Max Scheurer Signs with University of Minnestoa

Senior Captain Max Scheurer participated in a signing ceremony with the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities on February 1, at Centennial High School.  The ceremony was especially memorable because Scheurer is the first Centennial boys’ swimmer to commit to swim for a NCAA Division I school.   

Max’s competitive swimming career started when he joined the Centennial boys swimming team as an eighth grader. He chose to participate in the sport because he had a few friends that were Centennial swimmers and he was looking for something to do after school during the winter months.  His first two years on the team were rough as he struggled with performing an efficient flutter kick, a legal dolphin kick and functional front starts off the block, but by the end of his freshman year his coaches noticed that Max had “that something special” that made him a little different than his fellow teammates.  

Volunteer Coach Greg Belting mentioned that early on Scheurer found a niche for himself in swimming and believes that it is Max’s outstanding work ethic and his focus on technique improvement that brought him to this signing moment.  Coach Greg stated that the best words to sum Max up are "Determination! Determination!”  Head Coach Pete Crawford agrees with Belting and adds that Scheuer is extremely coachable.  Coach Pete remembered how he and his coaching staff spent a lot of time working with Max on his technique during his freshman and sophomore years to get him competitive, but that it was truly Scheurer’s drive and determination that has gotten him to this point.”  

Max’s breakout moment was during the 2021-22 Section 7AA Championship meet when he placed second in the 100 Breaststroke with a school record time of :58.59.  At the State Swimming Championship meet Scheurer went on to place 6th in the finals with another school record time of :57.74.  It was after the 2021-22 State Swimming Meet that Max decided to participate in club swimming by joining the North Suburban Aquatic Club (NSAC).  This decision led him to the Speedo Winter Junior Championships that took place December 7th – 10th, 2022.  At this meet Max swam a :55.08 in the 100 breaststroke and a 2:00.87 in the 200 breaststroke.  Shortly after these performances, colleges and universities around the country were knocking on his door. 

Scheurer chose to sign with the University of Minnesota after meeting with its coaching staff.  He feels that they are an amazing group of people. Max also chose the U of M over other schools because he has a strong desire to represent his home state in Big-10 and national competitions.  Max is planning on studying electrical engineering during his four years at the Univeristy of Minnesota. 

When asked what he struggled with most during his five-year swimming career at Centennial High School, he said that it is “getting enough sleep between school, practice and homework”, but Max was quick to mention that the fun he had with his teammates during the pasta feeds before section meets and the bus rides home after swimming meets more than make up for the trouble of balancing school and the practice. Like most of us veteran swimmers have come to realize since our retirement from the sport, Max believes that what he will miss most from his high school swimming career are the teammates that he has become close friends with.