2016 Hall-of-Fame Inductee: Roesch Capped Career with National Championship Swim

Elizabeth Roesch was full of surprises during her All-American career as a distance specialist for The College of Wooster swimming and diving program.

“It was shocking to everyone, including me, when I qualified for the national championships as a freshman in the 500 freestyle,” recalled Roesch when highlighting some of her most memorable moments during her career at the College.

Both Keith Beckett, now Wooster’s athletic director, and current head coach Rob Harrington confirmed Roesch’s career encompassed numerous surprises.

“Elizabeth came to Wooster as a solid high school swimmer,” said Beckett. “If asked upon her entry to the program would she break five minutes in the 500 freestyle, earn All-American honors, and win a national title, I suspect most would have said ‘unlikely.’ As things unfolded, her training and racing revealed many unknowns, and the wow factor became reality.”

“Elizabeth was over 20 seconds faster in the 500 freestyle as a freshman at the conference meet than what she swam in high school,” added Harrington. “I vividly remember Keith sitting down on the pool deck after Elizabeth’s 500, shaking his head, smiling, and speechless trying to process what had just happened. I think it was at that point we knew we had a superstar.”

Roesch saved the biggest “wow” and “superstar” moment for her final collegiate swim, going out as a individual national champion with a school-record time of 17:03.70 in the grueling 1650 freestyle at the 2005 national meet, edging out Emory University’s Sam White by one-tenth of a second, and passing up two of her competitors during the final 500 yards.

“I remember riding over in the van to the pool on the last day of the meet with my coaches and Liz Whittam, and remarking on how the only way to end my career on a good note would be to win the 1650,” said Roesch. “When we got to the pool a bunch of Wooster swimmers surprised us by showing up. I believe that, more than anything else, spurred me on to give my final race the best that I had in me, and that day it was enough.”

Roesch, just the second individual national champion in program history on the women’s side and first since Brooke Henderson captured first-place in the 50 freestyle in 1989, earned eight All-American certificates for her career, and helped the Fighting Scots to a pair of top-10 team finishes.

Other career highlights at the national championship meets for Roesch included a third-place showing in the 1650 freestyle as a junior, and a fourth-place finish as part of the 800 freestyle relay. A year prior, Roesch was a key component of a fifth-place team finish, which tied for the highest in program history with the 1987 squad.

“Elizabeth completed the package for a national team that was already a real threat within the sprints and middle-distance races,” added Beckett. “Her contributions and achievements as an individual and more importantly as a member of the team made the Fighting Scots’ women’s program one of the nation’s best.”

At the conference level, Roesch earned 12 all-conference certificates, and was a five-time conference champion. As a senior, Roesch turned in three first-place individual swims en route to being named as the NCAC Women’s Swimmer of the Year.

Wooster was a natural choice for Roesch, who swam for former All-American alumna Amy (Thayer) Kuiper in high school. Kuiper brought Roesch on a tour of the campus, and introduced her to Beckett. The tradition of the swimming and diving program coupled with the independent study program, the small class sizes, the night swim practices, and the international students made the College a strong fit for Roesch.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies, Roesch went into education, starting as a reading tutor and classroom teaching assistant, while working towards her licensure in middle school English language arts and social studies. Since 2010, Roesch has been a full-time teacher, and she has spent the last five years as an eighth-grade English language arts teacher at Polk County Middle School in North Carolina.

Personally, Roesch calls nearby Asheville her home, is actively involved with the First Baptist Church of Asheville, is an avid volunteer with the Habitat for Humanity and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and lists outdoors and dancing among her hobbies.