After placing in the state high school swim meet as an eighth grader, Ashley Marlowe Holderness Swanda was diagnosed with Lyme Disease in the fall of her ninth grade year. The diagnosis forced her to quit all her sports, but she battled back and later found herself doing the thing she loved, swimming.
Holderness Swanda followed her brother and sister to Wisconsin-Madison for two years. After realizing Wis.-Madison was not a good fit, she transferred to CSB in 1994, and graduated in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in English.
“One of my good friends at Madison was a swimmer, and she had awakened something in me that I didn’t know still existed,” Holderness Swanda “I hadn’t really swam much since eighth grade, but I really missed being part of something.”
After rekindling her love of sports, Holderness Swanda decided to join the CSB swim team.
Holderness Swanda made an immediate splash for the Blazers receiving the team’s most valuable swimmer award in 1995 and 1996. In her senior year of competition Holderness Swanda earned All-American honors in the 100-yard butterfly and was also considered for All-American honors in the 200-yard butterfly.
She was honored as the Saint Benedict Athlete of the Year in 1996 and still holds records in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly at the Saint John’s pool and at St. Catherine.
“Ashley was a great person to have on the swimming team and was a fantastic leader,” former Saint Benedict swimming and diving coach Mike Ritchie said.
Since graduation, Holderness Swanda said life has been great.
“I feel accomplished simply because I am a happy, working woman who has lots of friends and a close relationship with my family,” Holderness Swanda said. “I am simply a person fully living my life, serving God, serving my family and serving my community.”
After getting married, she and her husband Andy moved to Colorado, where she took a job with Focus on the Family.
Holderness Swanda and her family moved back to Minnesota and she began working for Fairview Southdale Hospital, where she continues to do freelance work.
“I am fortunate I fell into a job that I love, which blossomed into a career that I found exciting and fulfilling,” Holderness Swanda said.
Ashley and her husband have two sets of twins, Will, Abby, Ryan and Hailey.
