Gerard Ijspeert made the long 4,000-mile trip from his home in Groningen, the Netherlands to arrive on the campus of Iowa Central and join the Triton swim program.
And from that first day, Ijspeert has continued to make his mark both in the pool and the classroom.
The sophomore is primed for another strong showing at the NJCAA Championships coming up later this year before he heads off to St. Cloud State University to continue his career.
"Coming to Iowa Central helped me a lot," Ijspeert said. "With the many hard trainings we have, it prepared me to keep pushing myself even though I was tired."
In the pool recently, Ijspeert captured the 100 butterfly in 55.14 seconds and was part of the winning 200 freestyle relay alongside teammates Brady Ferguson, Spencer Ehrenhard and Kyle McKenzie. He also had a runner-up performance against Div. I South Dakota State in the 200 freestyle.
Last year at nationals, Ijspeert earned All-America honors in both the 800 free relay and 200 freestyle. The relay placed second with Ijspeert swimming the third leg.
"You should definitely come to Iowa Central," Ijspeert said. "You will drop a bunch of time immediately and your team is also your family."
Ijspeert's time of 1:44.73 in the 200 free at nationals in 2020 was the ninth-fastest swim in school history in the event. He also recorded the seventh-fastest 500 free swim and owns the seventh-quickest 1000 free, along with holding the school-record in the 800 free relay.
There will be a strong contingent of Tritons at St. Cloud State next year, as current teammates Andrew Iverson and Tjeerd Van Stein will join Ijspeert. But first, the group has their sights set on nationals April 28-May 1 in Fort Pierce, Fla.
"I can't wait to finish this season up on a high note in Florida," he said.
-By Dana Becker