Cuesta College Men’s Swimming Team has continued to see a large amount of success this season due to key contributions from lead swim team members, including their star freshman Brady Lind.
Lind went to Monte Vista High School where he swam all four years. For three of the years, he was also on a club team, which helped him continue to improve as a swimmer and prepare for the transition to college.
After not being recruited to any four-year colleges Lind was drawn to, he decided to take his club coaches’ advice and find a community college that best fit his interests. His path led to Cuesta, which worked best for his academic and athletic needs.
“I chose to go here because they had a pretty successful swim team the last few years and it’s in San Luis Obispo which is also nice,” Lind said. “I’m in the EMT program right now so my current plan would be going into that field and then hopefully transition to firefighting.”
While his current plan could still change the next few years, Lind is heavily focused on continuing to swim at his best during his tenure at Cuesta. Men’s swim practices begin at 5:15 a.m. for four days of the week, on top of swim meets most weekends. Despite the large workload, Lind credits his teammates and coaches for making the early mornings something he looks forward to.
“The practices themselves have been pretty difficult, but we find a way to make it fun,” Lind said. “It’s just a really good group of guys and they make waking up at 4:50 worth it.”
Lind has stayed fully committed to his team since day one, which hasn’t gone unnoticed. First-year head coach Greg Enloe has been proud to have him as a part of the program, for being a role model and a great teammate.
“Brady came into this season really focused and excited about being able to perform his best and he’s managed to figure out a way to increase that every single day,” Enloe said. “Then at the same time, as he is the leader on the team, he’s always trying to pull the other guys along with him.”
Not only has Lind taken on a leadership role on the team, Enloe pointed out how he has seen the extra work put in outside of practice too.
“He usually stays after and gets a little extra laps in or works on what he needs to work on, and I know he’s doing stuff on his own at home as well,” Enloe said. “He’s built a really good relationship with me, the guys and our assistant coach, Colton.”
The Cuesta Men’s Swim and Dive team dominated the 2024 Western State Conference (WSC) Championships, claiming the program’s 4th conference title in a row and 19th conference title overall. Lind has been a major part of the team’s success, and now owns the school record for the 100-individual medley. Despite the overwhelming success, Lind has bigger goals in mind both individually and as a team.
“I think as a team, we could win state in a few relays,” Lind said. “I want to break the 100-free record, that’s been my goal since day one at Cuesta.”
Even though swimming is primarily a hobby for Lind, he has shown he puts 100% into whatever he sets his mind to. As a determined person, athlete and student, the evidence shows Lind is consistently working hard to succeed and elevate those around him.
“Our joke is that Cuesta Swim is Brady and his bunch of friends,” Enloe said.
