The Sphinx Club honored volunteer assistant swim coach Hugh Vandivier, '91, last Thursday evening by making him an honorary member of the Order of the Sphinx Club of Wabash College. Hugh has been an active alum on the pool deck over the past six seasons, and also has served Wabash as a Class Agent, chairman of the Phi Delta Theta building campaign, Indianapolis and National Associations of Wabash Men, as well as his most recent role as volunteer coach/mentor to the newly formed Wabash Polo Club. The members of the Sphinx Club recognize Hugh's continued love and passion for supporting Wabash men and believe that his involvement will continue to serve the students of the college.

It was an especially memorable night for the three members of the team who were able to present Vandivier with his characteristic white "pot." This included Kyle O'Keefe, '08, John Kasey, '08, and Tony Caldwell, '07. We were all extremely honored to have him join our organization and believe that he symbolizes what Wabash is all about. Make sure you congratulate Hugh the next time you see him and make sure he's not calling too many air raids!

-Tony Caldwell '07

(Pictured Above: Kyle O'Keefe, John Kasey, Hugh Vandivier, and Tony Caldwell)

Posted by at 06:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow...

One week ago Tony Caldwell jumps in and goes 52.45 in the 100 back. Four tenths slower than his current school record. We were happy to see him scoring us 4th place points again at the conference meet, but we all hoped for a little more - especially after the senior year he had put together. Today, he leads off our 400 medley relay in a 52.98 - a tough start to the day. He was out in a 25.5 (which is good) but there was an obvious struggle to bring it home (he simply was trying too hard). About an hour later (and a 200 Medley Relay under his belt) he jumps in and goes out in a 26.4 and ends up posting a 53.00. Way too slow going out (but 26.6 on the way home). Twenty minutes later it's time for his last chance, a 100 Back Time Trial. His last words had something to do with "not feeling it today but I'm going to go out FAST," to which I replied, "just breath a lot that first 50, get enough oxygen to hold on (pause, and pause again)... pleeease" Well, he went out in 25.31 - and it looks easy - and my heart rate just about doubles. As I am watching the second 50 unfold, I like the pace he is keeping, but notice the fatigue of a 3rd 100 is setting in... then a quick look at the clock and I see 48...49... then back down to Tony... then he touches... and then the clock pauses for what seems like an eternity... finally...

51.88! (New School Record and nearly a lock to go to the NCAA meet!)

Holy cow... I can't stop shaking...

Thirty minutes later (and still kind of shaky) Adam Petro jumps in for his 200 fly and goes out in a 54.99 - a full second slower than his 1:54.00 was out one week ago... but I can't stop smiling b/c Adam's last 50 all year has been between a 30 and 32 (that isn't good). So now I can tell he is finally trying what we have been talking about... something new and maybe something better. I watch the next 50 come in at 29.09 - and he is at 1:24.08. Will he have the last 50? Heck yeah! He swims in, touches the wall, and goes 1:53.62 (29.54!)

Now, in 2005 we went many times that "had always made the meet before," but ended up not making them that year. In fact, Caldwell still holds the fastest 100 back time in the history of Division III swimming to never make the meet. But this year, I feel confident these two will make it.

Houston 2007 - I believe the Little Giants are back! Caldwell's time is 9th right now and Petro's is 11th (with about 18 invited those are very good places to be).

There were many other great swims today, including the 200 Medley Relay dropping another tenth to go 1:34.60 (probably will end up top 15 in the country!) but those two highlights had to be written about before I could fall asleep. It was fun!

-PHC

Posted by at 12:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We head off to the Kenyon Last Chance Meet Friday after classes are over. Traditionally this meet is very fast and always a good time. This year we are bringing our biggest group (13!) and the guys are either hoping to improve their B-Cuts, or simply go another personal best. Getting one more chance to swim shaved and tapered, in peak physical condition, seems to be something this team doesn't want to miss out on!

Combining another week of rest with what could be the fastest pool in the country is always the right combination when you are looking for improvement. I'll be sure to update the blog Saturday evening with a recap of how things went. If you are looking for information sooner - click here: Kenyon's Results Page. Below are some picts of Kenyon's new facility... the perfect place for a regular season to come to an end!

Many may be wondering what exactly needs to happen this weekend. Well, here is where we stand. Freshman Adam Petro's 200 Fly is currently ranked 9th in the country. If he can drop about 4 tenths he'll be a shoe in for the national meet (he's actually sitting pretty good right now!). Tony Caldwell is currently 18th in the 100 Back, but he is only 2 tenths out of 10th. If he can also find about 4 tenths, he'll join Petro in the pool next week. Finally, our 200 and 400 Medley Relay are ranked about 10th right now. They need to drop 1 second in the 200 and 2 seconds in the 400 in order to be thinking about an invite... anything less will keep them on the bubble. As a reminder though, we dropped 1.5 seconds in our 200 Free Relay at this meet last year, so this is totally doable!

The training has never been better than this year... All they need to do is find their rhythms and let the pool be good to them! Stay tuned for the good news.

Posted by at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Simply put, what a fantastic weekend. For the fifth straight year the team scored more points than the previous. They had dozens upon dozens of lifetime bests, some were named All-Conference, two broke the oldest school record, and 6 different Little Giants were part of NCAA National B-Cuts (Blackwell (1 B-Cut), Cooper-Surma (1), Weaver (1), Petro (2), Dent (2), and Caldwell (3).

Most that have been reading along have heard about the many accomplishments, a few of the obstacles, and even about a set-back or two... but what no one will understand is the true emotional roller-coaster that took place - and the amount of respect I have for all of those that persevered through.

Maybe†it was coming back from a disappointing swim only to immediately improve when given the next opportunity. Or maybe it was battling a severe stomach flu only to jump in and swim passionately (and inspiring your teammates once again). Or it may have been going out as hard as possible, knowing it was going to hurt, but more importantly, hoping that taking the ultimate risk was what would get you back on track. Whatever the case may be (and there are so many more), these Little Giants scrapped and clawed their way to one of the most memorable performances of my career.

Heart, determination, and loyalty are words that come to mind immediately when thinking about this past weekend.

Finally, congratulations Weaver for finishing off your NCAC career with 3 lifetime bests, 1 NCAA Cut, and 2 All-Conference performances! Congratulations Caldwell for always finding a way to improve this weekend, and culminating that with a lifetime best in the 200! Taking a year off and coming back with the success you just experienced is unheard of among my peers and colleagues. I can't wait to see you two lead once again next weekend.

Posted by at 05:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Blogging at 11:10? Yeah, I feel compelled to send some messages. First of all, lets check out the numbers!

We picked 17 swimmers and 3 divers to be our official scorers at this meet. For the first time in my five years all 20 athletes came back at night and scored the team points. Wow!

Next, there were 6 individual events tonight - and this was the first time we had someone in the Top 8 of every single event!

Brent Graham - 8th / 400 IM

Adam Petro and Kyle Weaver - 5th and 8th / 100 Fly

Jordon Blackwell - 7th / 200 Free

Robert Dent - 8th / 100 Breast

Tony Caldwell - 4th / 100 Back (52.45 NCAA B-Cut!)

Rob Fenoglio - 6th / 3M Diving

Now for our relays...

Our 200 Medley Relay swam 175 yards neck for neck with Kenyon and Denison. They both pulled away on the last length (yeah, they anchor with the 4th and 5th fastest guys in the country!)... but when all was said and done, we had dropped 6 tenths from the morning, came in 2nd place (All-Conference), and swam a very strong B-Cut (Caldwell (24.4), Dent (26.5), Weaver (22.4), and Cooper-Surma (21.3) - 1:34.7).

Our 800 Free Relay came out on fire too! It was a battle for 3rd place the entire way with Wooster and Wittenberg, but in the end our training and heart paid off with another All-Conference performance - and the fastest time I've seen since I've been here! (Blackwell - 1:45, Cooper-Surma - 1:48, Sanders 1:46, and Petro 1:45 - 7:05.15)

Honestly, at times today the fatigue of a 3 day meet against the top 2 teams in the country showed - and some guys swam a little flat, but all in all we are swimming tough, and the training we did this year is going to pay off tomorrow more than ever. Stay tuned for more exciting news.

WAF!

†

Posted by at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Without taking risks you can never be amazing. And you just can't have a breakthrough performance playing it safe. Those were my words after our initial DQ in the 200 Free Relay tonight... Man did our 500 freestylers take that to heart.

Paul Wilson went from 5:06 to 4:57... and won the bonus heat in convincing fashion. The entire team went crazy when he touched first - and the fun began. In the next heat Craig Vetor matched his lifetime best from the morning (4:52) and Brent Graham also moved up from 16th to 10th! In the final heat, Elijah Sanders dropped 3.5 seconds and moved up from 8th to 7th. By the way, Elijah broke the school record going 4:43.8 - but wait!... remember Brent Graham? The guy that came in 10th overall? Well, his time was 4:42.15! So yes, two guys broke our oldest record! (Thank you Dr. John Murphy '80) - and Brent Graham gets to walk away with his name on the board!

Rob Dent continued the night along with a 3 tenth drop in his IM going 1:58.7 and then the SEVEN returning scorers in the 50 freestyle scored the team 78 points and brought them from 5th to 3rd overall!

The final highlight of the night came with our All Conference and NCAA B-Cut 400 Medley Relay!

Tony Caldwell - 52.5 / Robert Dent - 58.7 / Adam Petro - 51.1 / Jordon Blackwell 46.6

For a time of 3:29.1

What a turn around!

DQ'ing your first relay of the meet can unravel some teams, but not these guys. It was a day full of ups and downs. Two sessions with a disaster, and a few too many mistakes waiting at each turn. But now that the team has their feet settled... now that they've broken a school record... now that they are All-Conference... and now that they are one of this nation's best - well, now I guess we are ready for tomorrow!

Wabash Always Fights was much more than a motto tonight

Posted by at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What is so special about Wabash is that every year as the Conference Meet draws closer I receive notes from Alumni, Friends of the program, and even family. I thought I would cut and paste them together for you so can start to understand how far the Wabash Swimming Family really extends!

--

Notes: (starting out with my Pops!)

• Wabash good luck on the championship. I am sure the team "will swim their best, always to conquer and never to yield !! Go.4.AU." - Papa

• Looking forward to reading about all the LTBs, NCAA qualifying times, and new records! You guys are going to swim great. - Stephen Turk

• The team should know that they are poised for great things at NCAC - and nothing can hold them back. I know [everyone] is probably a little high strung right now, but if they have committed to your regiment all year long then everything will be fine, I should say, will be great... I will have my computer with me all weekend so I will be able to keep up to date on the results. I would wish the team good luck but that would be like wishing Jack Bauer good luck right before he entered a gun fight with a terrorist, armed only with his fists.... Completely unnecessary. - Andrew Wells '06

• Pass on good luck wishes to the team for their conference meet. As I recall, this is always a very exciting, fun time of year. I am confident that they will rise to the challenges, both personal and competitive. I hope everyone hits their taper juuuuust right. Give ‘em hell. - Dave Burleigh ‘99

• Best of luck this weekend. I’ll be following and pulling for the team, as I do every year. And tell those sprinters, it’s about time that the records start falling. Best wishes, David Kent

• It looks you have had a pretty darn good season so far, and I am confident the best is yet to come. It appears the swimmers and staff have done a lot of hard work to get to this point, all that is necessary now is to let a positive attitude and belief in what you have done carry you the rest of the way to your goals. BELIEVE AND YOU CAN ACHIEVE! Trust in your training, swim smart, and the everything will take care of itself. Good luck and have fun!!! - Roy Dessloch Class of 1982

• PLEASE TELL THE GUYS THAT MICHELLE, AUBREY, BRAXTON AND I WILL BE WEARING OUR SCARLET AND CHEERING FOR THEM. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE. GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS. - RON Z '93

• Good Luck! - Andy Biddle (swimming official)

• Pete / Swimmers - Best wishes this weekend...hopefully the sight of Richard Roomes barely keeping his head above water will be motivational for the guys. - jamie lemmond (football / track coach)

• Good luck to you and the Wabash men at conference. We're cheering from CT - The McKones

• Best wishes to swimmers, divers, and coaches for a safe and productive trip to Canton. The NCAC offers the Little Giants the opportunity to fulfill great expectations. May each man perform his lifetime best in the water and on the boards. Wabash is ready to return to the NCAA III National Championships! - Gail P.

• Best of luck to all of the Wabash Swimmers from Southern California! Go Wabash! - John Murphy

• Good Luck Little Giants!!! Remember, Wabash always fights! Also, here's my message to all those swimming 200 Butterfly: Relax during the first 100 and get into a good rhythm. You are in good shape and will get through the first 4 laps without much effort (don't go out too strong). Then at the turn say to yourself "It's only at the turning point that you find out how to fight". Focus on your stroke - during the 150 lap you'll need to think about keeping your stroke together, strong and clean - it's the key to the race. At the turn for the last 2 laps, just think you are almost home. Again focus on your stroke, reach and finish strong. At the 175 turn just bust ass. You don't want to have anything left at the end, so just stretch for the finish. The 200 Fly is a tough grind if you are timid and weak, but when you're strong and mean, it's the greatest race of all. Have fun with it and enjoy! (I must give a credit to Peter Gabriel and Genesis from their album "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" for my quote "it's only at the the turning point that you find out how to fight". The music may be outdated or obscure to the young kids today, but for old farts like myself, it continues to provide inspiration to me when I'm in the water.) - Kevin Crowe

• Petey - wanted to wish you luck at conferences - tear it up, Little Giants! - AHP

• Just wanted to wish you and the team best of luck this coming weekend. I know all the hours of work that has gone into training is going to pay off - and I’m excited to watch the results this weekend! Good luck and many best times.  - Steve Birrer

Posted by at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)