In a season plagued by injuries, Isaac Weigel ‘21 has managed to remain healthy. Weigel has won almost every individual event he has been put into, constantly working to reach the goals he has set for the future.

“He has been just a workhorse for us,” Coach Jordan Huff said. “We can’t really ask for a better competitor than what he has brought to the table and whether he likes it or not, he has become a bit of a leader on the team.”

Weigel currently has a place in the top five in Iowa in the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle. With times of 1:45.75 for the 200 and a 4:47.84 for the 500, he dominates the distances at meets

“What motivates me is the feeling of achieving your goals. It is amazing to have a goal and by the end of the season you can get that and feel content,” Weigel said. “Then you can focus on a new goal.”

His current goals include placing top three in the 500y freestyle and top five in the 200y freestyle at state as well as breaking the school record for both the 200y and the 500y freestyle. These records stand at 1:42.57 for the 200 and a 4:35.42 for the 500.

“He has really taken this year and really ran with it, or a guess swam with it would be the better way to put it,” Huff said. “I have no complaints about the amount of work that he puts in.”

Weigel swam the second fastest time in sophomore conference meet history at MVC and also won sophomore conference championships for the 200y and 100y freestyle at that meet. Additionally, he was the Scheels Athlete of the Week from 21-25 of January for his efforts at the varsity conference meet.

“He has a lot of confidence in himself now, not to a point where it is arrogant or cocky but he has more confidence in his abilities and that has really translated into the pool,” Huff said. “I am not one to really harp on times, what one person’s doing compared to the previous year, but he is significantly faster at this point than he was last year.”

Weigel is grateful for the support of his coaches, and even looks up to them as his role models.

“I don’t have famous role models. I don’t know many swimmers names besides Michael Phelps, Ryan Locke, Adam Petty, Caleb Dressel,” Weigel said. “I don’t know if they are achievable for me. So I would like to think I can go for those high, high heights but I think my coaches are very apparent in my everyday life so it’s easy to keep them there and reaching for where they’ve been.”

Weigel has been swimming competitively since he was five-years-old. However, his favorite thing about it might be unexpected to some people.

“A part [of swimming] I greatly cherish is the silence,” Weigel said. “When you’re swimming you don’t have to listen to other people talk. If someone is trying to talk to you, you can say, ‘Oh I’ve got to do this real quick.’ That’s pretty nice.”

In an average week, the boys have two meets, which provide a change of pace from their regular practises.

“[The meets are] very frenzied, everybody is excited or they have a nervous feeling about how they’re going to swim,” Weigel says.

The City High Boy’s Swim Team practices around 20 hours a week. This can make finishing homework a struggle. Weigel typically only gets six hours of sleep a night and knows this is not enough.

“I try not to think about that,” Weigel said. “It doesn’t help if you’re constantly worried about every single thing. It doesn’t help with your swimming and it doesn’t help with your school. So I just try to think about where I’m going.”

Even when struggling with sleep deprivation, Weigel explains how the team always supports him. In his opinion, high school swimming has an important team aspect to it.

“The whole team is helping each other if you need help, just ask,” Weigel says. “The coaches are amazing, the best in Iowa. If you have any concerns you can just talk to them, they will help you out. They know what they’re doing, they’ve been doing it for years.”