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Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Kolter chooses LU swimming over NCAA scholarship offers
6/4/2021 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming
Multi-event swimmer Trent Kolter, one of the highest-profile recruits in the five-year history of Liberty University's men's swimming program, highlights Head Coach Heath Grishaw's nine-member incoming class this fall.
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| Kolter was accompanied by his parents, Tony and Terri, as well as Trinity's coaches at his signing ceremony. |
"God directed me toward Liberty through this whole COVID dead period, when coaches couldn't recruit," said Kolter, who is from Louisville, Ky., where he swam for Trinity High School and for his club team, Triton Swimming of Louisville.
He also had received scholarship offers from Bellarmine (Ky.) University, a member of the ASUN, and Virginia Military Institute, but was already sold on Liberty.
"From the start, I knew after my first CFAW (College For A Weekend) that Liberty was my home," Kolter said of his full-immersion experience on campus over Valentine's Day weekend. "I fell in love with the whole campus community and it was a great bonding trip. I got to meet Heath (Grishaw) and play him in ping pong and I got to practice with the whole swim team and to participate in a mock meet. That put a big smile on my face."
Grishaw communicated to Kolter all that the Flames' program — which finished runner-up to Georgia Tech in the virtual Collegiate Club Swimming (CCS) National Championships this spring — has to offer.
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| Kolter set a school record at Trinity High School in the 100 backstroke. |
"I shared our mission and what opportunities the Club Sports program provides," Grishaw said. "I told him, ‘We are here to help elevate your performance in your sport and even though we don't have the NCAA title, we can still give you the experience you would have at another school.' My goal is to push this team to be the best it can be."
He didn't have to pressure Kolter into making his decision as his campus visit and tour of the Liberty Natatorium, which Grishaw considers one of the top five collegiate facilities in the nation, convinced him that Liberty was where he belonged.
"The facility is a huge draw, as well as the brand new weight room in the Liberty Club Sports Complex, and an excellent support staff, through academics, strength and conditioning, and athletic training," Grishaw said. "We have it all here, we really do. Liberty attracts students from all over the world, and we have everything that he needed as well. First and foremost, we have a really good spiritual environment here, one where he can grow in his spiritual walk."
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| Kolter will study biomedical sciences. |
"I love swimming, but I love God more," Kolter added. "It was important for me to choose a school where He is lifted up and that I could be educated from a biblical worldview and be surrounded by coaches and teammates who share my love of Jesus and will encourage me in my faith."
He is excited about the prospects of making an immediate impact on a deep and talented team that will have a program-high 26-man roster in 2021-22, motivated by Grishaw who will have the Flames fully focused on qualifying for and peaking at next spring's CCS National Championships hosted by Ohio State.
"What I love about Coach Grishaw and the Liberty men's team is just the positive energy," he said. "The facilities are amazing and I can't wait to be on campus. I'm looking forward to meeting the large recruiting class that is coming in and joining the current team members who have really built the program over the past few years."
Kolter's older sister, Carley, is a rising junior strategic communication major at Liberty, and their parents, Tony and Terri, are both physical therapists. He plans to study biomedical sciences and potentially go on to medical school.
In the pool, Kolter swam competitively since he was 4 with his older sister on the neighborhood swim team. He is looking forward to spending time with Carley around campus and continuing his favorite pasttime in college, even if it's not at the NCAA Division I level.
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| Kolter showed signs he would one day compete for the Flames as a 10-year-old on his neighborhood team. |
"Swimming has always been a big part of our family," he said. "My grandparents have a houseboat on Lake Cumberland and we have always loved spending time together with family and friends on the water."
Kolter excels in every event but the breaststroke, using his tremendous lung capacity to surge past his opponents under water during races.
He was named Trinity's Most Outstanding Freshman swimmer and a first-team All-Region selection and Kentucky state finalist all four years. A two-year team captain, he set Trinity's school record this past season in the 100 back and also swam a leg of the Triton Club team's record-breaking 200 medley relay.
"He swims the 100 and 200 butterfly, 100 and 200 backstroke, and the 200 freestyle, so he is very diverse in a lot of his events and I can see him being a really great asset for us this upcoming year as a freshman," Grishaw said, noting that he will also be a key contributor on the Flames' relay teams. "He is going to find his role."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
Kolter dives off the blocks for Triton Swimming at a meet hosted by the University of Louisville.
