NORFOLK, Va. — Starting on Wednesday this week, the Old Dominion swim team begins the first day of the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Championships from the University Of Tennessee in Knoxville.
They'll have a seasoned veteran on the men's side leading the way in Noah Wilkins who's done more than his share of laps around the pool.
Academically he's incredible and already has his undergraduate degree in nuclear medicine technology and is on the way to earning his masters in public health. Wilkins has a grade point average of 3.99 while swimming for the Monarchs. He does this as a 6th year senior at age 24.
"I did my four normal years. In the middle of those four, I had an injury", he says. "I took a normal redshirt year as most people would. The covid year hit right as I was coming out of the injury".
The NCAA granted everyone at that time who was competing during the pandemic an extra year of eligibility. It gave Wilkins two more years of swimming with the Monarchs.
Head coach, Jessica Livsey couldn't have been happier having him back with the program. "He leads by example all the time", she says. "Inside the classroom, outside the classroom. At the pool, at home".
Wilkins has very little down time. Even during the pandemic while he was recovering from his hip injury, he went back to his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana to help the very community he grew up in.
"My church was doing the food bank and that was the easiest way to get out to see people", he says. "That's just what I love to do."
Being the oldest on the team, Wilkins has had his share of nicknames by teammates. "Oh I'm definitely just grandpa. Grandpa Wilkins!", he jokes.
He might be right. You see, Wilkins says he's the youngest of three. His older sister and brother are about the same age as the parents of some of his teammates. They're hoping that life experience carries them while in Knoxville, Tennessee.