Michael Brus might have followed his brother Steven into a big-time Division I swimming program.
He opted for comfort instead.
"I wanted somewhere that wasn't so intense on the swimming part because I never wanted to get tired of swimming," said Michael Brus, who is in the middle of a standout freshman season at Division III Grinnell College. "I was afraid if I went to a Division I or Division II school, I would get tired and burnt out. Here, I don't think that will happen."
Quite the opposite, it appears. Brus, who won six state medals at Davenport North, directly attributes a lightning fast start to his collegiate swimming career to his pure satisfaction with his Grinnell experience.
"I have improved more quickly this season than I ever have before," he said of a season in which he has been named Midwest Conference swimmer of the week three times. "I can feel that now."
And why?
"I just think enjoying what I was doing even more than before is what did it," he said. "I always look forward to going to practice and getting a good workout, being with the team."
Brus also valued both ends of the student-athlete experience and that is something he felt Grinnell could give him.
“One other significant deciding factor was Grinnell’s outlook on academics and athletics. Grinnell gives a strong emphasis on academics,” stated Brus. “But at the same time students are allowed to participate in sports to the best of their abilities.”
The academic atmosphere will prepare Brus for his future career while giving him a sense of community, a sticking point in his choice to attend Grinnell.
“It allows students their choice of graduate schools and future careers. On my visit to Grinnell as a perspective student, I really admired the tight knit community that Grinnell offered.”
Older brother Steven is in his senior season at Notre Dame. He has a Big East Conference gold medal for having swum on a championship 800 free relay last year and enjoyed a breakout meet back in his home state of Iowa earlier this season, when he recorded a personal best in the 200 fly.
But his younger brother is pretty certain he made the right choice to swim D-III. He watched his older brother fight through a two-swim-practice-a-day schedule.
"They're so intense and he was always so exhausted," the younger Brus said. "I just didn't want to put myself through that."
Not that swimming is a romp at Grinnell. The Pioneers have won ten straight conference titles under five-time Midwest Conference Coach of the Year Erin Hurley. Brus capped off his sensational freshman season earning All-American honors in the 200-yard backstroke, breaking his own MWC record.
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“MWC Stories of Identity and Achievement” is a weekly feature highlighting the pursuits and passions of MWC students outside of athletics and into the classroom, campus and beyond graduation. The MWC Constitution forms the commitment to well-rounded individuals who maintain a distinct yet complimentary identity to that of our successful athletes. Opportunities to pursue their passions and potential in both academic and extra-curricular activities and fully integrate into campus are what make us No Ordinary Conference. In full alignment with the Division III Strategic Positioning Platform, the MWC has been a leader in the balance among academics and athletics as current and former student-athletes continue their pursuit of excellence in all that they do.
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