Chelsea Michigan Swim Team Senior Riley Monahan walks around the pool where she spent the last 4 years of her High School sports career. She stares at the water as waves of memories flood her mind. She reflects on her career but she feels only a bit of nostalgia but not sadness as she has decided she is going to continue her excellent swimming career at Notre Dame College.
Monahan decided on Notre Dame College because it felt like a second family to her. She also loved how it felt like she was at a home away from home and loved how they do so much team bonding,
“I’m excited to meet new people from different parts of the world,” Monahan happily stated.
Monahan got interested in swimming when she was little and would watch the Olympics. She has been swimming since she was 8 years old, starting at Vets in Ann Arbor. When she was 9 she started swimming competitively for Club Wolverine. Her role models include Michael Phelps and her coach Katie Ledecky.
Monahan competed in the 200 and 500 free at the High School level. She loves swimming very much and doesn’t have a favorite event because it’s pretty hard to choose because she enjoys trying everything. She also likes to swim 1000 free because even though 1000 isn’t offered a lot, she likes that it’s in between being long and not too long.
She made the State Finals every year she competed for her Bulldog team and was a great leader for the younger swimmers, not just at the pool but in the school also. She was a very positive role model for all.
For the last two years, she was able to swim with her younger sister Keygan and she has really loved doing it! And even though they’ve been teammates through most of their swim careers, she says it feels like they’ve bonded more throughout high school. When one of them has to swim the longest event, they would always hold the sign for one another. And when one was in an event the other one would be screaming loudest cheering them on.
It’s hard for her to pick out just one memory from her High School career that stands out the most but winning the 500 free in her Junior year at the Southeast Conference Tournament was a big deal to her. She loved being able to hear the excitement from her teammates and the parents and fans in the stands.
“I loved that my friend, Emily Hess from Adrian, was able to help push me to get a PR and hit my fastest time in high school,” Monahan said.
Another memory, not one so great but one which involves her sister, was this year at the state finals, the last event of her swim career, she was a part of the 400 free relays along with Hayley Hopkins, Paiton Doyle, and her sister Keygan.
“That was a bittersweet moment for the both of us, but I know that even when I’m gone at Notre Dame, she will still be here doing amazing things and I’m super excited to see what happens,” Monahan proudly said.
Monahan will really miss swimming at Chelsea because of the great bond she has with her fellow swimmers and her very outstanding coaches. But she is looking forward to the next step in her great career.
“I’ve been able to bond with different kids over my 4 years and I liked the bond I had with my coaches,’ Monahan says. “I’m never going to forget any of them and will definitely keep in touch with them all and support them when I have the time.”
Riley is the daughter of Craig and Erica Monahan.
