On Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, North Penn seniors Noah Jamieson and Megan Zartman signed letters of intent to continue their swimming careers at the collegiate level. To view photos of the event, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Noah Jamieson – University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee (Swimming)
Major: Psychology
Reasons for choosing Wisconsin at Milwaukee: “I looked at schools that had good swim programs and psychology programs. I chose Milwaukee at Wisconsin because I knew some people on the swim team already, and when I visited, they made it a very comfortable setting for me.”
What was the progression that led you to swimming at the collegiate level? “When I was little, I thought I probably wanted to swim in college, but I didn’t start seriously thinking about it until last year, and I realized, ‘If I want to do this, I’ve got to start looking now.’”
Coach Jeff Faikish says: “Noah was a transfer athlete from Chicago. When the family was looking where to go to school when their jobs were relocated, North Penn was one of the schools that offered both competitive swimming and competitive water polo programs. Little did he know and I don’t think the family understood the history of excellence that North Penn has to offer. When Noah first joined in with our program, he joined in right in stride. He’s a very hard worker. As a matter of fact, he’s one of the few athletes that’s willing to sacrifice individual efforts for the better of the team. Last year he swam on three of our relays, which takes away some individual recognition. However, it does bring a lot of team recognition and team points.
“Noah broke the school record in the 100 butterfly that was set by Derek Williams in 1992, and the back story behind this is I was a little kid in the bleachers watching my brother swim and I watched Derek Williams set that record. We wish Noah the best of luck at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.”
About Noah:
Favorite food: Any Seafood
Favorite movie: Lord of the Rings
Favorite music: Classic Rock
Megan Zartman – West Virginia University (Swimming)
Major: Biology
Final list of colleges: West Virginia, Penn State, Rutgers, Florida Gulf Coast University
Reasons for choosing West Virginia: “I just really liked the team and the campus.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in swimming at the collegiate level? “I feel like I’ve known since I was little that I wanted to swim in college.”
Coach Jeff Faikish says: “Megan is one of the most versatile swimmers to ever come through North Penn. She can swim everything from the 50 to 500 and all three of the strokes. We’re still working on her breaststroke. She is versatile to the point where she can swim in any of those events at the highest level, which is a very unique trait for a swimmer. Typically, you find athletes that specialize in one discipline, and that’s where the coaches go to recruit, but Megan offers up a full repertoire of events, everything from the 50 or sprint events to the distance events. In high school, you have what we would call a sprint schedule. Once you get to college, that’s where you start to get into multiple disciplines, distance events as well as the sprint events in all of the strokes. Megan is the school record holder in the backstroke, and she was a member of the state championship swimming team two years ago. She was a member of the second place team last year, and we have high hopes this year.
“When it comes to water polo, she’s a bit timid. However, she is extremely fierce with a very relaxed personality. Let me explain – when it comes to being on offense, it’s not exactly her strong suit. However, she is a part of a very well-oiled machine. When it comes to defense, she will sacrifice absolutely anything and everything for the betterment of the team. When we go back to last year’s state championship team, (she’s) sitting on the goal line, arm up defending the goal –she took two shots point blank in the face, and the referees are supposed to stop the game to check the athlete. They did not. She held her ground and helped save us from a goal against. She was part of our four-time state champion water polo team.”
About Megan
Favorite food: Bagels
Favorite movie: Sweet Home Alabama
Favorite music: All Music
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