Sophomore swimmers Jason McGrath and Stephanie Colson have been making waves on the Penn swim team since their arrival at the Sheerr Pool in the fall of 2003. Both hailing from Massachusetts, they decided to spend their next four years at Penn while on their recruiting trips.
"I came to visit Penn for the first time and loved it. Then, I came on my recruiting trip and really liked the team. I liked that the men's and women's teams do so much together. They all seemed to be good friends. It made my decision," said McGrath. Colson also mentioned the role of the team dynamic as her decision to join the Quakers. "I liked that Penn was in the city. It's such a great resource. But more importantly, I really liked the team. They all got along so well."
And it is this team that keeps both going, despite 6 a.m. practices on cold mornings, long travel weekends, and countless other sacrifices that few students at Penn can understand. "The excitement and enthusiasm, the cheering, of everyone on the team is amazing. The feeling of winning. These things we share. It's what keeps me swimming," Stephanie smiles. Jason's opinion was of the same vein; "I really like being a part of the team. I love feeling like I am contributing to it. It definitely makes swimming worth doing."
Jason took up the sport when he tagged along with a friend to practice at the YMCA in 5th grade, and he's been doing it ever since. He even inspired his younger brother, currently a high school junior, to follow in his collegiate-swimming footsteps; he had several options which he is currently considering, but he will definitely be diving into university pools in two short years. Jason is a distance man, swimming in the 500, 1000, and 1650 freestyle events. The last event, the freestyle "mile," is a recent addition to McGrath's repertoire; it is replacing the 200 fly that he swam last season. All Jason's best times came at the end of last season at the Eastern Conference Championships. He recorded a 4:34.08 in the 500-Free, 9:28.09 in the 1000-Free, and a 1:51.36 in the 200-Fly, making for the best meet of his swimming career.
Stephanie began swimming for fun when she lived in Colorado and was 8 years old, but she began taking it more seriously at the age of eleven. Her parents both competed in collegiate crew, and her mother was also a synchronized swimmer. Her younger sister (12) though went the other way, deciding to stick with the land-sports basketball and cross-country, perhaps because "she was dragged to too many of my swim meets," suggested Stephanie. Colsom is a sprinter and currently competes in the 50 & 100 yard freestyle and backstroke events. Her collegiate bests include a 26.55 50-Back and 57.09 100-Back (a Penn record), both set at the Ivy (conference) Championships in the Spring of 2004 (hosted by Harvard), and a 23.55 50-Free (a Penn record) and 52.11 100-Free, both set at "one of the best meets of [her] life," the Columbia-Harvard-Penn tri-meet in New York City during the fall of her freshmen year. Stephanie credits her success at these highlight meets to the "shave, taper, rest" routine that preceded both. Two weeks out from competition, they cut back on yardage, focusing on quality work rather than quantity. Then one week out from "tapered" competition, they do even less swimming, allowing their bodies to recover and build muscle, allowing them to come back rested, strong, and faster. "The effects on people's times vary, but it is huge for me." And she is yet to swim a shaved and tapered match this season...
Though only sophomores with much time ahead for changes of heart and further planning, both Jason and Stephanie are currently toying with the idea of pursuing yet another degree after graduation, namely the MBA; their financial systems engineering and economics majors (respectively) would be a perfect fit for the business world.
Stephanie and Jason have already proven themselves to be big fish in the Penn pond.
But, with the majority of both swimmers' career bests coming at the end of last year, this season is an exciting time, one that will surely show us just what these stellar sophomores can and WILL continue to do.
Written by Maren McCauley, C'06
