A deep dive into Utah State Club Swim and Dive
This past semester, on Nov. 8-9, 2025, the Utah State University Swim and Dive Club team had its annual regionals meet at the University of California, Irvine. At the meet, the team had five individuals qualify for nationals in the spring, and it is anticipating having at least three more qualify this semester.
Four years ago, Glenn Mortensen became the team’s coach.
“When I started, there were maybe a dozen kids on the team,” Mortensen said. “There are 108 kids who are a part of the team in one way or another.”
Through Mortensen’s experience in his own swimming, he has been able to help the team succeed. He has also offered several new techniques for the team members to help them all on an individual level.
“There’s an underground underwater window where I film their strokes. Then I sit on that bench over there and review their stroke and tell them everything that’s wrong with it,” Mortensen said. “I show them their strokes and compare the two and tell them why Katie [Ledecky] does it or Michael Phelps does it the way they do it and why they should change their stroke to look like that, and then when they do it, it makes a huge difference. Then we practice it that way.”
While Mortensen has helped support the team’s skills, he has also helped boost friendship and morale on the team.
“These kids, I’m just in love with them,” he said. According to Mortensen, the passion of the coaches and team helps them to create bonds with each other and feel like they have a place to belong at USU.
Laney Judkins, the club’s secretary, explains why she joined.
“I just really like hanging out with my friends. The travel meets are really awesome because you just get to go on a vacation with all your friends,” she said.
For Judkins, the community is why she has continued to stay on the team for all five of her years at USU.
On Jan. 24, the team will have their home invitational. The Aggie Invite is going to have teams from around the state of Utah and the larger western United States in attendance, which the team is looking forward to. The team members encourage any who are interested in swimming to come try out practice or at least come to the meet and see what it is like.
“The first two weeks of every semester, we do, like, a trial period,” Judkins said. “You can try out a few practices and see if it works in your schedule and everything. Then after that, you’ll have to pay dues. Then you can either do competitive or non-competitive.”
Although the free trial this semester is over, the club contacts can be found at usu.edu/campusrec/competitive-sports/club-sports/swimming-dive, where Corey Wendel, the club’s president, and other team leaders can help provide more information.
“We have our practices Monday, Wednesday and Friday,” Wendel said, inviting all to consider the team.
In April, those who qualify will head to nationals at North Carolina State University.
“I think we’re going to break a lot of the relay records,” Wendel said. “Last year we broke, I think, eight relay records, and I think this year, looking with the team we have, we could probably break at least five, maybe four.”