Accomplishments: Won national championships in the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard butterfly at the 1963 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championships to help North Central College capture its fourth NAIA national title; member of first-place 400-yard medley relay teams at 1963 and1964 NAIA Championships; took second in the 200-yard butterfly and third in the 100-yard butterfly to help North Central finish third in the nation in 1964; College Conference of Illinois champion in the 200-yard butterfly (1963-1964, 1966) and 100-yard butterfly (1964, 1966).
Mark Michelson ’66 followed in the footsteps of his older brother Larry Michelson ’64, also a 2008 North Central College Athletic Hall of Fame inductee. A standout swimmer at Elgin High School (Illinois), Michelson spent his first year of college swimming on scholarship for the University of Iowa.
However, Michelson found that his life consisted of nothing but “swimming and studying” in Iowa City and decided to transfer to North Central. He already knew several members of the team, and the transition was easy.
Michelson’s impact was immediate. He won the 100 and 200-yard butterfly events and was part of the championship 400-yard medley relay at the 1963 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championships, helping the Cardinals to their fourth national title. In 1964 he was second in the 200-yard butterfly and third in the 100-yard butterfly, and was again part of the first-place 400-yard medley relay to help North Central College take third at NAIA National Championships.
After missing most of the 1964-1965 season because of illness, Michelson returned the following year and repeated as an NAIA All-American while also being named the team’s MVP and earning the College’s William W. Shatzer ’42 Award as the top senior male student-athlete.
Michelson also excelled at the conference level, winning College Conference of Illinois titles in the 200-yard butterfly in 1963, the 100 and 200-yard butterfly in 1964, and the 100 and 200-yard butterfly in 1966.
After graduating in 1966 with a degree in political science, Michelson worked in the business world before becoming a coach and teacher at Longmeadow High School in Massachusetts. As head swimming coach, he coached 57 state champions and led the school to three state championships from 1973-1983. Michelson then moved to Williams Middle School, where he taught for 20 years before retiring in 2004.
