On Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, Quakertown senior Maria Wehmeyer was recognized for committing to continue her swimming career at Ursinus College. (Photos courtesy of Jen Banas/QCHS)
Maria Wehmeyer – Ursinus College (Swimming)
Major: Business
Reasons for choosing Ursinus: “I chose Ursinus because of the great academics and athletic opportunities. The swim team has a very tightknit culture and spirit.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in swimming at the collegiate level? “I started thinking about (swimming) at the collegiate level from a young age. I started the recruiting process my junior year by looking at schools I would have a successful academic and athletic career.”
Best memory competing in sports at Quakertown: “My most memorable moment with my teammates and my coaches was breaking all three relay records with my teammates and making districts with them in the 200 freestyle relay my sophomore and junior year.”
Coach Meg Gansz says: “Maria has been swimming competitively for 12 years for club teams, including the Quakertown summer swim team, and she was a four-year varsity swim team member here at Quakertown High School. She was voted captain this year by her teammates and demonstrated her leadership skills and integrity as she welcomed our new swimmers and was there to help out wherever needed. We have a lot of new swimmers every year as well as a couple that never swam in their life. Maria was one of the first to hop in and help them. She always was willing to jump in and deal with the hullaballoo that would go on. There was always some kind of drama. but she was always there with maturity to handle things for me, and that is what I recognize the most in her – the maturity she had for all four years.
“Unfortunately, she had a delayed start her senior season. She had some injuries, some back issues, and there were a lot of illnesses that seemed to filter throughout the school. I think everybody was sick at one time or another, but with five weeks to go until champs, she did bounce back, got back in the pool and had about two or three swim meets before champs, and she was actually able to get her best time in the 50 freestyle which put her in 10th place in our league championships. In the 100 backstroke, she placed with her second best time of 1:03.67. With a lot of delay and not being able to get into the pool – within a short time, she was able to bounce back and get right back to get close to her fastest time and the fastest time in the 50 free.
“Maria is a multi-sport athlete. She plays lacrosse and also was selected as a student section leader, and I would see her every Friday night in the stands cheering on the team. She was one of the first to pull into the parking lot with her friends, all dressed up and ready to go. These are the kind of things Ursinus is going to be so lucky to have now that they offered her a position on the team. Not only academically but seeing her as a leader on the pool deck, seeing her as a school leader and being part of something larger than just the team. I’m going to miss her on the pool deck. We’ve been very lucky to have her, and I can’t wait to see her full potential.”
About Maria:
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite TV show: Vampire Diaries
Favorite movie: La La Land
Favorite artist: Zach Bryan
- Log in to post comments
