Carthage Athletes Might Not Go Pro in Their Sports

Amanda Croix

11/2/2010 5:36:00 PM

By: By Steve Marovich, Sports Information Director

"Going Pro in the Real World" is the first of an occasional feature on former Carthage College athletes who have carved out succesful nitches in their professional careers.

Former Carthage College swimmer Amanda Croix (Bradley, Ill.) hasn't wasted any time since graduating in 2011. First of all, she found a job right out of the chute, a great job. Croix is currently an assistant men's and women's swimming and diving coach at United State Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. "I love it [at West Point]," says Croix. "They're the easiest athletes to coach, because they want to learn. They're just like 'Yes, ma'am and yes. sir.' They have a lot of fun, too, so it's good." (quote courtesy of the Kenosha News)

In her spare time, Croix qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials in the 50-meter freestyle. The swimming trials were conducted on June 25-July 2 in a temporary pool constructed inside the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. Croix finished 105th out of 154 participants with a time of 26.59 on July 1. The top-16 swimmers advanced to the semifinals, with qualifying times of 25.58 or better.

Croix won a national title in the 50 freestyle as a junior at the 2010 NCAA Division III Swimming Championship with a Carthage-record time of 22.77 seconds. The sprint freestyle specialist, who earned 13 College Swimming Coaches Association of America All-America certificates during her decorated four-year career, also holds school records in the 100 freestyle (49.35), the 200 freestyle (1:48.69) and 500 freestyle (5:04.71). Croix also had a hand in five Carthage relay records, holds six CCIW conference marks and established three pool standards.

A three-time National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week, Croix was named CCIW “Swimmer of the Year” three times and was selected as the Carthage's “Female Athlete of the Year” on three occasions. Croix was named to the 2010-11 Capital One Academic All-District second team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). She graduated with a bachelor's in exercise and sport science from Carthage in 2011.

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