CCIW Student-Athlete Spotlight (February 2021)
Each month, the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) will highlight the accomplishments of a conference student-athlete. This month, we look into the career of Carroll swimming student-athlete Thaddeus Scott.

Story by Mike Krizman, CCIW Assistant Executive Director

WAUKESHA, Wis. – Carroll sophomore Thaddeus Scott has had a long climb to becoming a collegiate swimmer.
 
The Pioneers opened the 2021 season on January 23 in a virtual meet against Millikin, but it was Scott’s first competition in almost 2 ½ years.  
 
“After my first race, I had to sit down and just take it all in,” he said of the season opener last month. “No one knew what I had gone through up to that point. I felt like I had finally made it.”
 
Scott described himself as an “active kid” growing up. Hours spent outdoors hunting, fishing and playing a variety of sports gave him that active lifestyle, but also many injuries at a young age.
 
“When I was 12, I hyperextended my back when I got pushed from behind in a basketball game,” Scott shared when looking back on his first of two major back injuries. “Then I got stepped on during the mix of things. So it was a combination of that and being an active kid that led to my first back injury.”
 
A patellar tendon injury ended his basketball career, which led him to swimming just before starting high school. Then, during the summer heading into his senior year, Scott suffered his second back injury.
 
“I was doing dumbbell squats and broke the same L5 vertebrae as before,” he said. “I tried some cortisone shots, but that didn’t work and I needed to have surgery.”
 
After sitting out to rehab and recover during his senior year of high school, Scott began looking into colleges and deciding what his academic major would be going forward.
 
The work done outside the pool to get stronger and recover from his injury led to the decision to come to Carroll and major in Physical Therapy.
 
“My injury was how I branched out and found Carroll,” he said. “When I broke my back, I had all this time to think about what I was going to study in college. I know how it felt to get injured and then come back from it. I wanted to help athletes who were going through the same things I did.
 
“I chose Carroll because it’s close to my grandma, but it’s also a beautiful campus where I know all of my professors personally. I had more opportunities here.”
 
Scott arrived on Carroll’s campus in the fall of 2019 not yet medically cleared to participate on the Pioneers’ swimming & diving team. He contributed as team manager and had limited practice time, but the road to finally competing was filled with struggle.
 
“There was a chance where I might not have been able to compete again,” Scott said. “But I surrounded myself with positive influences and went to work fighting to recover. This whole ordeal helped me be a better version of myself.
 
“Throughout this entire process, I was able to find my school and swimming program, my major and what I want to do after college, and it’s helped me become a better version of myself. But I feel like I still have something to prove both inside and outside the pool.”
 
Carroll swimming & diving head coach Guy Gniotczynski is in his first year with the Pioneers, but sees a dedication in Scott that provides a positive influence on a growing program.   
 
“Thaddeus is one of the most dedicated athletes I have ever had the privilege of coaching,” Gniotczynski said. “His injuries have been a driving force for him to improve his swimming and his health. He works hard, keeps his teammates motivated and ensures that everyone is having fun even during the hardest parts of training.
 
“Additionally, Thaddeus has high goals that he shares with his teammates and he leads by example. His high character is another strong quality that allows him to mentor and show the first year swimmers on the proper way to train, study and just be a good person.”
 
One of Scott’s highest goals is to become a physical therapist on the professional bull riding circuit, following his time as a young child around the rodeo in El Paso, Texas. For now though, with two years of eligibility left, he remains focused on helping build the Pioneers into an elite program.
 
“Right now, I want to get my name up on the record board and help my team win some conference titles,” he said. “But when I come back and visit in 5-10 years, I don’t want to see my name up on the board. I want our team to get fast, improve and continue to move forward.”

CCIW Student-Athlete Spotlight
Thaddeus Scott - Carroll (February 2021)
Sydney Sawyer - North Central (January 2021)
Jackson Allen - Millikin (December 2020)
Colleen Palczynski - Illinois Wesleyan (November 2020)
Matt Szuba - North Park (October 2020)
Sam Reichert - Wheaton (September 2020)
Favor Ezewuzie - Wheaton (August 2020)
Ellie Manderfeld - North Park (July 2020)
Izaiah Webb - North Central (June 2020)
Tori Stuart - Millikin (May 2020)
Skylar LeVine - Illinois Wesleyan (April 2020)
Emily Clausen - Elmhurst (March 2020)
Colton Klein - Carthage (February 2020)
Michaela Johnson - Carroll (January 2020)
Luke Sawicki - Augustana (December 2019)
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL).