On March 13th, the Genesee Cougars signed their third swimmer of the year, Michaela Pantano. Michaela is a 5'4" butterfly and freestyle swimmer and swam for 6 years at Albion High School. Her best time for the 100 butterfly is a 1:06 and her 50 butterfly time is a .25. Pantano was awarded All-League and Crossover for the 100 butterfly, as well as Scholar Athlete, Rookie of the Year in 2016, Outstanding Swimmer four years in a row, and Most Valuable Athlete three years in a row. As well as being a swimmer, Michaela has participated in cross country and is also an Honor Roll student.

Michaela was put on Head Coach Jeff Reyngoudt's radar when current Genesee swimmer, Carlitos Sanchez had mentioned her. Carlitos had swam with Michaela in high school, as he is also an Albion alum, and his opinion is highly respected by his coaching staff. Sanchez set records during this past season and went on to be successful in the National Championship in Florida as well. Michaela came for a visit on the 13th and made her decision to commit to the Cougars on the spot. "We set up a signing for her immediately when she had decided to commit. What I liked most about Michaela is her willingness to try any event. We struggled this past season with numbers and filling all the events was impossible. To have an athlete with the drive to compete in almost anything is exactly what we're looking for", stated Reyngoudt.

The Genesee Cougar's Coaching staff are still in the process of recruiting for their 2020-2021 team and have some more signings coming up. If you are interested in trying out for next year's 2020 Genesee Cougars, please email Jeff Reyngoudt at jcreyngoudt@genesee.edu.