Benilde-St. Margaret’s own Liam Noble was recently nominated for the Swimmer of the Year by the MN Swimming and Diving Coaches Association for his outstanding performance throughout his high school career. 

The Swimmer of the Year nomination is given out to swimmers who had incredible performances not only that year but throughout the entirety of their high school career. The award is based on how many times a swimmer goes to state, how well they place there, and other notable awards. The Minnesota State High School Coaches Association then chooses the best swimmers that fit that description and they vote on them to determine the winner.  “I’m just super proud of myself and I just feel grateful that the Coaches Association saw something in me and nominated me,” Noble said.

This season was especially tough for all swimmers due to the elongated season, but Noble managed to push through and outperform the competition nonetheless. “Usually the season would end in March, the third or second or so … but this season went into mid-March so that was definitely one of the challenges… staying motivated and keeping yourself in shape and staying in the pool and just keeping going,” Noble said.

His teammates also see his dedication to the sport and are very proud of him. They believe he is very deserving of this nomination. “He was definitely always the hardest worker in the pool … our coach had him stay after practice for like a half-hour and do a hard set just so he could get in even better shape, so he was definitely putting the most work in in the pool,” teammate Casey Prindiville said. 

Noble has great respect for his coaches and the amount of time they put into coaching and helping the team improve. “Every single practice giving me pointers, just being behind me in all of my events and keeping me on track. I think it was really cool how all of the coaches were super dedicated to the team,” Noble said. 

Liam plans on continuing his swimming career into college and is very excited for this next chapter of his career. “I’m going to St. Johns for swimming, I’m pretty excited to swim for coach Gill,” Noble said.