Isaiah is NAIA Swimmer of the Year; earns 7 gold in nationals

Isaiah Aleksenko is synonymous with swimming titles, records, and gold medals as he did it again—winning back-to-back NAIA Swimmer of the Year titles and helping Keiser University claim its seventh red banner during the NAIA Swimming and Diving Championships in Elkhart, Indiana held from Mar. 4-7.

This year, along with his title, the NMI standout won seven gold medals and shattered multiple NAIA and meet records once again, including the 100 butterfly (45.21), 100 backstroke (45.70), 200 individual medley (1:44.48), 200 butterfly (1:43.37), and several relay records.

Aleksenko helped set a NAIA record in the 400 freestyle relay (2:53.68), a meet record in the 400 medley relay (3:09.43), and additional records in the 200 freestyle (1:18.27) and 200 medley relays (1:25.42).

“It means a lot to me and I’m very happy,” Aleksenko said of his second title in a row and multiple records and medals. “I didn’t know if I was going to win again because I was so focused on swimming and updating my PBs that I didn’t realize the opportunity was there.”

The sophomore had an unforgettable meet and said his 100 fly was a personal highlight. “I updated my PB by almost a second and the time made me really happy,” he said.

“The atmosphere definitely changed,” he said of the nationals compared to his freshman year. “More people, more cheering. It felt more intense, and that there was more pressure, and more teams it felt like.”

When asked how his sophomore year went, he said, “It was good. It felt like it went by so fast and I didn’t realize that the school year was basically already almost over.”

His season started strong and he set the tone for his impressive second national swimming title at the Sun Conference Championships in Ocala, Florida last month. There, he was named Sun Conference Swimmer of the Year—also for the second straight year, and helped Keiser win its fourth straight conference title.

He outdid even his standout freshman season, collecting seven golds and seven meet records—including a 100 backstroke meet record (45.77), golds in the 200 individual medley (1:46.72), 200 butterfly (1:44.09), and wins in the 200 medley (1:26.47), 200 freestyle (1:19.06), 400 medley (3:12.04), and 400 freestyle relays (2:56.42).

Even with all the success, Aleksenko stays grounded. When homesick, he calls his mom or plays video games. In the offseason, it’s all about rest, recovery, and recharging: “I play a lot of video games, sleep, eat, and relax until we start practice again,” he said.

With another season and national title behind him, Aleksenko now has his sights set on transferring to a Division I program and chasing even faster times next season.