Jade Roghair follows sisters as ‘incredible example’ for Iowa City West swimming

IOWA CITY — The Roghair name has been synonymous with girls’ swimming at Iowa City West for more than a decade.

It began in 2009 when Jasmine Roghair started her career as a freshman. Now Jade, the youngest of Robert and Pei-Fen Roghair's four daughters, is entering the final weeks of her career at West.

The senior is one of the state's best distance freestylers, posting the top times in the state this year in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles.

Jade Roghair and her West teammates begin what Trojans Coach Byron Butler calls "the championship season" on Saturday at the Mississippi Valley Conference meet. West is a heavy favorite to win its fifth straight conference crown. The swimming portion of the meet is set for noon in the Hal Krizan-Jim Voss Pool at Cedar Rapids Washington. Diving will be held Thursday, beginning at 5 p.m.

With the exception of 2016, there has been a Roghair on the West roster since Jasmine's first year. Ariel was on the team from 2012-15 followed by Aurora (2017-20) and now Jade (2019-22), who said she has never felt any pressure to meet the standards of her sisters.

“I always saw my sisters’ success as an inspiration of the things you can achieve through perseverance,” she said. “They have helped motivate me and realize who I want to be like when I'm older. My parents never put pressure on me to be like my older sisters and helped me understand that I had my own path to create.”

That path has included success in the classroom and the pool. A top student at West, Jade Roghair plans to major in premed while continuing her swimming career. She hasn't made a final college decision, but said the plan is to swim for an NCAA Division I program.

This year, she has been the unquestioned leader for fifth-ranked West.

“Jade is incredibly dedicated,” Butler said. “Her ability to push herself to work incredibly hard in the classroom, pool and weight room is No. 1. When you couple that with her intelligence for modifying technique, her coachability and her competitiveness, you have a recipe for an outstanding student-athlete.”

One thing that has eluded Jade in her career is an individual state title. Sister Aurora, who was named The Gazette's Athlete of the Year in 2021, won six state titles. Jade was part of two winning relays with her sister in 2020.

“Winning an individual title would be an amazing added bonus, but I am mainly just excited to race the tough competition and see my hard work pay off,” Jade said. “I'm extremely lucky to have family and friends that will support me in everything I do and I know they will be proud no matter the outcome.”

Even if an individual title eludes Jade, she knows swimming is just a part of what she will leave behind when she graduates from West.

“I see my legacy as helping others understand that it's important to celebrate any and all of your small wins,'” she said, “understanding that times don't define success and continually showing up to practice, ready to put in your best effort.”

For Butler, whose West coaching career began in the early 2000s, it will be different when next season rolls around without a Roghair sister on the West roster.

“It is just sad, frankly,” he said. “It means I'm getting old, but it also means I am losing out on all of the qualities someone like the Roghair sisters have brought to our teams and my life and development as a coach.

“I've said it before, but having them to point to sets an incredible example for the other athletes on the team. Not only do they have the attributes I've listed above, but they are creative, nice and wonderful teammates. Robert and Pei-Fen have raised four incredible girls that embody what a West student-athlete should hope to be.”