No high school sport in the southern part of the United States is bigger than football. Which leaves other sports, such as swimming, often overlooked, making the competition not so stiff.
When he graduates, senior swimmer Troy Esentan will walk out of Eastern Michigan University knowing he got to swim at a competitive level and a whole lot more.
Troy is a native of North Little Rock, Ark. He took up swimming at the age of eight
and his father got him to swim competitively on a club team.
Troy also swam for Central High School in North Little Rock and got varsity letters in all four of his years there. He was named senior captain and led his team to runner-up finishes in the state championships in his sophomore and junior years. He found the competition not very difficult in high school.
“High school swimming is not big in Arkansas,” Esentan said. “I swam in high school, but the meets were usually after my club practices, and were not very competitive.”
Drury University is a college in Springfield, Missouri, with an enrollment under 4,000 and home to an NCAA Division II powerhouse swim team with seven-consecutive national championships.
Other than Drury, not many schools were knocking on Troy’s door to offer him a scholarship.
Esentan took his recruiting trip to Drury. But wanting a large campus feel with a small class size that participated at the Division I level and a high-profile coach, Troy chose to go to Eastern Michigan.
“[Coach Peter Linn] has been around a long time and has coached a lot of high profile athletes,” Esentan said. “I thought that he would be the coach that would take me to my highest potential.”
Troy got off to a great start at EMU in his freshman year. He posted the top time in the Mid-American Conference in the 1,000-freestyle event (9:36.70).
He also got to participate in the Mid-American Conference championship meet and finished in the top 10 in the 400 individual medley and 200 breaststroke events. With all of these accomplishments, Troy earned an All-MAC first-team selection along with his first varsity letter.
Sophomore year was another great year for Troy. He earned another All-MAC first-team selection and a fourth-place finish in the 500 freestyle event at the MAC championship meet. He was named the MAC swimmer of the week for the week of Feb. 3,
2010.
Troy was named All-MAC for the third time in his career as a junior. He won the MAC swimmer of the week award twice that season. But perhaps his greatest accomplishments were winning the 400 individual medley and 200 breaststroke events at the MAC
Championship.
With the conclusion of the 2011-12 regular season, Esentan got the MAC top time in the 200 breaststroke event (2:03.11) during the EMU invitational. With his senior year about to come to a close, Troy reflects on his career in a positive way.
“I can’t say anything about my time here except for the fact that I’ve enjoyed it as well as my team,” Esentan said.
What Esentan enjoys most about the team is the bonds he has formed with his teammates and that the support for one another is very strong.
“I couldn’t put into words what it’s like to be on this team,” Esentan said. “It’s like a brotherhood, and we are all very close.”
When not busy swimming or pursuing a business degree, Troy likes to play video games and hang out with his friends.
