Most Successful Grads

So our sports information director recently sent out an e-mail asking for a list of successful graduates for a series of articles he's working on. A couple of coaches hit "reply all" with some decent names, but in just a couple of minutes here's what I came up with:

• Alex Van Huis - admitted to four of the top fourteen biomedical engineering programs in the country (he didn't apply to the other ten) and is currently pursuing his PhD.
• Bryan Pelka - studying medicine at the armed services medical school in Bethesda (i.e. he's earning a salary instead of paying $100k/year in med school tuition).
• Ivan Manolov - recruited by Yahoo! out of school, quit that to make six-figures for a hot start-up in the valley (Honestly.com), though he's quitting that to work for another start-up (CollegeSwimming.com)
• Dr. Brad Wipfli - after studying neuroscience, Dr. Brad got his PhD from Arizona State. After this, he was awarded the 2009 dissertation of the year award from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and is now a researcher at the Oregon Health & Science University.
• Nathan Fisher - just graduated from the National University of Health Sciences and is now a Chiropractor.
  
• Chris Trella - Getting Masters in Kinesiology from University of Johannesburg (South Africa) after teaching in Alaskan village and in China.
  
• Henry Somers & Nathaniel Chapman - rapidly rising up the corporate ladder for Oracle and Cummins up in the Twin Cities.
• Stacey Kiefer - Swimwear/Apparel Purchasing Manager with Adolph Kiefer & Associates. She's also a part-time model for Jockey International (photo right).
  
• Steve Szymanski - recruited straight out of Carthage to work for PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the Big Five accounting firms.
• James Beaman & Charlie Staniger - James works at Corporate for Walgreens while Charlie is on the managerial fast-track and running the store at 18th street;
• Justin Reeder - Deputy Sheriff, Porter County Indiana; and
  
• Teachers & Coaches: Almost too many to mention and many I'm sure I've forgotten but they include Andy Bax & Tracey Keckler - both teachers here in KUSD; Tricia Biedron and Kristen Martin (Suburbs), Nick Parry (West Chicago), Jessica Bogie (Delta Aquatics), Delilah Center (Chesterton, Indiana) Amanda Croix (west point), really too many to mention
• 
  

I'm sure I've forgotten some, but not a bad list.

2010 Captain's Biathlon

Each fall the team kicks off the year with the Captain's Biathlon and this year the biathlon went great even though it seemed like the weather wasn’t going to cooperate. Even though we had to bypass the short open water swim due to the rain and temperature we still ran up the beach and back to campus alongside Lake Michigan. Then it’s into the pool for a mile snake swim. With only 4 long course lane lines the guys went down and back in every lane four time weaving under the lanes to continuously swim the mile. Finally, they finish on the track with a one-mile run.

This year, Adam Van Huis became the first back-to-back-to-back winner. Adam relied on a strong run to hold off a hard-charging Adam Glover to successfully defend his title. Eric Ross rounded out the top three with an impressive 44:03. With 11 of the guys under 50:00 this year’s captains biathlon was a success.

Marathon Men

With Spring here, the days are getting longer. Of course with finals coming close, some days will be REALLY long, but congratulations go out to current Red Men Adam Van Huis and 2002 grad DJ Hessenthaler for finishing the inaugural Wisconsin Marathon today (congrats also go out to DJ's wife and former Lady Red Chera for finishing ahead of both in her 1/2 marathon).

Adam finished in 4:06:51, calling it a great experience. He was out holding 8:30's for the first half and then 10:00's after that.

DJ finished in 5:29:51, the operative word being finished. Writing on his Facebook he said the race was "Horrible. It was too hot and I got dehydrated. First 16 miles were doing great. Last 10 I felt like death. Almost gave up completely for a while. "

BUT he didn't, much like John Stephen Ahkwari. Don't know who he is? He ran for Tanzania in the 1968 Olympics. Midway through the marathon, Ahkwari fell and dislocated his kneecap. He didn't quit though, he finished last - but he finished something 17 others didn't. When asked why he answered, "You don’t understand. My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me to finish."

Oh man, less than ten weeks until I undertake a 50 km run.

CCIW Championships - NCAA Cuts

It doesn't seem possible - not when you graduate a class that includes four NCAA Consideration qualifiers and three All-Americans - but this weekend the Red Men posted the most NCAA 'B' qualifiers in school history.

Time will tell what shakes out and who makes Minneapolis, but here's a rundown of who got cuts:

1. Blake Bendix - 200 & 400 Free Relays
2. Jon Bond - 100 Back, 200 Med Relay
3. Kyle Drake - 100 & 200 Back, 400 IM, 400 Med Relay, 800 Free Relay
4. Mitchell Jackson - 800 Free Relay
5. Dan Jones - 200 Free Relay
6. Mike Moravek - 200 Medley Relay
7. Ryan Ortmann - 200 & 400 Free Relays
8. Bob Pellican - 100 Back, 400 Free Relay
9. Nathan Ripley - 50, 100, 200 Free - 400 Medley, 200, 400, 800 Free Relays
10. Isaac Rothenbaum - 200 Free Relay
11. Doug Schranck - 100 & 200 Fly, 200 & 400 Medley Relays
12. Alex Van Huis - 400 Medley Relay
13. Chris Varner - 100 Back

Alex & Rip Selected as Team Captains

Seniors Nathan Ripley and Alex Van Huis were named team captains for the 2009-10 season. While it might seem like a natural to have your two seniors named captains, we actually have each upperclassman on the team complete an evaluation of each captain candidate (this year there were five).

The evaluation isn't original, I adapted it from Jeff Janssen's Leadership Manual, but here's what each guy was evaluated on.

Commitment
___________is one of the hardest workers on the team
___________cares passionately about the team’s success
___________is a competitive person who wants to win

Confidence
___________has the confidence in himself as a person and his ability to lead
___________wants to perform in pressure situations
___________bounces back quickly following mistakes and errors

Composure
___________stays calm and composed in pressure situations
___________stays focused when faced with distractions, obstacles & adversity
___________keeps his anger and frustration under control

Character
___________consistently does the right thing in and out of the pool
___________is honest and trustworthy
___________treats teammates, coaches, and others with respect

Encourager – Servant
___________reaches out to teammates when they need help
___________takes the time to listen to teammates

Encourager – Confidence Builder
___________regularly encourages his teammates to do their best
___________regularly compliments his teammates when they succeed

Encourager – Refocuser
___________communicates optimism and hope when the team is struggling
___________knows what to say to teammates when they are struggling

Encourager – Team Builder
___________has developed an effective relationship with each teammate
___________is a team player who seeks to unify the team

Enforcer
___________holds teammates accountable for following team standards
___________constructively confronts teammates when necessary
___________is willing to address and minimize conflicts between teammates
___________is firm, fair, and direct when dealing with conflicts and problems

Back-to-Back Biathalon Winner

Click Here for Photos

Each fall the team kicks off the year with the Captain's Biathalon.  It begins with a short open-water swim then a run up the beach and back to campus alongside Lake Michigan.  Then it's back into the pool for 12 laps - AROUND the pool.  No lanelines, the guys swim NASCAR-style turning left as they go.  Finally, they finish on the track with a one-mile run. 

This year, Adam VanHuis became the first back-to-back winner since Roberto Jorda-Cid in 2002-03.  Adam relied on a strong run to hold off a hard-charging Eric Ross to successfully defend his title.  Adam Glover rounded out the field as the third guy under 50:00.  Fifteen of seventeen returners bested their time from last year with an average drop of about 4:00.  Ben Coder made the biggest drop, cutting 10:37 off of his time from last year.

Photos & Video to follow, but here are the results.

46:30 Van Huis, Adam
46:50 Ross, Eric
49:04 Glover, Adam
50:19 Moravek, Mike
50:26 Drake, Kyle
51:05 Ripley, Nathan
51:17 Varner, Chris
51:22 VanHuis, Alex
52:09 Schranck, Doug
52:12 Alfes, Pat
52:47 Stowe, Tom
52:50 Rothenbaum, Isaac
53:28 Coder, Ben
54:02 Ortmann, Ryan
54:30 Bendix, Blake
57:05 Hoover, Buck
57:44 Mathe, Stephen
60:30 Underwood, Chris
60:50 Bond, John
64:18 Jones, Dan
64:51 Nelson, Alex
66:28 Pellican, Bob
66:34 Jackson, Mitchell
67:24 Cristino, Mike
72:34 Posluszny, Corey

The 12th Day of Christmas Training

Days 9 and 10 shared a different feeling than days before it for many reasons. First of all, the temperature for morning practice was 55 degrees.
Monday had the benefit of a warm pool. This was a relief when jumping in but later into the practice it felt like we were swimming in a pot of boiling water. Monday morning’s workout was a long 7500 meters for the long mid-distance and distance swimmers. Everyone felt a little sluggish after being in the sun the day before. The practice consisted of a lot of pink, but it was more like red.

At the end of practice Greg told us that Monday night’s practice would be our typical Monday set. That set is 9X 300 or 400 or 500 depending on the cycle. The first three are free, the second three are IM, and the third three are kick. He said that Monday night’s practice would be the 400s. It seemed like we all knew what was coming that night. Let’s just say none of us saw what was coming.Greg is known for changing his mind about a lot of things: what time we’re practicing, when we’re leaving, and what practice will be. Well I guess Greg had a hard time leaving the 500s and 300s out of the workout for that night. Instead of doing 9 X 400s, we did something a little longer. 3 X 500 free, 3 X 500 IM, 3 X 400 free, 3 X 400 IM, 3 X 300 free, and finally 3 X 300 IM. With a little warm up and cool down, the total for that practice was 8300 yards. A nice finish to an already long day

After a hard Monday, we all feared Tuesday would be just as hard or even harder. It was just as cold that morning, except this time the water temperature was a lot colder. The practice Tuesday morning was not easy but not really hard. Our bodies were still recovering from Monday. After practice, the hot tub offered even more recovery both physically and mentally. The distance and long mid-distance watched the sprinters lifting weights; it was nice to finish working before them. As we were relaxing in the hot tub, an “interesting” Santa made us a visit. He gave his speech and then we took some pictures with us. Meanwhile, the sprinters had totally stopped lifting weights and were making sad faces through the window.

Tuesday night was our final practice of Training Trip 2008. We had heard we would be singing the Twelve Days of Christmas at that practice. It sounds harmless, but Greg can make even the most enjoyable caroling a workout. To top it all off, Greg was dressed up as Santa. Our Twelve Days of Christmas went like this:

On the ______ day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

• Day 1: A 25 underwater kick
• Day 2: A 50 fast
• Day 3: 2 x 50 kick
• Day 4: A hundred drill stroke
• Day 5: 30 seconds rest!
• Day 6 : A 100 build
• Day 7: A 150 Pull
• Day 8: A 200 IM
• Day 9: 30 seconds rest!
• Day 10: 3 variable sprints
• Day 11: 11 dolphin dives
• Day 12: A 400 IM

We started with the 25 underwater kick. Then on the next round we did the 50 fast followed by the 25 underwater kick. The third round was 2 50s kick, a 50 fast, and the 25 underwater kick. The nine other rounds followed the same patterns. We soon realized that this was going to get really long. We finished, and everyone was thrilled to be done with Training Trip 2008.

We went back to the hotel to eat pizza, perform our freshmen skits, and present the Training Trip Awards. The pizza was awesome. However, the skits were even better. Greg even said “These skits were better than the seniors’ skits from their freshmen year. Apparently that’s a huge honor. Two skits were performed. A big group consisting of Eric, Boyer, Glover, Coder, Kyle, Ryan, Clinton, Mike and myself. We sang another version of the Twelve Days of Christmas. This version had no swimming, just laughs. The lyrics:

On the _____ day of Christmas, Greg Earhart gave to me...

• Day 1: a kayak through the mangrove trees (a team trip we took)
• Day 2: two boys in love (Isaac and Blake)
• Day 3: three burly men (Greg, Tom, and Guy)
• Day 4: Dan and Ryan flirting (with girls that is)
• Day 5: (Boyer added some rips on Isaac and Blake)
• Day 6: Blake and Isaac (playing)
• Day 7: Carthage swimmers swimming
• Day 8: Crazy driver driving (Guy!!!!!!)
• Day 9: Tom Carroll prancing (with a great impersonation from Eric)
• Day 10: Manny’s monstrous snoring (LOUD)
• Day 11: lots of toilets clogging
• Day 12: WE WENT HOME

Doug and Dan took on the roles of Isaac and Blake in their skit. They acted out the daily lives of the two of them. Most of what they do in a the day isn’t appropriate to write. Maybe the video will get posted and you can see for yourselves. Either way it was hilarious.

After the skits, Steenrod and Bax presented the Training Trip Awards for 2008. Everyone received an award. The awards were comical. Each of them was a personal jab. Greg wrapped up the night with a little speech. I think we all know that we’re going home much stronger than when we came here. CCIW Conference and Nationals… Here we come!

Sea of Red

Look at the sea of Red at the Kiefer/Speedo booth at Olympic Trials. As you pass through the aisles, you'll see a lot of Carthage Red (unless its the blue, or grey day). They're working long hours, getting great seats and meeting lots of swimming's biggest stars (and their parents).

The Venice Diaries: Day Five Alex VanHuis

Today was another beautiful day in sunny Florida. The day started out pretty much the same as all the others. One nice thing is that it is getting warmer and warmer each morning. This morning we did dryland before practice. Instead of going inside like other mornings to escape the cold, today we stayed outside for the first time this trip. The workout this morning for the mid-distance and the distance group was a long aerobic one. The sprinters did a one-hundreds set that everyone was talking about. I heard a few people talking about how fast they were going. Then I heard that Bryce went a 51 from a push at the end of the set.

Training trip usually brings about swims that you don’t see at a normal practice. Last year I remember Zach and Steve going 2:17 in the 200 breaststroke in the middle of practice. Last night Paul was doing a 200’s set with Pelka and he went 1:52 from a push in the middle of their set. These swims are proof that as a team, the level of our training has definitely been elevated to another level on this trip.

After the morning it was back to the hotel to finish up what was left of the complementary breakfast. Since it was another nice day, a bunch of us headed out to the beach again after breakfast. Today we went to a different beach about a mile and a half from Venice beach. After a few minutes someone suggested that we walk down to Venice beach since there wasn’t much going on where we were. When someone promised that there would be girls at the other beach it didn’t take much convincing. After about a twenty minute walk we made it to the other beach and much to our dismay, the only girls on the beach were old enough to be my grandma. This prompted a few of the guys to make their own girl out of sand. It started out by burying Chris Varner. A few minutes later Steenrod and Bax were cuddling with their creation. The rest of the day at the beach consisted of digging tunnels and soaking up the Florida sun.

After coming back from the beach we had just enough time to get a quick nap in and a bite to eat. Afternoon practice for the mid-distance and distance group was one that is full of tradition. It was “The Fly Set” day. It was nine 200s. They start out as a 200 free. Then next one you subtract a 25 free and add 25 fly or another stroke. You do this until you do the whole 200 fly or the stroke you were doing. The goal is to hold your pace or get faster throughout the set. This year Pelka, Tom, Ben and I did the set fly. The set was pretty hard. To add insult to injury, about half way through I looked over at the sprinters and they were working on their turns.

Well it is about time for bed. Tomorrow we have a big day. The University of Cincinnati is coming up from Naples to try and match our biathlon abilities. It should fun. See you later.

Another Record - This Time From Wisconsin

Another LC record this morning for Bryce Davis at the Wisconsin State Championships. Bryce went a 25.11 which bettered his team best 25.27. We're looking for more tonight though. On Thursday Bryce split a 23.9 on the Ozaukee Aquatics 200 free relay.

In the breaststrokes, Alex VanHuis and incoming frosh Derek Schneider have been keeping close company in the breaststrokes. They went 21-22 in the 100 yesterday and were 18th and 20th in the 200 breast this morning. They're also swimming the 500 tonight.

Out in Maryland, we've got some more incoming guys at Y-Nationals. Ben Healy 4:30.45 in the 400 free, 5:03.40 in the 400 IM, Cary Healy 32.48, 1:13.28, and 2:40.46 in the breaststrokes and 5:08.30 in the 400 IM.

More details at the develop...still looking for Michigan State Meet Results