Linn-Mar off to strong start with first-year coach

MARION — George Durin has always dreamed big when it comes to swimming.

"I absolutely love the sport of swimming, " said the first-year Linn-Mar boys coach. "Anyone who knows me knows it’s my favorite thing in the world."

As a young swimmer, Durin's goal was to become an Olympic-level talent. He swam for the late Chris Cruise at Cedar Rapids Washington from 2015-18 before swimming collegiately at Colorado Mesa University from 2019-22.

"As my own career began to wind down and I realized that wasn’t going to happen," he said in reference to becoming a world-class swimmer. "My focus naturally shifted to the next best thing, coaching.

And even though Durin is in the infancy of his coaching career, he has worked with some of the best, swimming four years for a Hall of Fame coach in Cruise at Washington and cutting his coaching teeth as an assistant for current Warrior coach Matt Sinnott and former Linn-Mar Coach Tom Belin.

"After two years coaching under and learning from Matt Sinnott at Washington, I knew it was time to take the next step in my coaching journey," he said. "I reached out to Tom Belin at Linn-Mar to see if he had any room on his staff, and we instantly meshed. We share a very similar coaching philosophy."

Durin succeeded Belin this season and his first Linn-Mar team is off to a strong start, currently ranked fourth in the state power rankings.

"I couldn’t be more grateful," he said. "Being able to coach in a world-class aquatic center, surrounded by an amazing staff, parents, swimmers, and administration, has truly been a dream come true."

Senior Parker Macho, a double state champion last season, is off to a strong start for the Lions. He currently has the state's best time in four individual events and is part of the state's best 400-yard freestyle relay team up to this point of the season.

"I’ve been extremely pleased with our results so far, especially considering the point we’re at in the season and the workload the boys have already taken on," Durin said. "We have several athletes already at or near the top of the state, along with many others just scratching the surface of what they’re capable of. The team’s overall trajectory is very exciting."

The Lions swim Saturday at the Grinnell Invitational before heading to Iowa City West for a big dual next Tuesday.

Iowa City West moves to No. 1

Although it is early in the season, Iowa City West has moved to No. 1 in the power rankings after a big win last Saturday at the Cougar Invitational at Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

The Trojans won eight of 11 events, scoring a whopping 571 points to get past No. 5 Cedar Falls (533). Waukee is ranked second followed by West Des Moines Valley and Linn-Mar. Cedar Rapids Washington is currently eighth.

"The boys swam well," West Coach Byron Butler said. "(We) moved from sixth ranked to first in the state with (our) performance, although it is very early."

The Trojans host a four-team quad meet against Iowa City High, Dubuque Hempstead and Dubuque Senior on Saturday.