The College of Wooster's Izzy Bellefleur, Ollie Bream, Hallie Findlan, and JP Timken were named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® for women's swimming and diving, as announced by the organization on Tuesday.
Bellefleur was a key scorer for the Fighting Scots at this season's North Coast Athletic Conference Championships. She was part of the fourth-place 200 (1:48.42) and 400 medley relays (3:57.72). Individually, Bellefleur qualified for the championship final of the 100 and 200 breaststrokes. She placed seventh in the 200-yard race with a time of 2:27.31 and was ninth in the 100-yard race at 1:07.07. Bellefleur's NCAC swims were rounded out by the 11th-place time of 1:03.33 in the 100 individual medley.
As a junior, Bellefleur earned All-NCAC honors as part of Wooster's third-place and school-record 400 medley relay (3:53.33). She qualified for the championship final for the first time in the 200 breaststroke and went sixth with a time of 2:26.18 to break into the program's top-10 list. Bellefleur is ninth in program history with a 1:07.07 in the 100 breaststroke and 10th with a collegiate-best 2:26.18 in the 200 breaststroke.
The biochemistry and molecular biology major plans to pursue a Ph.D. in cancer biology or molecular medicine upon graduation. Bellefleur worked as a research assistant on campus gaining field experience in Spy1's role in hijacking the G1/S checkpoint of cell cycle control in glioblastoma. Bellefleur's research turned into her Independent Study project, which aims to model normal brain cell development and compare it to what happens in glioblastoma cells. Bellefleur has served as a teaching apprentice with the cell physiology lab and computational biology. She has attended several conferences to gain better comprehension of computation models being used through the world to unravel the complexities of numerous human diseases. Bellefleur has participated in numerous service projects affiliated with Local Roots and People-to-People Ministries in Wooster.
Bream capped her storied career with All-America honors in the 200 butterfly. She placed 13th at the Div. III Championships with a time of 2:07.30. The senior qualified for the Div. III Championships for the third time by tying the 12-year-old 200 butterfly school record with a time of 2:02.95 at the Kenyon College First Chance Meet. At nationals, Bream broke the 8-year-old 200 freestyle school record, touching at 1:51.14, just missing All-America status in the process, as she was 18th. Bream's national meet started with the 200 individual medley, where she placed 34th with a time of 2:06.82. Bream earned six All-NCAC honors during her career and graduates as the program's record-holder in the 200 freestyle, 200 butterfly, and 400 individual medley (4:29.05). She holds top-five program times in the 200 individual medley (2:05.44) and 100 butterfly (57.19).
The three-time CSC Academic All-District® qualifier is a communication sciences and disorders major. She plans to attend graduate school and pursue an advanced degree in speech-language pathology before becoming a licensed speech-language pathologist. Bream's Independent Study utilizes an experimental design to explore the relationship between toy type and volubility in preverbal infants. Bream is examining whether electronic toys that light up and make sounds on their own or traditional toys without batteries are associated with a greater number of prelinguistic vocalizations in infants between eight and 12 months old. On campus, Bream has worked as a student clinician at the Freedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic. She provides speech and language therapy services for community patients and implements treatment plans for client short- and long-term care. In 2023, Bream shadowed healthcare professionals in Houston. She has gained further field experience in local schools, working closely with kindergarten and elementary students. She was elected the treasurer of the campus chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association. Bream has served as a teaching apprentice for multiple courses, is a resident assistant and lifeguard on campus, and works as a swimming instructor. Bream served as a member of the student-athlete group that met with finalists for Wooster's athletic director search in 2023 and regularly assists the team in a variety of capacities.
Findlan earned All-NCAC honors for the fourth time as part of the program's third-place 200 freestyle relay (1:38.44) at conference. The four-year relay staple was part of the program's fourth-place 200 medley (1:48.42), 400 medley (3:57.72), and 400 freestyle relays (3:37.12) at the most-recent conference meet. Individually, Findlan was 11th in the 100 freestyle (53.00), 13th in the 50 freestyle (24.19), and 13th in the 100 backstroke (1:01.99) at this season's NCAC meet.
As a junior, Findlan helped the 400 medley relay break the school record and earn All-NCAC status with a time of 3:53.33. She had a lifetime-best fourth-place individual finish at conference, swimming a 51.74 in the 100-yard freestyle. Findlan graduates with the second-fastest program times of 23.68 and 51.74 in the 50 and 100 freestyles, respectively.
The three-time CSC Academic All-District® qualifier is a communication sciences and disorders major. She plans to attend graduate school for speech-language pathology and become a certified speech-language pathologist. Findlan's Independent Study centers on what influences speech-language pathologists' decision-making process when providing treatment for people with benign vocal polyps. Findlan's project was inspired by her grandmother's updates on her surgery and therapy process. Findlan and her grandmother discovered a potential vocal polyp upon looking through Findlan's introduction to communication sciences and disorders textbook. Over the summers, Findlan works as an optical assistant at Black and Gold Optical and a swimming coach with South Hills Aquatic Swim Team. On campus, Findlan works with the Freedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic, which provides a wide range of speech and hearing services to area community members. Findlan has been a teaching apprentice for multiple courses on campus and is the secretary of the campus chapter of the NSSLHA.
Timken earned All-NCAC honors for the first time as part of Wooster's third-place 200 freestyle relay (1:38.44) this season. She was part of the program's fourth-place 400 (3:37.12) and 800 freestyle relays (7:49.85) at conference and was a top-eight placer in the 1,650 freestyle (17:52.96) for the third time. Timken qualified for the championship final of the 200 butterfly (2:17.4) and was 14th in the 500 freestyle (5:16.00) at conference this year.
Timen's 17:29.09 in the 1,650 freestyle from 2024 ranks as the third-fastest in program history, as does her 10:35.05 in the 1,000 freestyle. The senior was part of four fourth-place relays at conference over her career.
The biology and Spanish major intends to gain a year of field experience as a laboratory technician before pursing either a M.D. or Ph.D. For her Independent Study, Timken is investigating pesticides effect on the health of a model organism and the cultural effects of pesticide abuse in migrant farming communities. Timken has worked as a laboratory assistant at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. There, she conducted a variety of experiments targeted towards investigating the relationship between various proteins and disease progression in glioblastoma. She produced data that allowed for the discovery of a novel mechanism and identification of a potential new therapeutic target and co-authored a soon-to-be-published journal article on the research. On campus, Timken works as a STEM Zone intern and a teaching apprentice for introductory-level biology courses. She has also worked as a youth swimming coach.
Each school with a CSC membership may submit up to four Academic All-District® honorees for women's swimming and diving. Each nominee must have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA, be at least a sophomore in academic standing, and either compete in five competitions or finish in the top-eight in an event at a conference meet.
