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Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Weis Follows Family Path to "U"
St. Paul, MN
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By: Bryan Horwath
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Photo(s) By: Tom Carothers
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Heading into her senior season, Cretin-Derham Hall swimmer Lauren Weis had already made a name for herself after winning two individual state titles and being a part of a state championship relay team at the 2007 Class AA state meet.
Weis set a pair of state records in the 200 freestyle (1:49.20) and the 500 freestyle (4:52.85), while also swimming a leg on Cretin’s state championship 400 freestyle team last year.
Although the talented Cretin swimmer is now considered one of the best female prep swimmers in the state, success in the pool is certainly nothing new for the Weis family.
Lauren’s older brothers, Adam and Zach, swim for the University of Minnesota men’s team. Adam is in his final year with the Gophers, while Zach is a sophomore. Both were also standouts at Cretin during their high school days.
This month, Lauren will follow in her brothers’ footsteps and sign a national letter of intent to swim for the Gopher women’s team. Weis said swimming for Minnesota – winners of three consecutive Big Ten championships – has always been a goal of hers.
“I’ve always wanted to go there,” Weis said. “They’re the best in area for Big Ten programs and I knew I didn’t want to go too far from home. I wanted to be a part of a team like that.”
The future Gopher said she has always looked up to her two older brothers. “They’ve always been my top role models,” Lauren said. “They’ve had a ton of success throughout their swimming careers and I’ve always looked up to them and wanted to do whatever they did. They give me really good advice and support.”
Although she is hoping to make more memories during the 2008 state meet on Nov. 20 at the University of Minnesota’s Aquatic Center, Weis counts last year’s state meet as the highlight of her high school career to date.
With only a handful of swimmers qualifying for the meet, Cretin finished in third place among Class AA teams. “We had an amazing state meet as a team,” Weis said. “We only had four girls and we did better than I ever imagined we would going in. It was so much fun.”
Besides the 200 and 500 freestyle races, Weis also swims the 100 freestyle and the 100 butterfly for the Raiders. Weis said she feels more pressure this season because of her success, but that it doesn’t bother her.
“This year I have a lot of expectations to meet,” she said. “The pressure is there, but I kind of like that. It gives me more motivation and I always seem to do better under pressure.”
Weis’ favorite event is the 200 freestyle. “I feel like that event takes more thought than a lot of the others,” she said. “It’s not a sprint, but it’s also not a distance event. I like the events where you have to think more.”
With tough teams like Stillwater, Maple Grove, Eden Prairie and Edina expected to challenge for state titles in Class AA, Cretin won’t be favored at the state meet, but Weis believes the Raiders can still make a splash.
“We’re actually really good this year,” Weis said. “I think we’re looking stronger than last year when we got third at state. It will be interesting to see what we can do.”
During the off-season, Weis – who is a one-sport athlete – competes for the STAR Swim Team in St. Paul. Like so many other people in and out of the world of swimming, Weis said she followed the Olympics closely this past summer.
Could Weis possibly be a part of the U.S. team at the 2012 games?
“I know a good amount of people who were at the (Olympic) trials,” Weis said. “I wasn’t too far off the trial cut last year and I’m hoping to make that a reality in the next four years.”
Looking at her record of achievement so far, it would be foolish to count this St. Paul star out of anything.
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