Scott Usher

Hometown: Grand Island, Neb.
Sport: Swimming
Years: 2002-05

The first Wyoming swimmer ever to compete in the Olympic games (2004), Scott Usher earned five All America honors (four first-team) over the course of his college career. He earned a trip to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens after placing second in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:10.90) at the US Olympic Team Trials on July 11, 2004, finishing second to a World Record swim by Texas’ Brendan Hansen (2:09.04). He placed seventh in the finals of the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. He swam a finals time of 2:11.95, the fifth fastest semi-final time of 2:12.00 and the ninth best preliminary time of 2:13.59. Usher still holds the Mountain West Conference record, the Wyoming record, the MWC Championships record and the Corbett Pool record in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events. A six-time conference champion, Usher won 35 of the 36 dual meet breaststroke events he raced while at Wyoming and placed second once. In his freshman year, he won the 200 breaststroke and placed fifth in the 100 breaststroke at the 2002 MWC Championships. As a sophomore, he won both breaststroke events at the conference championships and placed sixth in the 200-yard breaststroke at the 2003 NCAA Championships with a time of 1:57.05. He was selected as an All-American for his finish. He also placed 15th in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 54.75, earning honorable mention All-American honors. In 2004, he was named MWC Swimmer of the Year after again winning both breaststroke events at the conference meet and was again a two-time All-American after placing third in the 100-meter breaststroke (59.01) and second in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:07.66) at the NCAA Championships. As a senior, he won the fourth 200-yard breaststroke title of his career at the 2005 MWC Championships, swimming to a time of 1:57.51. He placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 54.33. He was awarded the MWC’s Senior Recognition Award following the championships. Usher then earned the fourth first-team All-American and fifth overall honor of his career by placing fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke (1:55.33) at the 2005 NCAA Championships. Usher earned a spot on the 2005 U.S. World Championship team by placing second in the 200-meter breaststroke at the World Championship Trials, April 1-5, 2005 in Indianapolis, Ind., and participated in several national and international events. A four-time letterwinner at Wyoming, he also earned Mountain West Conference Swimmer of the Week honors three times during his career. He is one of two sons of Tom and Pam Usher, and graduated from high school in Grand Island, Neb.