Todd Conklin P-J file photo by Scott Kindberg

Jamestown Community College swimming and diving has established itself as one of the premier junior college programs in the country. Last year, the women won the non-scholarship national championship, with Todd Conklin being named the coach of the year and Madison Kramer earning swimmer of the year. Meanwhile, the men finished third in the nation, just eight points out of second place.

The dream of hoisting both national titles in 2024-25 is a key motivator for this year’s squad.

“It’s a mixture of pressure and motivation. I feel like the pressure is on,” freshman Desiree Putt said. “There is a lot of pressure there. It motivates me to strive and become better and achieve the same goals they had.”

“That opportunity is out there,” sophomore Kyle Dean said. “It is a goal we have on the men’s side to win a national championship. I think we have a solid team this year. If we keep those goals in mind, we will do really well.”

Whether it’s the men or the women, they understand that just showing up in green and gold isn’t going to get the job done.

“We have to show up and do our best every day,” Dean said. “We can’t just show up; we have to give one hundred percent. If I have fifty percent in the tank and give that 50 percent, that is one hundred percent for that day. Just give our best every single day. We have to do the little things right, and the rest will follow.

“I want to beat my backstroke time; as a team,” Putt said. “We are helping each other improve and become better. I am having a lot of fun. I spend a lot of extra time swimming in the mornings, but I just love swimming.”

Jamestown returns some highly decorated individuals in 2024-25. Anna Jones of Southwestern is a seven-time All-American, including taking on the challenge of the 1,650-yard freestyle. Fellow Southwestern Trojan Ella Fosberg snagged five All-American nods, swimming in the grueling 1,650. Another Southwestern product, Ashlynn Swan, is a two-time All-American for her services in the diving well, where she took fourth in both the one-meter and three-meter dives.

On the men’s side, Randall Hall is the lone returner, but Dean was around the program for the second semester last season.

The love for swimming for the entire Jayhawks’ team will be on display for the first time on Wednesday when they visit Erie CC for a conference meet.

Jamestown CC hosts its first event the following Wednesday at 6 p.m.