Catherine Minic (left) won silver in the 15-17yrs 200m Butterfly at the Canadian Junior Swimming Championships (Photo: Facebook / Grande Prairie Piranhas Swim Club)

By Shane Clausing

Cathrine Minic iowa

Local swimmer Minic verbally commits to University of Iowa for 2021

Jun 19, 2020 | 5:30 AM

Catherine Minic, a 16-year-old, grade 11 student from Grande Priarie who swims out of the Grande Prairie Piranhas Swim Club, has verbally accepted a scholarship to the University of Iowa to join the school’s swim team in the fall of 2021.

The University of Iowa is located in Iowa City, Iowa and is home to over 32,000 students.

For sports, the school is ranked as a NCAA Division I school, which is the best college league in the United States. It is also home to 22 different varsity athletic teams.

Minic has competed at various major swimming events across Canada and has been very successful. During last season at the Canadian Junior Championships, she finished third in the 3K, and second in the 100m and 200m fly.

Back in February at the Edmonton Open she finished third in the 100m back, third in the 50m fly, second in the 100m fly, first in the 200m fly, and second in the 200m IM.

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Minic explained why she felt that making the move to Iowa was the right choice.

“It was a very long process to decide which (school) I wanted to go with, but when it all came down to it, Iowa had by far the best coaching staff I had talked to. Just the way they had sounded on the phone and how excited they were, they were really welcoming.

“Their facilities are so beautiful. They have really nice pools and they also founded the butterfly stroke in Iowa.”

Minic adds that the coaching staff at Iowa are also a big reason why she wanted to make the move to the Hawkeye state.

“Their Head Coach (Marc Long) was also a champion for the Big 10 conference back when he was a student. He was a champion for the hundred fly, which is my best stroke. There were a lot of good factors that made me think that this school would definitely be the best choice.”

Last year, Minic’s coach got her signed up onto several NCAA approved websites where coaches are able to recruit athletes for various sports programs.

Minic says that after she signed up, schools noticed her skills and began recruiting. She and her family began receiving recruitment letters from division one schools across the United States last year. Minic tells EverythingGP that over 20 schools inquired about her.

Some of the schools that had inquired and showed interest in her talents were the University of Utah, Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, and Buffalo.

Minic says that the University of Iowa had planned to fly her out to give her a tour of the campus back in April, but because of COVID-19 the visit had to be delayed until at least September.

While she won’t be attending the school until fall of 2021, she mentioned that once enrolled, she wants to major in a subject like science or math, so she could use the major and put it towards a law degree.

Minic tells EverythingGP that she’s been interested in becoming a lawyer for a long time.

“For quite a bit, it is kind of been an idea there and now I’ve just kind of realized that I like that aspect of a job, it’s just interesting to me. I have an uncle who is a lawyer and he really enjoys it.”

While Minic knows that moving to the United States was not an easy decision, she knows it’s the right choice.

“It’s going to be a really big change, but it was the right decision. The U.S. teams have really great programs and you see a lot of really good swimmers from there, so I’m pretty confident in what I chose.”

Minic said that she’s really thankful for her coach Alex Dawson for introducing to the recruiting process and her parents for being so supportive and helping her make the best decision for her.