Xavier Prep has had many athletes, coaches and administrators carry the school’s banner of excellence over the years, but one of the most decorated people was Gerry Seaquist, who guided the swimmers and divers to 10 state championships and a few state runner-up finishes.
Seaquist
died on Jan. 26 at the age of 85, and a Memorial Mass will be held at Xavier’s
Chapel of Our Lady on Saturday at 1 p.m. There will be a reception afterward.
He is
survived by Sandy, his wife of 63 years, sons Joseph, Jeffery (Deborah) and
John, 8 grandchildren and 4 great-grandhildren. Jeff Seaquist coached alongside
his father for several years and earned many state titles as head coach.
Seaquist
graduated from Arizona State in 1974 and served in the U.S. Army during the
Korean Conflict.
Among his
biggest achievements were the Arizona Interscholastic
Association’s selection of him as the Girls Swimming Coach of the 20th
Century and his induction in 2004 to the Arizona High School Coaches’ Hall of
Fame.
According to
Sister Lynn Winsor, long-time Xavier Athletic Director and Vice Principal for
Activities, Seaquist was at his best while working with the athletes at the
pool on a daily basis as well as working with them in the classroom as a
history teacher at XCP.
“He coached
a long time for us and the swimmers were dedicated to him,’’ Winsor said. “He
ran a regimented practice but they had a lot of fun. They were spirited and I
don’t think there were many teams who had more spirit than the Gators, no
matter where they finished.’’
No comments:
Post a Comment