Carter becomes first Wolf Pack swim Hall of Famer

Over the course of four seasons, Paige Carter proved herself to be one of the best swimmers to ever represent Loyola University New Orleans by earning First Team All-America recognition in seven different events. She also still held four individual school records when she first became eligible for the Wolf Pack Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2025. And those two elements propelled her to a rare unanimous selection, cementing her place in maroon and gold history. 
 

The Wolf Pack Athletics Hall of Fame will take place on Saturday, Jan. 24. For more information, please visit: loyno.edu/hof26. We'll highlight each of our four inductees this week, leading up to the celebration. 
 

Carter's various achievements include three podium finishes at National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics meets: runner-up in the 400-yard individual medley in 2019 and 2020, as well as third place in the 500-yard freestyle in 2018. She finished inside the NAIA top eight in three other events, scoring fourth and sixth place, respectively, in the 1,650-yard freestyle as well as the 500-yard freestyle in 2020, and attaining eighth in the 500-yard freestyle in 2019. 
 

Her performances helped the Loyola women's swim team finish sixth overall in the NAIA in 2018 and 2019, which were only the program's second and third seasons in existence. In 2020, Carter and the women's Wolf Pack collectively placed eighth for a third consecutive top 10 finish. "The team's performance was huge," Carter would tell The Maroon after the 2018 national meet. "I just can't believe it. I'm speechless." 
 

That quote revealed Carter's team-first mentality. That way of thinking served her well at that particular NAIA meet, where she had a hand in setting two team relay records: in the 800-yard freestyle and the 400-yard individual medley. 
 

But the program record books established that she was the squad's star. 
 

Carter secured three of her First Team All-America titles in events at the 2019 NAIA meet. The remaining four she captured at the 2020 NAIA meet. Meanwhile, at the time of her selection for the Wolf Pack athletics hall of fame, she still held individual school records in the 500-yard freestyle; 1,650-yard freestyle; 200-yard breaststroke; and 400-yard medley.
 

And Carter furthermore hung Loyola's banner highest twice at the 2020 Mid-South conference championships, winning individual league titles in the 1,650-yard freestyle and 400-yard medley. 
 

Among those who got the closest look at Carter's excellence was swim coach Thomas "TJ" Natal, who once told Loyola's student newspaper The Maroon that he was even more impressed with the intangible qualities that drove her daily in all contexts. 
 

"Paige has impressed me the most just with her attitude, not only in the pool but in life in general," Natal said to the outlet. "She's very positive, a very pleasant person, and she's always got a smile on her face.
 

"Just her attitude towards life, in the pool, in school and in general is what has impressed me the most."
 

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