by Taylor Wallace ’21

Senior Amanda Wenhold has been swimming competitively since the age of 6. Being the daughter of two elite collegiate athletes, playing a sport was always a definite. Throughout her years as a swimmer Wenhold has achieved numerous successes such as winning the 100-free at Metros Championships in 2018 and the 50-free at the State Championships in 2019. High school only lasts for so long, so Wenhold, similar to most high school seniors, had to begin making decisions in regards to her future.

Wenhold received around eight Division 1 offers to swim in college. Some of these included, “… schools like University of Richmond, Towson, UMBC that a lot of people know the name of,” said Wenhold. She weighed her options through numerous calls with coaches, campus visits, and further research on the schools. After closer examination and the help from her parents (including her father who is the former UMD swim coach), Wenhold decided to commit to the Wingate University in North Carolina. Wingate contrasted with a lot of the other schools that she looked at because it is much smaller and Division 2. Wenhold found herself deciding between Wingate and Florida Atlantic University. During her visit to FAU, “It didn’t have that warm home feeling, it was more like a luxury to me,” explained Wenhold. At Wingate she felt much more at home because of the family-like environment and because it is also the school that her older sister, Sherwood Alum Jaimy Wenhold (17’), attends. Wenhold pays no mind to the fact that the school is D2 because she knew that Wingate was the place that she belongs.

Wenhold has mastered the science of balancing school, swim, and a social life. The key for her is sleep. “I like to go to bed at 8:30 … it can make a huge difference in the pool” noted Wenhold. She balances her weekly six practices and two workout sessions on top of taking AP and Honors classes. 

For the next four years, “ I want to go as far as I can with swimming … go out with a bang” said Wenhold. She also wishes to meet many new people and create new relationships outside of swimming during her time at Wingate University.