Columbus East swimming siblings from left: Ethan and Jameson Kessler, Connelly and Cassidy Furnish, Jesse and Eli Isaacs, front right, and Judah and Jasper Nickoll, back right, pose for a photo together in the natatorium at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Monday, Jan. 29, 2024.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
At Columbus East, swimming truly is a family affair.
The Olympians feature four sets of siblings, three on the boys side and one on the girls team. They help foster a family atmosphere.
“It’s a really interesting dynamic,” said East coach Doug Trueblood, whose daughter Ali is a senior on the girls team. “Sometimes, it also brings more drama, but overall, it’s fun, and I think it helps promote some closeness for the whole team.”
Of the three sets of boys siblings, none of those had much swimming experience before entering high school.
“I swam a little bit when I was young, but nothing competitively,” said freshman Jameson Kessler, who both swims and dives for East.
Jameson’s brother, sophomore Ethan Kessler, joined the team this year at the same time as Jameson.
“He brought it up, and I said no at first, and then he and my mom convinced me to join,” Ethan Kessler said. “I think it’s been great being here. I love our team. I think we really have a great bond.”
Practicing alongside siblings can create a little greater competitiveness, including for senior Jesse Issacs and his brother, junior Eli Isaacs.
“I think it pushes us in the pool,” Jesse Isaacs said. “I don’t want him to beat me, and I don’t think he wants me to beat him either, so it’s a little friendly competition.”
“It’s a lot of fun for sure,” Eli Isaacs added. “I really enjoy racing against him. It definitely pushes me. I went one of my fastest 100 (freestyle) times because I was racing against him. It’s definitely enjoyable.”
Senior Judah Nickoll has been one of the Olympians’ top boys swimmers throughout his high school career. On Saturday, he won the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke and swam on two winning relay teams in leading East to its first Hoosier Hills Conference title in 42 years.
The past two years, he’s had his brother, sophomore Jasper Nickoll, alongside him.
“I think it’s fun,” Judah Nickoll said. “It makes it easy in the mornings. Our schedules are all the same, so I like it.”
“I really like it,” Jasper Nickoll added. “It allows me to have someone to look up to and pace myself and try to encourage myself to be better. It’s also nice not having to drive myself to practice every morning.”
Judah Nickoll swam on two state qualifying relay teams last year and will look to make it to state in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke this season.
“Judah started off as a freshman, had never swam before, and then after his second year, Jasper comes up, and he hadn’t swam before, and both of them have done really well,” Doug Trueblood said. “Jesse Isaacs hadn’t really swam before, comes in and starts to love it, and then Eli played basketball at White Creek, and then comes in and says, ‘I want to swim, too.’ These guys are very successful and are doing a good job, and they bring this kind of fun atmosphere. The Kessler boys are a very fun group.”
While none of those boys swimmers had much previous experience before high school, sophomore Cassidy Furnish and her sister, freshman Connelly Furnish, have grown up swimming with Club Olympia. Cassidy also played basketball in elementary and middle school, but decided to swim in high school.
“Cass chose swimming instead of basketball,” Doug Trueblood said. “Connelly has always been swimming, but now we have them both, and it’s pretty cool.”
Connelly has been East’s top girls swimmer this year and hopes to qualify for state in the 500 freestyle and possibly one other event. Cassidy was the Olympians’ top swimmer last year, and the two have pushed each other to become better.
“I really like it,” Cassidy Furnish said. “It gives me a good motivator. When we both are struggling, we can struggle together and work through it and really push ourselves to be better together.”
“I like it because when something happens at practice, we can always just talk about it,” Connelly Furnish added. “I always have someone to talk to about things.”
Columbus East and Columbus North will compete in the girls sectional Thursday and Saturday at East Central and the boys sectional Feb. 15 and 17 at North. The girls state meet is Feb. 9-10, and the boys state meet is Feb. 23-24 at IUPUI’s Indiana University Natatorium.
Doug Trueblood is thrilled that younger brothers and sisters of Olympian swimmers decided to join them.
”It’s just a good time, and I love the fact that we have kids that come into our program and actually recommend it not just to their friends, but to their family,” he said. “It’s hard work, but it’s fun, so I get excited about that.”
