Badgers both new and old found success in the pool over the weekend, as senior Dan Lester was named men’s Big Ten Swimmer of The Week and freshman John Bushman was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. The meets occurred on Oct. 12 and 13 as the Badgers faced Milwaukee and Green Bay, respectively. Lester claimed first place finishes in the 100 and 200-yard butterfly as well as swimming in the 200 and 400-yard medley relay squads, while Bushman won the 100 and 200 freestyle events in addition to placing second in the 1000 freestyle.
However, while the senior-freshman duo continues to rack up individual accolades, both insist it is strong leadership and a team-first mentality that allows them to have success in the pool.
“We had meetings early in the year with our coaches,” Bushman said. “It wasn’t individual goals; it was team goals, what are we going to do as a team, what is our team GPA, what are we going do as a team at Big Ten’s.”
Bushman, a freshman from Green Bay, Wis., is one of the highest touted freshmen in the country. Despite only swimming in four college meets thus far, he has impressed coaches and captains early on in the season.
“The guy can really swim, he came from a very unique background,” senior captain Dan Lester said. “He has done a great job adapting – a very hard worker – and it has shown in his results. He is going to go on to do great things.”
“I was home schooled in high school and part of a club team,” Bushman said. “When you got to big meets it was all individual, no one really cared about the whole team. In college we care about everything as a team, our goals are a team…my success is their success and vice versa.”
“Good kid, works hard, we’re excited that he has had some success,” head coach Whitney Hite said of Bushman. “He is basically a sponge. Certainly doing a great job in terms of doing the right thing and working hard.”
Bushman also pointed to the leadership qualities of Lester as a reason for the team’s early success.
“Dan Lester is probably one of my favorite guys on the team. He has amazing leadership skills; a true captain on the team. When I first came on campus it was very easy to tell he was a captain,” Bushman said. “He isn’t someone you’re scared to approach. He is more of an older brother figure, a guy you can talk to about swimming and personal issues. He pushes me to work harder.”
Lester, a senior from Brisbane, Australia, has had a lot of individual success over his career as a Badger, receiving All-American honors as well as swimming in the Australian Short Course Championships to name a few.
Despite these individual awards, Lester is still a team-first swimmer who believes that the team-over-self mantra is key in college swimming.
When asked about the differences between swimming in Australia and the United States, Lester was quick to point out the emphasis on team success.
“It’s one of the biggest sports [in Australia], the biggest Olympic sport,” Lester said. “The atmosphere here [in the US] is a team sport,” Lester said. “In college you enjoy being a team. You don’t really have that in Australia – it’s more of an individual sport. Being part of a team is amazing.”
In fact, Lester cares so much about the team, sometimes he has to be reminded to focus on himself.
“Dan has done a great job from day one of the last year,” Hite said. “…Just very much cares about the success of the team, maybe even to the point we remind him we want him to have success as well.”
The Badgers next meet will be against the Minnesota Gophers on Oct. 26 in Minneapolis, where Lester and Bushman look to put on another pair of dominating performances and maybe even win a few more individual awards as well. One thing is certain though: the team will be put first.
