The 2022-23 season will be Justin Zook's seventh season as head coach of the St. Catherine swimming and diving team. In his previous six years the Wildcats continued to improve in both the pool and the classroom.
During the 2021-22 season, Zook led the Wildcats to their second MIAC swimming and diving championships sending six swimmers to the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Zook's team finished ninth overall in Division III while senior Jordyn Wentzel earned the universities first-ever NCAA Champion title in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:10.06, setting a Division III record.
In his 4th season, had their most successful season in Wildcat history, The Wildcats won their first MIAC Championship setting many conference and school records in the process and winning or tying for first in every event except three. In addition to these accomplishments, sophomore Jordyn Wetzel set the NCAA division III record in the 200-yard breaststroke. As a result of these performances, Wentzel was named swimmer of the year for second consecutive year and Zook was named Women’s coach of the year for the third consecutive year.
Unfortunately, Covid 19 prevented the Wildcats from competing in their second consecutive NCAA Division III Championships. The team was ranked 11th nationally prior to this meet. As a result of their national rankings, seven Wildcats were awarded All American status.
The 2018 -19 season was Zooks third season as Head Coach of the Wildcats. During this season, swimmers continued to shatter school records and competed in the MIAC championships finishing third. Freshman Jordyn Wentzel was awarded women’s swimmer of the year while Zook won his second MIAC women’s coach of the Year award. The program was nationally rated throughout the season reaching 15th prior to the NCAA Championships.
For the first time in school history, St Kates qualified multiple swimmers for the NCAA Division III Championships. Wetzel and Maggie Menso both finished in the top 8 of individual events and were named All Americans. Members of the 800 free relay were also awarded Honorable Mention All American status as a result of their 12h place finish. The team finished 11th at the meet.
The 2017 -18 season, Zook’s 2nd year as Head Coach saw great improvement from the Wildcats in both the pool and the classroom. In the classroom the Wildcats recorded the second highest GPA in the nation for Division III swimming. At the MIAC Championships, two athletes earned ALL MIAC honors by finishing third in their events. Several school records fell during this year and at this meet. The Wildcats finished 5th at the MIAC Championships.
In his first season with the Wildcats, Zook led St. Kate's to a successful season. The Wildcats finished fifth at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Swimming and Diving Championships in February, the team's highest finish at the conference meet since 2008-09. St. Kate's also had a record number of student-athletes qualify for the MIAC Championships after setting either season or career best times in 2016-17.
Several individuals also found success both at the MIAC Championships and at the national level under Zook's tutelage. Senior diver Jenna Nagy was named MIAC Diver-of-the-Year for the third time in her career in 2016-17 after winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter competitions at the conference meet. Nagy also qualified for the NCAA Championship for the first time in her career after winning the 3-meter event at NCAA Regional Diving Zones and earned All-America Honorable Mention honors.
Zook joined the Wildcat staff after a successful career both in the pool and on deck as a coach, The Plymouth, Minnesota native is a three-time Paralympic gold medalist and three-time world champion in the 100 meter backstroke. Zook won the gold medal in the S10 class at the 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing, and 2012 London Olympics and was world champion in the same class in 2002, 2006, and 2013. He also holds the world record in the 100 meter backstroke (1:00.01) and is the former world record holder for the 200 meter backstroke in the S10 class.
After retiring from professional swimming, Zook found success as a coach at multiple levels. Prior to St. Kate's, Zook was the head coach at Robbinsdale-Armstrong High School in Plymouth, Minnesota, where he was named 2014 and 2015 5AA Boy's and Girl's Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year. Zook lead the Falcons boys team to its first state appearance in seven years in 2014, while girls had their best finish at the state meet in program history. The Falcons boys and girls swim teams also broke a combined six school records in Zook's first year and three swimmers from the girls teams received scholarships to swim at Division I institutions.
Zook's other experiences include coaching youth swimmers in Miami, Florida, serving as a manager for the Veteran Affairs Paralympic Training Allowance Program, and mentoring student-athletes at Florida Atlantic University.
Zook attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts where he was three-time Academic All-Conference honoree and two-time Second Team All-Conference selection in swimming. Zook graduated Cum Laude from Springfield with a degree in Sports Management and earned a Master's degree in Sport Business from Florida Atlantic University.
