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)

Posted by Kyle Dunaway at 12:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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!

Posted by Kyle Dunaway at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Posted by Kyle Dunaway at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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!

Posted by Kyle Dunaway at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)