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Grace Donner

Margret Eisenbrandt swims her way to victory.

As the Ponies roared ahead in the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay, Brian Luke, the head coach of the girls swim and dive team, looked up into the stands and saw dozens of people holding signs and cheering his name. At first, he was a little confused, but he looked closer at the signs and they all had ‘125‘ written on them. They were all parents and past swimmers who were paying tribute to an amazing coach who was just about to break the state record for consecutive dual meet victories.

How it all started

Luke’s career in swimming started when he joined a swim club at the age of nine. Later in ninth grade, he joined the high school team at Hopkins, where his father, Elmer Luke, was the head coach. After being on that team for four years, he was recruited to swim for Southwest Minnesota State University for another four years.

After graduating, he came to Stillwater and started coaching in the fall of 1975.

“It was the first girls team I’ve ever had,” said Luke. “And then the following winter was the first boys team.”

Luke had been an assistant coach for a swim club in Marshall, MN while he was in college, but this was a very different experience for him.

“It was an interesting transition,” said Luke. “We only had 11 girls on the team. They were all good swimmers, but we were a bit thin when it came to depth.”

It took the team a few years to build up its strength, numbers and put everything together. Now they have around 70 athletes participating and have won four Minnesota State High School Championships and seven True Team State competitions.

Jacki Delahunt, the secretary for the Athletic office, has known Luke since 1978.

“I first met him when he was my earth science teacher at Oakland Junior High,” Delahunt said. “I swam with him through high school as well.”

Senior Abby Kunze met Luke six years ago when she joined the swim team and is a captain this season.

“I had to go meet him beforehand because I was starting the team a little later than everyone else,” Kunze said. “It was really nerve-racking, actually.”

Luke’s 125 winning streak started 12 years ago.

“Our last loss was the first meet of the season in 2003 against Elk River,” Luke said. “That was a long time ago.”

The night the record was broken

The team tied Elmer Luke’s record on Sept. 10 against Cretin-Derham Hall and broke it on Sept. 17 against East Ridge. Luke, Delahunt and Kunze were all at the meet.

“It was really exciting,” Kunze said. “I think all the swimmers were really shocked about it and you could see the excitement on their faces.”

“It was an incredible accomplishment and it’s hard to believe that a team can go undefeated since 2003,” Delahunt said. “It was really cool that his dad held the record before him too.”

During the last race of the night, the 4×100 meter freestyle relay, the Pony parents and past swimmers held up signs that said ‘125’ and ‘Pony Legacy.’

“I was standing right next to him [Luke] when the signs went up,” Kunze said. “At first he didn’t realize what was happening and then he was like, ‘Oh, those are for me.'”

“That was probably the most emotional part of the whole 125 meet run,” Luke said. “I was kind of facing the other direction and when I turned around they were all holding the signs. I got a bit emotional, but then my wife came up and congratulated me, so it really sunk in there.”

Both Delahunt and Kunze feel that Luke’s classic style of coaching was a big part to the team’s success.

“I believe that his approach and discipline with how he runs the program makes the kids know what’s expected out of them,” Delahunt said. “They are also treated as a team rather than individuals.”

“I think he’s a really great coach,” Kunze said. “He has high expectations for the team and you’re expected to follow his rules.”

He is respectable to the team by giving them the credit rather than himself.

“I didn’t break the record; the girls broke the record,” Luke said.