Grand Finale

Grove City swimmers are looking to go out in style at this year's national championships. In the very first event of the morning, Caleb Courage broke the longest standing NCAA record on the books by going 43.60 in his 100 Yard Freestyle. His time broke the record of 43.65 set by Kenyon's Jim Born in 1985... 24 years ago! He will be the top seed by 0.38 seconds over Denison's John Geissinger heading into tonight's finals. It will be a great race to watch. Remember, LIVE VIDEO is available from CBS Sports... Caleb will be swimming shortly after 6:30 eastern. Timmy is 16th in the 100 after the morning session, and he will be swimming in the consolation heat tonight.

Our 400 Free Relay of Kirk Gagliardo, Peter Larsen, Timmy Whitbeck, and Caleb Courage broke the school record by 5 seconds on their way to a number 2 ranking this morning and will be heavy contenders for the national title tonight.

An awesome surprise I had today was that my best friend Scott drove up from Pittsburgh to Minneapolis and was able to come to the morning session!

What was Dan Wells doing there?

Saturday Swims

Last day of the meet... we enter today in 6th place, just 3 points behind Amherst. Here's who's up this morning:

100 Freestyle
Caleb Courage
Kirk Gagliardo
Peter Larsen
Tim Whitbeck
200 Backstroke
Cam Coppellli
200 Breaststroke
Bennett Keefer
400 Freestyle Relay
Kirk Gagliardo
Peter Larsen
Tim Whitbeck
Caleb Courage

Click here for LIVE RESULTS that will be posted at the completion of each event. If you're having trouble accessing any of those links, click HERE to see the NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIPS HOME PAGE.

Cheez-It

Howdy all!  It's crazy to think we're going into the last day already.  This is my last day of competetive swimming, most likely.  It's been quite a ride!  Anyway, I don't want to get the keyboard all soppy.  I've got the 100 free and 400 free relay this morning.  These are intimidating events for me.  Too long!  I'm trying my best not to dread them, because there's no good reason to.  I'm privileged to swim these events at this level of competition.  And we're really hopeful for the relay.  

It's been a really crazy trip.  Opportunities to trust God abound, because things certainly aren't going as I would have them go.  And I'm not talking about my swims or my times.  I've been really pleased with them.  But in other respects it has been a very challenging few days.  I think this has been the overarching lesson of this year: God doesn't promise that things will be easy, he promises that they'll be for my good.  As someone who places a lot of value on comfort, that's been a hard lesson to learn.  How good of the Lord to give me so many chances!  He has been patient with me.

It's about time to head over to the pool.  Many thanks to those of you who have been praying for my Dad and the rest of my family.  He's doing well, and I think he's getting out of the hospital today.

Love,

Tim

Update...

OK, so it’s been a little while since I’ve been able to post any stories because we’ve been running like crazy since Wednesday afternoon. It has been a busy, fun, and emotional few days; here are some of the highlights from our first two-and-a-half days of competition.

Big Ben - Freshman Ben Bowser bettered his school record swim by 0.5 seconds to finish 19th in the nation.

Wednesday morning was a good session. Ben Bowser dropped a half-second off of his 200 IM record and finished nineteenth. Both Caleb and Timmy’s prelim heats were called back because of false starts. In Timmy’s heat, the guy right beside Timmy was the culprit and he was disqualified. In Caleb’s heat, Caleb was the one who false started but only one of the officials caught it (a DQ requires dual confirmation) so he was still allowed to swim. Coach Fritz was furious and then excited about thirty seconds later when they didn’t disqualify Caleb. That night, Caleb took back his record in the 50 free by becoming the first and only swimmer in Grove City history to go under 20.00 seconds (Timmy went 20.00 in prelims).

Outside of the pool, we went to Jimmy John’s for lunch, which sounded a lot nicer than it actually was. It was basically just a glorified hoagie shop with absolutely no hot food at all. While Coach Fritz was pulling into his parking space, he hit a nail and got a flat tire. After about an hour of waiting, we finally had the spare tire on the car and he took it back to the rental place to get a new vehicle. That night, after finals were over we tried to go to Olive Garden for dinner. Coach Brozenic accidentally put in the wrong street name when she printed out the directions and we followed them all over Minneapolis and eventually ended up at our final destination- which was the middle of a residential neighborhood that was many miles from our intended destination. It turns out that the Olive Garden was literally about five minutes from our hotel, but we spent over an hour looking for it. We were all a little cranky and tired after that adventure. But being tired didn’t stop Peter from heading down to the hot tub, which was filled with collegiate gymnasts who were here for some kind of competition.

GCC Sprint - Three seniors and a freshman collaborate for a 3rd place finish in the 200 Free Relay. Drew, Caleb, and Timmy have achieved a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finish in this event over the past four years.

Thursday morning was a really great morning. Our 200 free relay broke the school record and qualified third for the finals. In the last event of the morning, we came into it ranked thirteenth, but after some amazing swims from Peterman and Timmy (when Timmy entered the water, we were in 15th place) we moved all the way up to 8th! We had lunch with some of the parents at Applebees and then went back to the hotel for a quick nap before finals. In the finals, our 200 free relay broke the school record again. Kirk was absolutely flying down the pool in the second leg of the relay, but he flipped a little too early and missed the wall on his turn (he pretty much barely touched it with his toenails) so we were in eighth place when Timmy hit the water. Timmy and Caleb made up some major ground and brought us all the way back into 3rd place. His turn really didn’t affect the outcome and it was still an amazing swim! Peter allowed Ben Bowser to take his place in the 400 Medley relay that night, giving Ben the chance to earn his first All-American citation and an eighth place finish. As of this moment, Grove City has 7 new All-Americans… all freshmen and sophomores.

Medley - Grove City swimers finished 8th in the 400 Medley Relay.

Thursday Swims

All of the links to live results and video are still valid, so just scroll down a little bit for the links. Here's who's up for the Wolverines this morning:

200 Freestyle Relay
Drew Snyder
Kirk Gagliardo
Tim Whitbeck
Caleb Courage
400 IM
Ben Bowser
100 Butterfly
Ben Bowser
Peter Larsen
200 Freestyle
Kirk Gagliardo
Nick Hamilton
Nate Nielsen
400 Medley Relay
Caleb Courage
Bennett Keefer
Ben Bowser
Tim Whitbeck

The only events that we are expected to final in tonight are the relays, so any individual who sneaks into the top 16 this morning will be "bonus points" for the team in the overall standings.

Wednesday Recap

Out With a Bang - Timmy and Caleb finished 3rd and 2nd in the 50 Freestyle tonight.

We had a great day! Grove City is currently in 4th place after the first day, and we are in a good position to make a move in tomorrow's relays and individual events. Timmy took away Caleb's 50 free record during prelims, only to have Caleb take it back with a 19.97 to get second. Timmy was third with a 20.03. Our Medley Relay was 14th after the prelims and them moved up to 12th tonight. I have to get ready for tomorrow's relay (it starts at 11 Eastern / 10 Central) so I can't stay up late writing about the day, but I'll make a few notes so that I can remember the important details that need to be shared:

• Three NCAA Gymnastics teams at the hotel and Peterman trying to seduce them.
• Getting lost for over an hour on our way to Olive Garden that was literally 5 minutes from our hotel.
• Coach Fritz getting a flat tire while pulling into his parking space during lunch.
• Caleb false starting during the 50 free prelims but luckily not getting DQed.

Thanks to everyone who has been sending encouraging emails/facebook posts. It has been really great to know that you are supporting us back in Grove City!

The local swim team held a giant American Flag out in the middle of the pool during the National Anthem during tonight's finals.

Follow the Action Live!

There are two ways to follow all of the action live from Minneapolis. First you can check out the LIVE RESULTS that will be posted at the completion of each event. Second, CBS Sports will be providing a free LIVE WEBCAST.

If you're having trouble accessing any of those links, click HERE to see the NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIPS HOME PAGE.

For more info on today's swims, check out my post GCC Swimming for Dummies.

200 IM
Ben Bowser
50 Free
Caleb Courage
Kirk Gagliardo
Tim Whitbeck
200 Medley Relay
Cam Coppelli
Clay Beckner
Peter Larsen
Tim Whitbeck

GCC Swimming for Dummies

Drew Snyder’s Guide to the 2009 NCAA Championships

Whether you’re an avid Grove City swim fan or just following GCC swimming for the first time, here’s the stuff you need to know while you’re watching this year’s results.

Day 1 – 500 Free, 200 IM, 50 Free, 200 Medley Relay
Grove City has made great strides in the distance events this year, including NCAA provisional qualifier Josh Kim winning the 1650 (mile) Freestyle at PACs. Our 2008-09 team roster holds the top 4 times in college history in the 500 free, led by All-American Chip Cressman with the school record. Unfortunately, we don’t have anyone swimming in the 500 Free at NCAAs this year, but look out for some major GCC representation in the years to come. Freshman phenom Ben Bowser will be swimming in the 200 IM, where he comes into the meet ranked 17th. With only a half-second separating Bowser from making the top 8 – look for him to make a splash in this event and possibly attain his first All-American citation. [Note: The top 16 swimmers from the morning preliminary sessions qualify to swim at night (1-8 in Championship Final, 9-16 in Consolation Final) and anyone who places in the top 16 earns All-American status.] In Wednesday’s final event, the 50 Yard Freestyle, Grove City has a tradition of dominance. At the 2006 championships in Minneapolis, Caleb Courage finished 3rd. The very next year in Houston, he finished 2nd behind his teammate – Tim Whitbeck, who won his first national title. This year, they come into the meet ranked 2nd and 3rd, and are considered the favorites to win. Look for both of them to break the NCAA record that was set by Alex Sweet at last years championship meet in Miami, OH. Freshman Kirk Gagliardo will be representing GCC in the 50 as well. At the 2007 championships in Houston, Grove City finished 6th in the 200 Medley Relay before they were disqualified for an illegal exchange. This year’s lineup of Cam Coppelli, Clay Beckner, Peter Larsen, and Tim Whitbeck look to move up into the top 8 and bring home some hardware in the first relay event of the meet.

Day 2 – 200 Free Relay, 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 400 Medley Relay
In a sweet twist of fate, GCC’s Tim Whitbeck, Caleb Courage, and Drew Snyder return to Minneapolis where they finished 2nd nationally in the 200 Free Relay. Then-senior Ben Haring has been replaced by freshman Kirk Gagliardo as this foursome looks to steal the national title away from the favorite, Kenyon College. Grove City will be swimming right next to Kenyon in the preliminary heats, and the NCAA record could be broken by both teams that morning. Ben Bowser starts off a very busy day with the 400 IM followed immediately by the 100 Fly. He is the current school record holder in both events, but he may not end the day with both of those records, as senior Peter Larsen looks to take back the 100 fly record that used to belong to him before Bowser broke it at PACs. The 200 free is loaded with underclassmen, as Kirk Gagliardo, Nick Hamilton, and Nate Nielsen represent the Wolverines in this event. A lot of the major national talent scratched out of this event before the meet, leaving a lot of open spots and a chance for GCC swimmers to possibly move into the final heats. Grove City ends the day with the 400 medley relay, made up of Caleb Courage, Bennett Keefer, Ben Bowser, and Tim Whitbeck. Grove City’s entry time is an aggregate time (that is, a compilation of individual times added together rather than an actual time they went in a meet) so look for them to drop two or three seconds and move into the top eight in this event.

Day 3 – 200 Fly, 100 Back, 100 Breast, 800 Free Relay
Though Ben Bowser attained a qualifying time in the 200 fly during PACs when he broke the school record, he will not be competing in this event at NCAAs because you can only swim 3 individual events. In the 100 back, Caleb Courage, Tim Whitbeck, and Cam Coppelli all look to score some points for the Wolverines. Caleb is making his first NCAA swim in the 100 back, and has a solid chance to make top 8 in the event. The 100 breast will be swum by Bennett Keefer and Clay Beckner. Bennett is the current school record holder in the event, but we’ll have to wait and see which one of them will have the record at the end of the day. Just like the 500 free, Grove City’s current roster has the 4 faster 200 free swimmers in school history. The 800 free relay of Kirk Gagliardo, Nick Hamilton, Nate Nielsen, and Caleb Courage comes into the meet ranked 9th, and they only need to displace one team to bring home hardware in the event. The only thing standing in their way is the fact that the 800 free relay is a timed-final event, which means they have to swim it in the morning and wait until after finals that evening to see if they beat anyone.

Day 4 – 100 Free, 200 Back, 200 Breast, 400 Free Relay
Grove City is paced in the 100 free by two-time national champion Caleb Courage. He won his first national title in this pool in 2006, and looks to end his career with another national title and a national record as well. He is joined by Tim Whitbeck, who finished 10th in this event last year and should finish in the top 8 this year. Peter Larsen and Kirk Gagliardo will be rounding out Grove City’s field of sprinters – these four swimmers are the four fastest 100 free swimmers in Grove City history. Cam Coppelli will be swimming the 200 back, and looks to break the only school record that is not held by a current member of the team. Bennett Keefer broke the school record in the 200 breast at PACs, only to have it taken away by his teammate Ben Bowser. On Saturday, he’ll have the opportunity to take back the record in his last swim of the season. Grove City is smoking fast in the 400 free relay, and has a great chance to win a national title in the last event of the meet. The foursome of Kirk Gagliardo, Peter Larsen, Tim Whitbeck, and Caleb Courage will almost definitely break the NCAA record in this event, by we’ll just have to wait and see if it’s enough to bring home the title. Check the team scores after this event- Grove City should end the meet with their highest NCAA finish ever.



Unbelieveable Underclassmen - Grove City is represented by some unbelieveable freshmen and sophomores. Every member of this year's NCAA team holds at least one school record.





Unfinished Business - Grove City's Drew Snyder, Caleb Courage, and Tim Whitbeck look to improve upon their 2nd place finish at the 2006 NCAA Championships, also held at the University of Minnesota.


Check back tomorrow for links to live results and a recap from the days events.

Hi!

Hey everybody! First of all, I'd like to say thanks to everyone who showed up to the PLC this morning to send us off! It means the world to us that you were there for us! And for those of you who couldnt make it, we know you wanted to-so thanks for your support too!

Drew pretty much covered all of our travel adventures. He didn't say anything about the pool though, so i'll talk about that. Our hotel is about 10 minutes from the pool (but coach Fritz somehow turns that into like 2 seconds!) The University of Minnesota is really nice! They're putting up a new football staduim right near the pool. The pool is really unique because it's an Olympic-Size pool, but it almost has a small pool feel because of the seating. The fans are really close to the pool with seating on both sides...the rows are only go six deep! I think the GCC parents are going to be in section 12, facing the starting end of the pool.

Anyway, I think we all felt pretty amazing in the pool! It felt funny to swim after traveling all day. We just did warm-up, sprints, and starts.

Drew's back needs lotioned, so i gotta go. Oh wait nevermind, Nick is going to do it.

So anyway, we have all day to just chill tomorrow. Like Drew said, pics and vids to come!

I'm tired, goodnight!

Done with Day One

Wow, what an exhausting day! It all started with waking up at 6:20 to finish up packing and shower up for the day. After a nice send off from our teammates, we boarded the bus and then headed to the airport. We flew into Chicago for our first layover. Bennett sat next to a group of people who were on their way to be on the Jerry Springer show. He said they spent the entire flight talking about how excited they were to be on the show and saying how mad they were that the one guy's girlfriend cheated on him with his brother or something like that. Anyways, after a quick lunch, we took a short 59 minute flight to our final destination... Minneapolis. We were on the plane with the girls from Westminster, and Peterman went on a little "moving sidewalk date" with Natalie Rambish- love was in the air? :o)

After getting to Minneapolis, we settled down into our rooms and then headed over to the pool to sign in and do a little swimming. Every guy on the team received a NCAA beanie, blanket, pillow, and water bottle. It was great to be back in Minnesota for the last meet of my career. We ended the night with a trip to the Spaghetti Factory - no throwing up from over-indulgence this time around (ahem* Timmy* ahem* Mitch*).

Tomorrow will be a relaxing day- hopefully we'll stir up a little trouble too...

We're here!

Yep!  Two flights and a short drive later we're at the hotel.  It's been a fairly uneventful day.  The trip is being well documented, so look for photos and videos later.

2009 Nationals

It's that time again... after another successful PAC Championships for both the men and the women, Grove City College will be sending 11 men to the 2009 NCAA Championships... it's the most the college has ever sent to the big show. The bus will depart for Pittsburgh International Airport Monday morning at 8 AM, and we will officially be on our way to Minneapolis. There will be plenty more to share in the days to come, so stop back frequently for news, stories, results, and photos from the trip. Every guy on this year's championship roster is able to post, so you'll be able to hear about the trip from a variety of perspectives.

Grove City's 2009 NCAA Team:
Caleb Courage (SR)
Peter Larsen (SR)
Drew Snyder (SR)
Tim Whitbeck (SR)
Cam Coppelli (SO)
Bennett Keefer (SO)
Nate Nielsen (SO)
Clay Beckner (FR)
Ben Bowser (FR)
Kirk Gagliardo (FR)
Nick Hamilton (FR)