Swimming is not one of the sports sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association. But that hasn't stopped two Sioux Falls students from dedicating their time and futures to the sport.

For O'Gorman senior Zach Johnson, the thrill of competitive swimming is like no other

"When you're on a team, you can give 110 percent and your team can still fall apart in a game and end up losing. When you're swimming, you have control of your race," explained Johnson. "You're not dependent on other people for your success, it's all on your shoulders."

Johnson has been a member of the Sioux Falls Snowfox club team for more than ten years, and has worked his way up the tier system to the "Platinum Group," a small faction that dedicates more than 18 hours per week to practice. The Group has only five members, including Johnson and Washington senior Haley Gordon. 

"I think just having a mindset that you can achieve your goals and having those goals, knowing them and just having a team to work with, it all sets you up for success," Gordon said. 

Snowfox head coach Chad Thomsen adds, "No offense to football players, but I do believe that swimming, the athletic commitment to the sport is very high. We're swimming, on average, about 15,000 yards per day." (11) 

Thomsen swam for the Canadian national team and both Johnson and Gordon credit his training methods for their success. Both swimmers recently placed in the top 100 among thousands of competitors at national tournaments in Ohio and Washington.

"He's just done a great job of preparing us. He stepped up the training and made it a little tougher, more like the college atmosphere," Johnson said.

That atmosphere will soon be very real to Johnson and Gordon. Both swimmers earned scholarships to Division One schools, Johnson to Oakland University in Michigan, and Gordon to the University of Iowa. 

"These kids are very focused. They're very dedicated. They all have very, very lofty goals in terms of performance, in terms of achievements to themselves and they definitely put in the time," Thomsen said.

And that time has made a big splash for their futures.

Johnson and Gordon are currently training for multiple tournaments in March, including the South Dakota State Tournament and the Junior Nationals, which will be held in Orlando, Florida.