distinction among the other college swim and dive programs in the state of Minnesota. They are the newest! This Division II program completed its third season in 2023 and according to Head Coach Rachel Busch, there is a bright future ahead for the Golden Bears. Busch will be starting her third season at the helm and took some time to provide Minnesota Swim and Vibe an inside look at the program.
When a program is starting out, it can provide some rarely seen highlights. For example, they have doubled their roster size each of the first three years and will be fielding a team of sixteen swimmers and two divers this season.
“Witnessing the women’s excitement for roster growth has been fun, as they are excited to welcome in new members to the team. The returners have bought into a positive team culture that makes it inviting for others to join.” said Coach Busch.
Another highlight is a constantly changing record board. Most of the school records were broken in the 2022-2023 season and it is anticipated that many more will be broken this year. Coach Busch is certainly enjoying the energy that these changes bring. “It has been extremely rewarding to coach a team in its infancy and be part of the development of individuals as well as the positive team culture.”
The young Golden Bears also have another rarely seen situation. They have zero student-athletes graduating from last year’s squad. Zero. Joining the core of returnees will be:
Four Minnesota natives:
- Caitlyn Greenwalt (Cottage Grove, MN; Park High School) (Diver; transfer from WI-Green Bay)
- Sophie Leo (Blaine, MN; Blaine High School)
- Grace Wiebe (Lake Elmo, MN; Mahtomedi High School)
- Zoe Hiers (Buffalo, MN; Buffalo High School)
Five from other states:
- Sierra Sherry (Boone, IA)
- Deanna Ringler (Omaha, NE)
- Rebecca Hildebrand (Aurora, CO)
- Savanna Honan (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
- Geneva Handziak (Belgium, WI) (Diver)
And two internationals:
- Marianna Perna (Rome, Italy)
- Tina Liu (Beijing, China; but has lived in Roseville, MN for past 5 years; Concordia Academy) Transfer from Hamline University
It doesn’t matter where they are from, they are instantly welcome into the family at Concordia St. Paul. They consistently look for student-athletes that are looking for overall experience and not just excelling in the sport.
Coach Busch put it wonderfully by saying “We are seeking women that have a desire to engage in a transformational experience. We are all about growth of the whole person: academic growth, athletic growth, spiritual growth, personal growth, and relational growth. We are looking for growth-minded women that want to benefit from our culture, as well as contribute towards the growth of their teammates. Women that like to be in a culture of hard work, accountability, encouragement, and fun will thrive as a Golden Bear. “
Minnesota Swim and Vibe is always interested in what makes a program unique and the culture is typically the first aspect a coach will mention. At Concordia St. Paul, Coach Busch describes the culture as “We work hard, take accountability for our actions, encourage one another, forgive one another, and have a lot of fun! Our team values, as developed by the team are: family, respect, hard work, gratitude and encouragement.”
There are plenty of other aspects that make the Golden Bears unique. Here are a few highlights Coach Busch shared with us.
- I am a big believer in if you’re going to work hard, you might as well have fun doing it! So, when it’s a holiday or special event on campus, like Homecoming, there are guaranteed to be themed practices in the pool and at dryland.
- This coming year we are excited to introduce racing at the end of each practice, whether it be a made up or typical swimming event.
- Another unique piece is that we listen to a podcast each morning called “Mental Performance Daily” during dynamic warm-up, to help us gain skills to be resilient and grounded on our purpose for practicing.
- Our pool is the newest collegiate pool in Minnesota, opened in October 2020. It is eight lanes and is about 40-yards long with a bulkhead, allowing for simultaneous dive and swim practices. We have two 1 meter boards as well as a three meter board.
- We are implementing Tritonwear technology to capture metrics like stroke rate and force applied to the wall for all swimmers.
There is plenty for the ladies at Concordia St. Paul to be excited about going into this season and you can sense it when talking to Coach Busch about her squad.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for student-athletes (and coaches!) to contribute to the foundation of a new program. Team records are continually breaking, and we are becoming a stronger and stronger presence in the NSIC. We are the only NCAA Division II program in the Twin Cities and CSP is the most affordable private school in Minnesota, also offering very competitive academic scholarships. To be part of an environment where growth is expected and encouraged is really fun and rewarding – I have the best job in the world.”