February 15, 2008
NCAC Championships-Day 1
The Little Giant Tankers are off and running at the 2008 NCAC Swimming and Diving Championships at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, OH. After the first day of competition, the Tankers are sitting in 3rd place with 304 points behind perennial powerhouses Denison (557) and Kenyon (452). A year ago, after the first day of competition, Wabash had 258 points on their way to a 998-point total for the meet. With our sights set on inching close to the 1,200-point mark this year, most would say we are off to a great start!
Highlights of the meet thus far include one new school record in the 500 Freestyle—broken by Sophomore Elijah Sanders ’10—and two NCAA provisional ‘B’ cuts (500 Freestyle, 400 Medley Relay). Sanders came through with an inspiring swim of 4:38.71, improving upon his morning swim of 4:47.89 to break the school record set by Brent Graham ’09 just one year ago. Capping off the evening session was the 400 Medley Relay team of Zach Phillips ’11, Evan Rhinesmith ’11, Adam Petro ’10, and JordOn Blackwell ’09, who finished just off a school record with an NCAA provisional ‘B’ cut of 3:28.70.
In addition to those highlights, fantastic swims were turned in by Paul Wilson ’10 (19th - 500 Freestyle), Eric Vaughn ’11 (13th - 200 Individual Medley), Rhinesmith (17th - 200 Individual Medley), Peter Hewitt ’10 (18th - 200 Individual Medley), Robert Fozkos ’10 (10th - 50 Freestyle), and Zach Phillips ’11 (20th - 50 Freestyle).
For complete results, please visit the championship web site!
NCAC photos by Robbie Gantt (Wittenberg)
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February 13, 2008
NCAC Championship Information
As we rumble with our fellow conference foes at the 2008 NCAC Swimming and Diving Championship meet in beautiful Canton, OH this weekend, I wanted to be sure to provide you with the necessary information to track our progress throughout the three day event. This year's meet will be hosted by Wittenberg University as we turned over the reins from hosting last year's competition.
If you have a free moment and wish to check in on how the guys are swimming or diving, you can visit the championship website here. This will provide you with event-by-event results and will list current team standings as each event passes.
Thank you to everyone for your support this season. We look forward to a fantastic weekend!
Go Little Giants!
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February 01, 2008
Holá from España
Jonathan Harris '09--What comes to mind when one thinks of Spain? Is it spicy food or mariachi music as found in Mexico? If it is, that person needs to rethink and explore what Spain actually is. I have been doing that over the last 5 weeks.
The most startling differences between an American’s understanding of his own culture and that of Spain come more from the mundane day-to-day tasks than anything. I was surprised most by the food and how time is used here in Spain. I live in Salamanca, a two hour bus ride west from Madrid. Salamanca is a very small town considering how many people live in it. There are about 300,000 inhabitants in this city that is home to one of the four oldest universities in Europe. The University of Salamanca was founded in 1218 in what was then the Kingdom of LeÛn. Today, the University is still here even if the political and geographic arrangements of 'Spain' have shifted.
As I have said, the two biggest differences in the culture that I am growing used to are the food and the schedules of people here. The food, contrary to what I thought when I got here was surprisingly less spicy. It is still tasty, though. The meat is mostly pork, and not just bacon and sliced ham used for sandwiches but also every other cut imaginable. When you buy pork here, you almost always end up buying a whole leg. But you also find some more familiar foods like rice and hot dogs.
The time is what has been hardest to adjust to. My meals have typically been at 8 in the morning, 3 in the afternoon, and around 10 at night. I have also had to get used to the large periods of time that stores are closed. Most places are closed between one and 5 in the afternoon. But that just makes it convenient to take naps everyday. So far it has been a different, but excellent trip. I can only hope to learn more about this unique culture the longer I stay.
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Reflections on a broken record...
Nick Collins '03--First of all, I want to congratulate Elijah on a great 1000 swim right after Florida training. I wish him the best over the rest of this season and his remaining two years at Wabash.
When I first heard about my record being broken (a text from Ben Hewitt), I immediately began to recall my record breaking swim. We were swam against DPU @ DPU, and the meet occurred after our NCAC conference meet. My main competition was Gary Mineart (Wabash) and Landon Williams (DPU). My lap counter, the one and only Jeremy Fackenthal. I do not remember a lot of the swim itself, I know that I had the classic song, "Radar Love" by Golden Earring in my head. It was and still is a great song to swim distance to because of the consistent beat and how it builds in conjunction with your tempos as the race goes on. Beyond that, I remember the turns and thinking to myself, "I will not lose this race." Nearing the finish, I can recall seeing the excitement of Coach Pebworth and my teammates as I closed out my race. Being the PAK that I am, after the victory I congratulated Landon and told him I looked forward to our 500 race.
Breaking that record set the tone for the rest of the meet. We won the meet 165-135. You can view the results here.
Best of luck to the Little Giants heading into the Conference Championships!
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January 21, 2008
What does the DePauw rivalry mean to you?
VS. 
This week is a big week for us in the pool. Not only do we have our annual battle with the DePauw Tigers on Friday evening (7:00PM/at DePauw), but we come home to face DII powerhouse--University of Indianapolis--Saturday afternoon for another battle in the Class of 1950 Natatorium (1:00PM/Senior Day). Although having two tough meets back-to-back sets us up very nicely to compete at a high level at our conference championship meet, it is always a challenge to face your biggest rival one day and follow that with another highly contested opponent the very next day.
In talking with some of the guys and other coaches this past weekend, the topic of the Wabash-DePauw rivalry was top of mind. Every year when we compete against DePauw, countless stories are shared by alumni and former coaches about what the rivalry has meant to them over the years, what crazy things may have happened in the past and it is so awesome to see how passionate we are here at Wabash about the (friendly) rivalry.
Having a rivalry as strong as Wabash vs. DePauw has enabled this community to come together in all sports, to root for one another, to cheer for fast times and good races. But more importantly, this rivalry provides us with the opportunity to share in our experiences long past this season and even graduation. You won’t always remember how fast you went in every event. You won’t always remember race strategy or how your teammates fared in similar situations. You will, however, remember the times when you came together as a unit, as a family, to compete against your biggest rival. You will remember the nervous energy you have before the meet or before your races, you might remember a big swim or two by one of your teammates (or yourself), the wins and losses…but it’s the idea of a rivalry that allows us to share in such memories.
We are encouraging anyone that would be interested in sharing memories of the Wabash-DePauw rivalry to do so as a ‘Comment’ to this blog entry. It does not necessarily have to be specific to our sport, but it gives all of us the opportunity to hear what this rivalry means to you.
So, what do you remember most about the rivalry between Wabash and DePauw or what does the rivalry mean to you?
Come support your swimmers and divers on Friday!
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January 14, 2008
A look back...and a look ahead!
It is just about six months since I started at Wabash College and despite a semester filled with more ups and downs than Six Flags, it has been the best decision I have ever made. In my first semester at Wabash College I have been provided incredible insight to what it means to be a Wabash Man. Whether it was the death of a team member, the absence of key members at important meets, or the trials and tribulations of 38 degree winter training, this team and school has impressed me every day that I have been here.
Never before have I worked with a group of people (including swimmers, staff, faculty and administration) who came together as successfully with a singular purpose: support their Wabash brothers in a difficult time. The death of a team member is as difficult a situation as a college team can face and this school rallied to support each other like no other school can. I have never been prouder of a team than the one that took the bus ride to Patrick’s hometown this fall. I am sure his memory shall continue to inspire Wabash Men long after the students who knew him have graduated.
We then faced the TYR Classic Invitational missing two of our best swimmers. With little to expect from the team and hoping for a top 5 performance, we found ourselves narrowly leading the meet after the first day, and ended the meet in a very close third place, due the stand up efforts of the Little Giant swimmers. Knowing we had to make up for the absence of Jordon and Daniel, the team swam splendidly; each swimmer going season best times and Adam Petro setting a new team record in his “off” event.
After finals and a break for the holiday, we were off to sunny Florida. The state held true to its nickname for the first 5 days with weather in the 80’s. But the last three days were marked with weather that dipped into the 30’s. Gone were the “I’m so glad to be swimming outdoors” faces that were training for the first half of the week. In their place were the gritty looks of Wabash Men who “always fight” as they braved the cold front.
Upon returning home we competed tremendously against #6 ranked Washington University. Season or lifetime best times were recorded by Jordon Blackwell, Craig Vetor, Steve Zajac, John Kasey, Paul Wilson, Adam Current, Kyle O’Keefe, and a new pool and team record out of Elijah Sanders in the 1000 yard freestyle. These performances bode extremely well for our NCAC Conference Championships in February. I can’t wait to see how fast we will go!
Wabash Always Fights!
Coach Weitz
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January 06, 2008
Florida Training-Day 7
Hugh Vandivier '91--On Wednesday, we were driving one of the vans down I-95 to Deerfield Beach, Florida, where the team had spent its past three holiday training trips. It was an excursion encouraged by Coach John Weitz to see Peter Casares, whose Bates team was training where we used to. (Coach Weitz gets to see his old team, Johns Hopkins, when we “scrimmage” with them on Friday.)
With 15 upperclassmen in tow, we took one of the vans to visit the former Wabash swim coach and his new team. Senior co-captain John Kasey was maneuvering around the stereotypical gauntlet of pokey retirees in late model Cadillacs, erratic blondes on their cell phones, and hip hop kids speed racing their tricked out Cameros down the HOV lane.
Those of us in the front started a discussion as sophomore Paul Wilson played a well-selected and eclectic array of songs on the radio from his iPod. At one point, Kasey turned to me and said, “You know, Hugh, you’re the Wabash swimming griot."
Unfamiliar with the term, I asked for clarification. Kasey explained, “It’s the member of an African tribe who is the keeper of the oral tradition and history. After learning about it in C&T, [Robert] Fozkos said, ‘That’s Hugh!’
“It’s a position of great respect within the tribe.”
Humbled, the comment managed to shut me up well past the point of our exit onto Hillsboro Blvd.
This season has been one fraught with change and transition that it seemed almost surreal to drive back into our old haunts. We pulled into the Deerfield Aquatic Center and filed into the gate. Peter stood on deck with his Bates zippered hoodie, his hair a little longer. Just like any reception, one by one, the guys came up to Peter and each gave him a big hug. He then told us to hang tight while he finished running his team through dry land exercises as Davidson finished up their practice.
The weather was ideal…for a mid-October Wabash football conference game, that is! That morning, we had already put the guys through some very vigorous dry land training. We had twenty minutes to kill, so instead of watching them loiter, I had them lie on the deck and ran them through a sped up version of mental training. The relaxation tape was a staple of my Florida training experiences with Coach Gail Pebworth, and I replicated it from memory the best I could. My voice became placid and deliberate as I coaxed them to monitor their breathing and slowly relax themselves. I then guided them through a mental scene of a confident swimmer plowing through the water and anticipating the pain to produce an ideal race.
With a great deal less zeal than a Polar Bear Club member, our guys slipped into the bracing water with their Bates counterparts as Peter ran them through a familiar warmup. As you would expect, Peter had been keeping up on the guys and was very impressed with Craig Vetor, who had turned in some impressive times in the December TYR meet. He stopped Nick Rockefeller and corrected his stroke as the rest of the guys worked in with the Bates squad. He grinned as senior co-captain Aaron Spolarich updated him on team and campus tidbits between sendoffs.
We curtailed the main set due to the frigid water and air, with our guys glad to hit the hot showers but concerned about the reduced yardage. Such a team attitude to commitment just made me grin.
Back at the Carriage House Resort, some of the guys took to the newly painted shuffleboard court, challenging Peter to a game in the dying light. I could sense some awkwardness in the coach, like a time traveler running into his former self. You could tell as he slipped into the easy banter with the guys that Wabash had had a great affect on him. And he on these swimmers. He asked sophomore Jordan Extine about his family with great interest. Jordan reported that his dad, a member of the Indiana National Guard, had just left for Iraq.
Soon, it was evident in the unseasonal evening chill that we needed to head back. Another impromptu line formed as Peter hugged and encouraged each of his former swimmers. When he reached me at the end of the line, I said, “John, again, wanted me to tell you ‘Thank you so much for this team.’”
Peter looked at me silently, with a smile creeping across his face.
On the way back I thought about how pleased I was with how our guys have adapted to all that has been thrown at them. And the mishaps and headaches on this trip thus far—the van trouble, logistics of a new place, unique encounters with locals—are very minor compared to year’s past. [Knock on wood for no ER visits.]
I know, I was there. Or at least I know the stories...
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