Pelkas ready to make more waves at Carthage

Michelle Pelka

Former Elgin Academy swimmers Bryan and Michelle Pelka have taken their pool prowess to the next level.

The brother and sister duo are both swimmers at Division III Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisc.

Bryan Pelka is a junior freestyle and butterfly specialist, while Michelle Pelka is about to embark on the start of her freshman season. Both Carthage teams kick off the 2007-2008 season this weekend.

Bryan Pelka is fresh off a sophomore campaign where he finished 12th in the 1,650 freestyle at the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming Championship, setting a CCIW open and Carthage school record with a time of 15:49.21. He earned College Swimming Coaches Association of America All-American honorable mention accolades.

He also set a CCIW open and Carthage record in the 1,000 freestyle (9:35.69) at nationals.

"I'm really looking forward tot his season," said Pelka. "I got 12th in the mile last year and am hoping to do better than that this year. I'd like to break into the Top 8 and get All-American."

Pelka said his biggest progress has come with turns.

"When I came in here, my turns were mostly awful," said Pelka. "Now they are passable. They are a lot better than they have been. I've dropped 50 seconds on my mile time over the last 2 years. There are like 65 turns in the mile. You drop a half-second each turn and that's 33 seconds right there."

Despite the grueling nature of the mile swim, Pelka thoroughly enjoys competing in it.

"It's all about endurance," said Pelka, who clocked a 4:48 in the 500 during a recent Carthage intersquad meet. "You have to be able to hold your pace and be able to challenge yourself and go out and don't hold back and put yourself beyond what you think you can do. It's a different dynamic."

Pelka is a biology major with a minor in chemistry. This past spring he was named to the 2007 all-Academic CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine District 5 second team. He has a 3.95 grade-point average.

"My intent is to go for medicine," said Pelka of his career plans. "I'm getting ready right now for the MCATs (Medical College Admission Test) this April. That's the test you take to help you get in medical school."

His sister comes to Carthage on the heels of recovering from shoulder surgery that sidelined her for the 2006-2007 high school and club seasons.

"I've been out for a year," said Michelle Pelka. "But it's been going really well. I'm training at a level that I thought I would be at around this time."

Pelka said her shoulder injury was the result of normal wear and tear.

"I was swimming four hours a day since I was 13," said Pelka. "The tendons in my shoulder were twice as long as they were supposed to be. I would dislocate my shoulder every time I would swim. They went in there and tightened things up and fixed it. The rehab was long. I was doing physical therapy 3 times a week for 6 months and the whole time I really wanted to get back into the pool. But I had a really good team around me with doctors, my coaches and my parents. Everything has turned out alright."

Pelka received a big confidence boost at a recent intersquad meet where she took first 3 times.

"I did really well, but I'm not quite back down to the times I had before my surgery," said Pelka, a former club swimming standout with the Elgin Pelicans. "But I'm getting close and that's encouraging to see. It gives you something to look forward and gives you that, 'Yeah. I can do this,' feeling. I was kind of nervous because I took a year off. Now you come back and see what you can do. I'm more excited now than nervous. The team here is awesome. They've helped out a lot with that. It's awesome to be part of a team like this."

Pelka is also on a pre-med track. She plans on doing a double major in biology and psychology with a minor in chemistry. Both Pelka offspring are the recipients of the Carthage Lincoln Scholarship -- the highest academic scholarship offered at the school.

"I want to be a pediatrician," said Pelka. "Things like biology and psychology will help me out with that. I find that stuff really interesting."

Both Pelkas were part of Carthage's captain's biathlon that took place in September. Michelle was the first female to finish the annual event that features Carthage swimmers swimming in Lake Michigan and in the school pool. There is also a running element involved. This year, due to the cool weather that morning, the race featured a 4-mile run, a 1-mile swim and another 1-mile run.

"It's an awesome way to start out the year," said Michelle Pelka. "It's a good team building thing. We all have to go through it. It was 34 degrees that morning so Lake Michigan wasn't possible. It was neat to be able to do it with my brother. And I was able to beat my brother, but just by a little bit."

Elgin alum earns plaudits: Elgin High School graduate Parker Swanson is now a senior for the Manchester College (North Manchester, Ind.) men's soccer team. Swanson was recently named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer player of the week. During the award period, Swanson scored a goal in each of Manchester's two league wins. He tallied a goal in the team's 4-0 win over Bluffton and then scored the game-winner in overtime to give Manchester a 2-1 victory over Hanover. To start the week, Swanson had 6 goals and 4 assists for 16 points. He has helped Manchester to an 11-4-1 overall mark and a 4-1-1 mark in league action.

Green cards stellar round: Cary-Grove graduate Chris Green is now a junior on the Illinois Wesleyan men's golf team. Green recently shot a 2-over par, 36-hole total of 144 to help lead the Illinois Wesleyan squad to a 14-stroke victory at the Manchester Invitational in Wabash, Ind. Green placed second overall in the one-day tournament. Illinois Wesleyan was recently ranked sixth in the nation among NCAA Division III teams by Golfstat (www.golfstat.com).

Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at difibulator@aol.com.