Miami Ohio University Athletics
Whether In or Out of the Pool, Eli Proves Elite
2/19/2026 4:08:00 PM | Swimming and Diving, Front Row Features
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Elijah Rolfsen has already made a name for himself in the pool.
After all, before the Miami freshman swimmer even signed to join the RedHawks, he owned times faster than the program records in multiple events, setting the stage for a college career brimming with potential.
However, Rolfsen has been just as successful racing outside the pool as he has in it.
The Kalamazoo, Mich. native is part of the 2025-26 United States national junior team as an open water swimmer. And although he'd never done open water racing before getting the initial invitation to try out, he dove right in [pun intended] and has been successful from the get-go.
"It's a totally different beast to prepare for," Miami head coach Samantha Pitter said. "There's not a lot of flip turns, not a lot of walls. It's like training for a marathon versus a 400-meter sprint…he'll go anywhere from 5K to 10K in these international competitions."
"I never thought I was ever going to get to a level of this caliber...I flew down to Florida for a camp [where] they took some of the top milers in the nation," Rolfsen said. "I was like, 'Wow, this is so much fun: This is a unique experience.' I ended up doing really well and got first overall in the camp – high enough for me to make the junior national team in open water.
"That led to so many things I didn't think I was going to be on. I flew out to Italy to partake in an open water competition there. That was amazing: Representing the United States, which was something I always dreamed of as a kid.
"It was really cool to [realize], 'Wow, I'm swimming with guys who participated in the Rio Games. They've been doing this their whole life. Their job is swimming!'…I was the youngest…and racing against these guys was really amazing and absurd."
Rolfsen's parents, brother and sister were able to make the trip to Golfo Aranci (part of the Sardinia island region of Italy) and watch him compete in the race last October, which made the experience extra-special for an 18-year-old who initially got his start in the sport by joining his older siblings' swimming club and following in their footsteps…er…wake.
"After my race, we didn't have that much time, but we went to go hike [together]. We found this cool little arch just under the water that my mom had looked up, which was really pretty," Rolfsen recounted. "That was my favorite highlight, honestly: Just spending time with them," he added. "I love my family so much!"
The Miami rookie credits his experience growing up as a homeschooler for the special relationship he has with his family. "Being with your siblings 24-7, it's a little rough at times," Rolfsen laughed. "I don't think I would be as close with them [otherwise]; we have a unique bond, for sure."
Rolfsen's non-traditional homeschooling background also allowed him to take classes for multiple years at a local community college in Michigan, meaning he arrived in Oxford with 72 credits already under his belt and is well on his way to graduating by 2028. He also came in with a good idea of what he wanted to major in (finance), having completed several college accounting and statistics classes despite being just 15 and 16 years old at that time.
"I really enjoyed those classes…and [although] I don't know too terribly much about finance, it really intrigues me and I've heard a lot of good things about it," Rolfsen smiled.
Of course, one of the main draws for Rolfsen to become a RedHawk was the swimming and diving program. He knew Allen Cotton from his hometown before arriving (in fact, Cotton often gave Rolfsen rides to practice growing up!) and that connection helped get him on Pitter's radar when she took over as coach in 2024.
"Eli really progressed his senior year…and Allen had done a good job communicating, saying 'Eli is going to be really good; I think we should recruit him,'" Pitter recalled. "It was that day that I got an email from Eli in my inbox, and I thought, 'Okay, this sounds great!'
"When we started talking to him, he was not ahead of the school records, right? But in that nine-month span to the end of the season, he just took off, so we were lucky to still get him…
"Eli is such a happy guy and such a light to have around the team – and he's also very good," Pitter continued. "That helps really elevate the whole program in terms of seeing a guy having a great time here and smiling every day even as we're pushing him super-hard. That's the type of team that we're going to be…
"I think he found a home here with the team and a family with the group of people around him, and he really enjoys his studies at Farmer, so Miami kind of checked all the boxes for him."
Attend a Miami meet and Rolfsen's talent is clearly evident to even the casual onlooker; the three-time MVC Freshman of the Week has produced at least one first-place individual finish in each event on the schedule so far in 2026. In other words, a 1,000-meter swim that takes more than nine minutes to complete is still reduced to an apparent foregone conclusion two lengths in when Rolfsen jumps out to a commanding lead in a matter of seconds.
"Our distance group is really special," Pitter said. "There's certainly a different mentality when you know you have 66 lengths of a pool that you're going to race versus two…they have to swim fast for longer periods of time than anybody else, and that's just a fact.
"Eli comes in with a background that his club set him up to be successful just working hard and working a lot, and then what we've tried to shift for him is to work more speed so that we can have faster times even at higher distances."
With that approach paying off week-in and week-out, Rolfsen is looking forward to seeing what he and the Miami team can accomplish at the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference Championships as the RedHawks try to claim their sixth consecutive conference title (a streak that spans both the MAC and MVC).
Rolfsen hopes to not only find himself on the podium for the Red and White, but perhaps punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships with a standout performance at the conference meet. "Realistically, if I go my best times but just slightly faster, I'm there," he said.
And no matter how his MVC and NCAA hopes turns out over the next few days, Rolfsen will still have the chance to chase yet another goal even before his freshman year concludes. His time with the junior national team (age 18 and under) wraps up this April at the USA Swimming Open Water Nationals, but Rolfsen can use that event to attempt to qualify for the senior national team. "I would have to get top-two in the 10K for 18 and over," he said. "I would love to be able to do that."
But however many first-place finishes, medals, trophies or records Rolfsen goes on to accumulate in his Miami collegiate career, and whatever his future may hold with USA Swimming, the first-year RedHawk is proud to be representing the Red and White on both stages.
"I've really enjoyed the team, the atmosphere, and everything," Rolfsen said. "Honestly, the faith that they had in me, bringing me on even when I was a little bit slower, meant a lot to me."So I've got to give my whole to this program now for the next three years hopefully and go from there."
Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures
The Miami swimming and diving teams will chase conference championships next week, with the men competing at the Missouri Valley Conference meet Feb. 25-28 in Evansville, Ind. and the women participating in the Mid-American Conference meet Feb. 25-28 in Akron, Ohio. Bookmark the RedHawks' schedule here to follow the action!
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