Fabulous freshman year promises bright future for Augustana’s Bryn Greenwaldt

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Hanging out with friends led Bryn Greenwaldt to the pool.

“I was sitting at a lunch table with my closest friends and they were both in swimming and I felt left out of their conversations. So instead of asking them to explain I just joined with them!” Greenwaldt says.

Even when she wasn’t supposed to at Foley High School in Minnesota.

“The same friend that got me to join, we were neighbors. And so she got invited to be on the varsity team. I didn’t but I was like well, since she’s my ride to swim practice, I’m just going to go with her. And I kind of snuck in without my coach knowing. I had done a lot of weight lifting, crossfit, I worked out constantly, so when I came into my freshman year my coach was like ‘alright, I think we’re going to see where we can take this!” Bryn says.

That improvement and athleticism caught the eye of former Augustana coach Lindsie Micko.

“She swims yes. She’s a high jumper. She just has some athleticism that a lot of kids don’t have.” Micko says.

Yet none of them could have expected the kind of freshman year she’d have at Augustana. Named NSIC Swimmer of the Year her top event was the 50 freestyle in which she swam the second fastest time in the nation at 22.50.

That qualified her for the national meet where she’d take home second place in the event and earn two first team All-American honors.

“I’ve never even come close to getting these kinds of times in-season. Every single event that I’ve been in I’ve dropped time significantly. I’ll tell my friends ‘oh yeah this is really cool, I have this time that’s second in the nation for Division Two!’ And they’re like, what? Yeah I don’t know how to process that. I don’t think I ever will.” Greenwaldt says.

With three more years to go the idea of Bryn becoming Augustana’s first national champion isn’t as hard to believe.

“Her ceiling is really, really high between the athleticism and having shorter seasons throughout high school. I just feel like she can do just about anything.” Micko says

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