NORTH SHORE – When it comes to handling the balance of athletics and academics, St. John’s Prep junior Oliver Zmetrovich and Pingree sophomore Caroline Pratt do so swimmingly.
The two North Shore swimming standouts both have high GPA’s and experienced a ton of success in the pool this winter. For their commitment to becoming top notch scholar athletes, Pratt and Zmetrovich were named the Moynihan Lumber Student-Athletes of the Month for February.
Oliver Zmetrovich – Moynihan (Male) Athlete of the Month with Bill Newell
Like Pratt, Zmetrovich felt the honor was only amplified considering the applicant pool, and the fact that a few
of his friends, whom he holds in very high regard, were also in the running.
“It’s really exciting. It hadn’t been on my radar screen until my coach brought it to my attention,” said Zmetrovich. “A couple of my teammates have won it (in the past) and I was going against some of my (other) friends from the Prep. It was great to hear I won especially knowing a lot of the people who have won it before and who my competitors were.”
Zmetrovich helped lead the Eagles to yet another Division 1 state championship as the team took home its 11th crown in the last 12 years. He earned an individual title along the way.
The Marblehead native captured the title in the 100 fly with a new program record of 50.35 while claiming second in the 100 backstroke and racing a leg in the second-place 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay teams. Having been a club swimmer for almost a decade, Zmetrovich believes that swimming as part of a team like the Eagles only increases his drive to succeed.
“What makes high school swimming totally different from club is I see club as an individual sport but high school is all about the team and trying to get as many points as possible — not necessarily for yourself, but for the team,” said Zmetrovich. “Swimming for the Prep totally flips what I’m used to on its head. It’s amazing. I swim faster in high school meets often because you are swimming for more than yourself so it means a lot more.”
The Catholic Conference All-Star and MVP of the conference championship meet at Holy Cross, Zmetrovich considers his biggest strength is his work underwater after starting off the blocks, which usually gives him an early lead.
In the classroom, he is a member of the National Honor Society and the National Latin Honor Society. Zmetrovich maintains a GPA of 4.3 and has carried all Honors and AP courses since freshman year. Zmetrovich talked about how he juggles all of his responsibilities.
“It’s very difficult and takes a lot of determination, strong work ethic and focus all the time,” said Zmetrovich. “Any time I’m not swimming, I’m doing school and vice versa. There’s literally no free time. It makes me super efficient with school work.”
