“I just wanted to be better than my brother, so I joined swimming, and here we are.”
Hands slap his chest, then his legs, then his shoulders. Finally, set in the blocks. Eyes laser focused on the water until the gun. POP! An explosion of energy released in milliseconds. But he’s not worried. He’s been here before.
What started simply as a desire to be better than his older brother has led to great success for senior captain Colten Hilgers. Hilgers’ favorite event is the 50-yard freestyle, the shortest event in swimming and one that requires an intense amount of focus. His best time last season in the event was 22.80 seconds, which was not only the fastest time at Palatine but was also a mere 1.07 seconds from qualifying for state, which is his ultimate goal. He attributes last season’s success to his mindset and head coach Katie Mroz.
“The difference between sophomore year and junior year was I wasn’t stressed at all,” Hilgers said. “Pretty much every time I finished a race and looked up at the scoreboard, I was surprised with how fast I swam.”
Hilgers is able to let go of the stress thanks to his disciplined preparation on race days. He eats healthy foods, gets good sleep and listens to his carefully curated pre-meet playlist. Most importantly, he focuses on his teammates first.
“I will normally be cheering in between races for my teammates at the end of the lanes,” Hilgers said. “That kind of gets my mind off of the stressfulness of being up on the blocks with my heart racing.”
His commitment to supporting his teammates is nothing new. He always makes sure the team’s success is his main priority. He said his goal for this season is to build a team that will be successful even after he graduates.
“He’s very selfless as an athlete and a leader,” assistant swim coach John Giuliano said. “I think one of Colten’s strongest attributes is that he will always go out of his way to help others.”
Hilgers and the rest of the Palatine Pirates swim team will begin their quest to state on Dec. 5 at home against the Schaumburg Saxons.
