From the new kid on the block, to record-breaking swimmer, to future Division I college athlete, it’s been quite the ride for Owatonna’s Logan Norrid

BY JON WEISBROD

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When Logan Norrid began narrowing her list of potential college destinations, her final three options had two major things in common.

One, each was located directly adjacent to a large body of water. Two, none were any closer than 1,500 miles from her home in Owatonna.

If you know Logan Norrid, that actually makes perfect sense.

“I have always been the type of person that likes to explore,” Norrid said. “I always thought college would be a good time to get away from Minnesota and the Midwest area. I ended up choosing Rhode Island, but I looked at schools out in California and I even looked at Hawaii. I looked at schools all over the country, honestly. I guess I like the ocean. I like being around water.”

Being around the water — or more specifically, in the water — has been Norrid’s happy place ever since she first dipped her toe in the deep end and began competing against kids her age in second grade. Outside of the pool, she played “just about every sport” as a youngster growing up in the affluent Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka and stuck with soccer all the way through middle school but hung up her spikes just before her family moved to the area in the middle of her sixth-grade year in the winter of 2016.

Norrid took the transition to her new life in southern Minnesota in-stride, finding comfort in the sport she had grown to love and quickly making a name for herself as one of the Huskies’ bright young stars years before she even set foot onto the high school campus.

“I just went out there and did what I always did,” Norrid said when asked how she dealt with the transition to Owatonna. “Because I have always liked to race, so I would go out there at meets and just compete. I really didn’t worry about anything else.”

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Norrid’s passion for swimming was ignited at a young age and her desire to continue her career beyond truly emerged during her eighth-grade year in 2017-2018 when exploded onto the local scene and captured the Section 1-AA championship in the 100-yard butterfly .

Before electing to focus solely on competing for her club team during what would have been her final year with the Huskies this past winter, Norrid would add two more section titles in the 100 butterfly alone and ring up additional state-qualifying times in the 200-yard IM and 100-yeard breastroke.

Indeed, Norrid’s passion for the sport — coupled with a whole lot of physical skill and natural ability — has put her in position to fulfill a lifelong dream of exploring borders that stretch far beyond her current surroundings. It has also paved the way for a future college career that will officially commence more than 1,500 miles east at the University of Rhode Island this coming fall.

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When Norrid signed her National Letter of Intent last spring, she became the first female student-athlete from OHS to accept an athletic scholarship in swimming and diving in at least the last 15 years, and she will compete at the highest level of the college sport.

Rhode Island is one of exactly 200 NCAA Division I women’s swimming and diving programs throughout the country, which might seem like a large number on the surface but is given some perspective when you consider there are more than 350 D-I women’s college basketball teams and 335 women’s college volleyball teams.

As of early 2022, there were just 540 women’s swimming and diving programs throughout all three tiers of the NCAA, less than half of which compete at the scholarship level (D-I and D-II).

If those numbers don’t accentuate exactly the type of rarified air Norrid has entered as a future D-I swimmer, a statement from the nation’s No. 1 online recruiting platform and college sports database known as Next College Student Athlete, punctuates the point quite nicely: “Desire may be the beginning of the scholarship quest, but there are many obstacles to pass to become a women’s college swimming team member. The odds of receiving a full scholarship are low, as most swimmers receive partial scholarships.”

I chatted with Norrid on the evening of May 8 and learned a lot about her as both a person and an athlete. I was also given a fresh perspective on what was a unique and extraordinary swimming career for both OHS and her highly-competitive club team called the South Metro Storm headquartered just up the highway in Lakeville.

Below was taken directly from out conversation.

JW: I’m sure it was a bit of a crazy transition going from being the new kid and moving to Owatonna in the middle of the school year (in sixth grade) and then making your varsity debut less than a year later (in seventh grade). What was that adjustment like and how do you feel like you’ve progressed as a swimmer?

LN: “When I was in seventh grade, I didn’t really know what high school swimming was all about. I just thought it was like anything else. I knew some of the older girls on the team and they kind of took me under their wing and I just went out there and did what I always did. Because I have always liked to race, so I would go out there at meets and just compete. It was just slightly different than what I was used to with club (swimming) where it was once a week compared to once a month. It was a little change there, but nothing was really all that different. But as I’ve gotten older, I have learned to love the sport more and focused less on my times. I’ve just tried to enjoy myself more.”

JW: Rewinding just a little to when you were in seventh and eighth grade. At that point, you were just establishing yourself as an athlete competing against people much older than you. Maybe it was right away, but when did you start feeling comfortable as a varsity swimmer and what are some of your first memories competing at state?

LN: “It was when I was in eighth grade that I made it to state and won sections for the first time. I had zero expectations for myself that year. To me, it was just kind of crazy and a bit of a fluke that I just out-touched everyone else. I mean, I still don’t know how I won that race back then. I remember that year I went (to state) with Allison An. She was a diver and a great role model for me and showed me the ropes of swimming at state, because I didn’t realize how big of a deal it was back then. I mean, I would compete in these huge club meets and then would compete in smaller dual meets in high school for months. So when I got back to state, it sort of felt like club swimming again. There was an adjustment with that.”

JW: Now, talking about Rhode Island and college swimming…I’m sure you had a chance to meet the coaches and maybe some of the athletes on the team, what was that like? What was it about URI that resonated with you?

LN: “Well, they were definetaly the friendliest, by far. And the coach was just straight up honest with everything about the program. During some unofficial visits to other schools, I felt like some of the coaches candy-coated everything versus (Rhode Island) where I felt like the coaching staff was just real with us about some of the things that were going on with the program. I would rather have someone who was honest than someone who might be trying to cover something up. It just felt comfortable and conversations just flowed.

“They had also just gone through a coaching team and Rhode Island has traditionally been one of the lower teams in the Atlantic 10. But Lilli (Falconer Deering) has really started to recruit athletes at a higher caliber since she took over (in 2021-22). She’s raising the bar.”

JW: Clearly competing for your club team paid off and opened a lot of doors for you. Since electing to solely focus on competing for the South Metro Storm this past year, what has been the biggest difference in the schedule? How have you stayed sharp?

LN: “That’s where I train nine months out of the year any, so I just continued to train for them instead of competing in the high school season. I wanted to focus more on recruiting and really wanted to make sure I could get to that next level. I also got into weight lifting several times a week. That has been on and off, but definitely something that will be a part of my college training program.“

“I’ve also decided to join track for the first time this year. I mean, it was my senior year and decided” ‘Why not?’ At this point, I don’t know if I’ll compete in a lot of meets, but it’s mainly been sprints, the 100, 200, 400 and maybe some distances as well.’