Whitman Swimming

NWC Session 5

2012-02-12T12:47:00.000-08:00

One more school record to go with the 18 broken already this weekend. Tonight's swims promise to be unreal!

Congratulations to Karl Mering for breaking the 100 Free School Record in prelims.

NWC Session 4

2012-02-11T23:34:00.000-08:00

The Northwest Conference Championships continues to be absolutely amazing! Such great swims by everyone. So far this weekend we have broken 18 school records and have 4 NCAA qualifing times.

New School Records
Women's 50 free- Helen
Men's and Women's 500 free- Galen and Ashley
Men's and Women's 100 Back- Kevin O'Leary and Keller
Women's 200 IM- Katie
Men's and Women's 100 Breast- Paul and Genay
Men's 400 IM- Galen
Men's 200 Free- Karl

Women's 200 Free Relay- Helen, Ellen, Sara, Keller
Men's 200 Free Relay- Karl, Mitchell, Shunei, Galen
Women's 400 Medley Relay- Keller, Genay, Katie, Helen
Men's 400 Medley relay- Nic, Paul, Karl, Galen
Women's 200 Medley Relay- Keller, Genay, Katie, Helen
Men's 200 Medley Relay- Nic, Paul, Matt L, Mitchell
Women's 800 Free Relay- Charlotte, Claire, Katie, Ashley
Mens's 800 Free Relay- Karl, Kevin O, Mitchell, Galen

NWC Session 3

2012-02-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

So many great swims this morning! 2 more school records and one more NCAA cut, making 12 school records this weekend and 2 NCAA cuts.

Cannot wait for tonight to see our swimmers rock finals!

School record: Women's 100 Backstroke, Keller Hawkins
School Record: Men's 400 IM, Galen Sollom-Brotherton
NCAA B Cut: Men's 400 IM, Galen Sollom-Brotherton

NWC Session 2

2012-02-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

Amazing swimming by everyone tonight at finals. 10 school records fell on day one alone.

Women's 50 free- Helen
Men's and Women's 500 free- Galen and Ashley
Men's and Women's 100 Back- Nic and Keller
Women's 200 IM- Katie
Women's 200 Free Relay- Helen, Ellen, Sara, Keller
Men's 200 Free Relay- Karl, Mitchell, Shunei, Galen
Women's 400 Medley Relay- Keller, Genay, Katie, Helen
Men's 400 Medley relay- Nic, Paul, Karl, Galen

Lets keep the momentum rolling into tomorrow!

NWC Session 1

2012-02-10T13:51:00.001-08:00

What an incredible first session. Amazing swimming highlighted by 3 school records.

Galen Sollom-Brotherton New school record and NCAA B Cut in the 500 freestyle (4:30.44)
Ashley Jay New school record in the 500 freestyle (5:12.27)
Helen Jenne New School record in the 50 freestyle (24.41)

Keller Hawkins was also under the school record mark in her 50 freestyle with a 24.47!

Whitworth and UPS

2012-01-30T10:05:00.000-08:00

What a great meet!

Congratulations to our two new school records, Galen in the 500 and the Mens Medley Relay of Nic, Paul, Karl, and Mitchell

As well as the new pool record holder at Whitworth in the mens 100 Fly, Karl!

A full write up can be found here.

Over all Scores

Men

Whitworth 69 Whitman 53

Whitman 76 UPS 45

Women

Whitworth 77 Whitman 45

Whitman 68 UPS 54

Both teams finish NWC play with 5-1 records.

Whitworth and UPS

2012-01-26T13:57:00.000-08:00

This weekend we will be heading up to Spokane for a double dual meet against UPS and Whitworth. There will be a lot of fast swimming and great racing.

This is also the last home meet for our seniors. A full story can be found here.

Hope we see you there!

PLU and UPS take 2

2012-01-19T15:53:00.001-08:00

Sadly with Seattle under ice both meets are canceled...

PLU and UPS

2012-01-19T13:28:00.000-08:00

Come out and support Whitman Swimming as we take on Pacific Lutheran University and University of Puget Sound Friday the 20th at 6 pm and Saturday the 21 at 1pm respectively.

Both meets should be close and great racing will be had, provided our foes can make it over the pass!

NWC Swimming Student-Athlete of the Week for Jan. 9-15

2012-01-18T11:05:00.001-08:00

Karl Mering
Whitman, Freshman
Boise, Idaho/Boise HS
Mering had a perfect week, winning nine races (including four relays), in leading the Whitman men's team (4-0 NWC, 6-0 overall) to three dual meet victories, including a 105-99 victory over Redlands, a team that placed seventh at last year's Division III national championships. Mering's five individual wins came in the 200-yard freestyle (twice), 100-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard butterfly.

Training and Redlands

2012-01-13T15:03:00.000-08:00

7 solid days of training in the sun later we are a better, faster team and family. On Monday we split the dual against Redlands with the men walking away with a victory after being tied with two events to swim. The women put up a fight but fell in the last event for a narrow loss. We leave California behind us for duals against Linfield (Friday at 6) and Willamette (Saturday at 1). Hope to see you there!

On Sunday we went to Balboa Island and Newport Beach as a team for some fun in the sun. More pictures to follow

Together again at Last

2012-01-05T21:43:00.001-08:00

After heading home for the holidays the team congregated in Southern California for our winter training trip. Flights from around the world brought us all to Ontario Airport early this morning. With the team together again, we went food shopping and settled into our hotels for the week. Then the long awaited first practice!

It is great to be back together again, especially with 80 degree weather.

Our pool for the next 7 days

Holiday Party

2011-12-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

The annual Holiday party/ White Elephant Exchange was a lot of fun. Everyone got together for a stress release before finals!

Team Posters

2011-12-09T12:54:00.001-08:00

Every season the team picks names out of a hat and creates a Poster for that person. It is all done in secret and at the end of the season the identities of the poster makers are revealed. Those of you who have been to campus this year might have seen these, but for those who have not been able to come to Walla Walla yet check out the team's posters here!

NWC Swimmers of the Week

2011-12-06T11:04:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Katie Chapman and Karl Mering for being named Northwest Conference Swimmers of the Week. Check out the story at the NWC Swimming Page

Husky Weekend

2011-12-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

A long weekend in federal way was worth it for Whitman Swimming

Karl started the party by setting a new school record and provisionally qualifying for NCAA's in the 50 free. He continued the momentum the very next day, swimming a 49.7 100 fly for his second school record and second NCAA cut time.

Helen jumped in on the school record fun by posting a 53.62 in her 100 free to break the 3rd school record of the weekend.

Karl came back strong on the final day to swim a 1:52.18 200 fly, breaking his 3rd school record in 3 days, and qualifying provisionally for NCAA's yet again.

Katie Chapman swam the fastest of anyone during prelims and attained a B cut of her own in the women's 200 Fly

When the dust settled Whitman College now has 4 B cuts and has broken 7 school records this year already.... and it is December

NCAA CUT #2

2011-12-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

Karl swam a 50.23 in the 100 Fly for another school record and a B cut.

Katie Chap rocked a 58.8 in her 100 Fly!

5 school records and 2 B cuts so far and it is December.

WHIT-love at Husky

2011-12-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

Whitman and Whitworth join forces for an imposing cheer to start off the festivities at the Husky Invite. Paul Chang and Oliver Durand, from Whitworth, rally the troops.

First B Cut!

2011-12-02T13:21:00.000-08:00

Karl rocked a 20.93 for a NCAA B Cut and the 4th school record this season!!!

NWI!

2011-11-28T10:40:00.000-08:00

Last weekend the team traveled to McMinnville Oregon for the North West Invite hosted by Linfield College. With school in the rear view mirror for a week we saw a lot of low stress, high energy swimming! Over all both teams grabbed third place honors while being the loudest and most involved team on the pool deck.

Over all Whitman had:
9 first place finishes
9 second place finishes
7 third place finishes
5 fourth place finishes
6 fifth place finishes
2 School Records

Event winners:
400 IM - 4:15.04 - Galen
500 Free - 4:41.93* - Galen
1650 Free - 16:33.20* - Galen
100 Breast - 1:10.04 - Genay
200 Breast - 2:31.33 - Genay
100 Free - 48.93/48.96 - 1-2 finish by Karl and Mitchell
200 Fly - 2:13.57 - Katie Chapman
Mens 800 Free relay - 7:13.70 - Karl, Chris, Matt Rowett, Galen
Mens 400 Free relay - 3:12.05 - Karl, Mitchell, Shunei, Galen

*= School Record

Lewis & Clark, Pacific Dual's

2011-11-28T10:04:00.000-08:00

Two great dual meets with fast swimming! Both mens and womens teams walked away with two wins. Man swimming set the tone early by nearly breaking school records in the medley relay and fly events. Galen broke through against Pacific to break the first school record of the year, wining the 400-yard individual medley in 4:12.08 while breaking a 17-year-old Whitman school record by almost nine-tenths of a second. Solid swimming across the board!Galen Looking serious

The womens team swam hard against both teams, having 3 top ten all time swims against Lewis and Clark (two by Ashley, one by Genay), and pulling out a real barn burner against Pacific. Trailing into the last few events, Genay and Claire pulled out a exciting 1-2 finish in the breast to set up the final relay of Helen, Ellen, Charlotte and Keller which clinched the win.

Libby's Backstroke Start

Cancer Sucks

2011-11-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

The Hour of Power Relay was founded in the honor of Ted Mullin, a swimmer at Carleton College, who passed away in 2006 from a rare type of soft tissue cancer called sarcoma. Every year, the Whitman Swim team participates in this event to both raise awareness and funding for this disease, by sprinting for a full hour in relay teams.

In September, Ted’s coach at Carleton College Andy Clark was in town for his Whitman College reunion. We were blessed by the opportunity to have Andy tell us about Ted Mullin, his life and his legacy.We are happy to report that on top of fund raisers for the Ted Mullin Fund, the team was able to reach out to other Northwest Conference Schools and expand the Hour of Power to most of the Northwest conference teams!

If you would like to help check out the Ted Mullin Fund, or the Carleton College Hour of Power page.

SPRINT! ok, now RELAY!

2011-10-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

A great weekend of Conference Racing. Friday saw the team drive to Spokane, to compete in the sprint pentathlon hosted by Whitworth University. Everyone in the confrence swam the 100IM and 50's of each stroke. The swimmer with the lowest combined time was the winner.

Whitman had 5 top 10 finishes.

Keller Hawkins : 2nd overall (won the 50 back)
Katie Chapman: 9th overall (won the 50 fly)
Karl Mering : 3rd overall
Galen Sollom-Brotherton: 4th overall
Paul Chang: 10th overall.

On Saturday we were back home for the North West Conference Relays. Whitman had some very exciting races, capped off with a neck and neck race against Whitworth in the final event, the combined 400 free relay, which we won by .22 seconds.

Overall Results:

Combined relay results: 2nd place overall
Womens Team: 4th place overall
Mens Team: 2nd place overall (3 points behind Whitworth)

Alumnus Among Us

2011-10-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend. A long day of shenanigans by the Alums and good swimming by the team.

Final scores
Man swimming 147, Man swimming Alum 764
Women swimming 152, Women swimming Alum 913

Alumni and Current team come together for one of the loudest Whitman Swimming cheers in recent history.

Alumni introductions at the beginning of the meet.

Family Weekend/ Alumni Meet

2011-10-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

We welcome our families to Whitman for family weekend and our Alumni Meet. Whitman swimming will be hosting swimming legends as the team tries to topple those who came before them! It should be a great time.

10 AM Sat. October 22nd

College of Idaho Results!

2011-10-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

Great early season racing by both teams. Results can be found on the Whitman Swimming Page at whitman.edu or at the link below.

RESULTS

College of Idaho!

2011-10-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

Whitman Swimming is looking forward to our first splash tomorrow against the college of Idaho. Meet starts at 2pm at the Harvey Pool in Walla Walla. Stop by for some Fast swimming!

VS.

2011-2012 Season Preview

2011-10-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

The 2011-2012 season preview is up on the Whitman Swimming Web page. Click on the link below to hear Coach Blomme preview this years team.

2011-2012 preview

Swim Team Video

2011 Fall Triathlon

2011-10-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Nic Win and Andrew Roehrig for finishing 1-2 in the men's triathlon. Also, good job to Ellen Banks and Helen Jenne for finishing 1-3 in the women's race.

Thank You to everyone who came out to race and put on a great event. See you in the spring!

Triathlon Results!

2011-04-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture for an expanded view!!

Whitman Triathlon Run Course Updated

2011-04-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone we changed the run course for our triathlon!

Please take note that the first part of the run and the last part of the run will take you through campus.

<a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/32965628">Whitman Triathlon Run Course 4/30/2011</a> <a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/?location=Walla Walla, WA">Find more Runs in Walla Walla, WA</a>

Whitman Spring Triathlon

2011-04-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 30th – 8:00am

SWIM TEAM FUNDRAISER

7:00 – 7:45am Check-in and body marking, pool open for warm-up;

7:45am Pre-race instructions

DIVISIONS: Individual and Team

DISTANCES:

Swim 500 yards (10 laps of the Whitman pool)

Bike 10 miles (HELMET REQUIRED)

Run 3.2 miles

ENTRY FEE:

Early registration (through April. 22^nd) $20 individual/$30 team

Between April. 23– April 30th $30 individual/$45 team

All participants will receive a t-shirt.

Please make checks payable to Whitman Swimming

ENTRY DEADLINE: Saturday, April 30th

(entries received after 3pm Friday, April 29th will be seeded in the final heats)

COURSE: *All roads will be open to general traffic throughout the triathlon, and participants are expected to adhere to all traffic laws*

PRIZES: Stick around after the race for a raffle drawing with great prizes!

Mail or deliver entries to:

Anthony Russo

BFFC – Office 208

Whitman College

Walla Walla, WA 99362

QUESTIONS????...........Contact Anthony at 527-5263 or russoam@whitman.edu

* Please remember to bring your State Issued ID on the day of the race*

Bike Route:

South on Park t
hrough Stoplight (Alder);
Park turns to Howard, stay on Howard and go south

Howard turns to Cottonwood after Reser stop sign

Stay on Cottonwood by turning left at next stop sign

Continue east on Cottonwood about 2 miles to Hood Rd.

Turn around at Hood Rd. and go back the same way.

A map can also be found be found here at Map My Run

Run Route:

South on Park St; Left on Boyer; Right on Blue Street; Left on Francis; Left on Cascade; Right on Boyer; Left on Blue; Right on Boyer; Right on Park back to the Baker Ferguson Fitness Center and the Finish Line.

<a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/31677908">Whitman Spring Triathlon (Run Route)</a> <a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/?location=Walla Walla, WA">Find more Runs in Walla Walla, WA</a>

Whitman Swim Lessons

2011-04-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all the parents, kids, and swimmers who attended our swim lessons. Lessons are always enjoyable, because it's a great way to share our love for the sport. Thanks for helping us make them a success and we hope to see you again next year.

Whitman Swimming Cheer

2011-04-02T17:56:00.000-07:00

WHITMAN TRIATHLON

2011-03-28T13:04:00.001-07:00

SAVE THE DATE!

APRIL 3OTH AT 8AM

STAY TUNED FOR DETALS

Whitman to Host Swim Camp

2011-03-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

Whitman Swimming will be hosting a 4 day technique camp this June.

For more information or to register please check out the link below!

Nike Swim Camp

2011-03-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

Whitman Ranks among the Top-50 "Best Values" in the Nation.

Avidasports Performance Rankings!

2011-03-01T11:28:00.000-08:00

Check this out

Avidasports Performance Rankings - March 1, 2011

The Final Day

2011-02-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

More School records:

400 Free Relay consisting of Hellen, Ellen, Katie C., Lauren, with a time of 3:36.80

Claire in the 200 Breast with a time of 2:24.89 placing second in the event!

Paul in the 200 Breast with a time of 2:08.76 placing second!

Kevin for placing third in the 1650 and breaking the School Record with a time of 16:37.22

Conference Awards

2011-02-27T21:59:00.000-08:00

Katie Chapman was named Northwest Conference Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet!

Coach Jenn was named the NWC's Women's Co-Coach of the Year!

Congrats to them and the entire team for their outstanding performance!

2011-02-27T20:56:00.000-08:00

Congrats!

2011-02-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Katie for achieving an NCAA B qualifying standard in the 200 Fly!

One More Session

2011-02-27T14:23:00.000-08:00

With 5 sessions of swimming behind us, we are resting back at the hotel. We are looking forward to seeing some more great swimming tonight in the last Finals Session. 11 swimmers will compete in the championship finals tonight!

Look out here come the Whitman Missionaries!

Well Done!

2011-02-26T23:28:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Claire for lowering the School record in the 100 Breast!!

How about a B cut and School Records..

2011-02-26T23:26:00.000-08:00

How about a NCAA B Cut for Katie Chapman in the 100 Fly.

School Record for Keller in the 100 Back

Paul breaking his own School Record in the 100 Breast

Claire and Genay Breaking the

100 Breast Record

Keller, Genay, Katie, and Helen breaking the school record in the 200 Medley Relay

Charlotte, Claire, Katie and Lauren Breaking the School Record in the 800 Free Relay

More School Records Broken!

2011-02-25T22:30:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Mitchell, Shunei, Paul, and Jamie for breaking the school record in the 200 Free Relay with a time of 1:26.14.

Congrats to Helen, Ellen, Keller, and Lauren for breaking the school record in the 200 Free Relay with a time of 1:39.62.

Congrats to Kevin Dyer for breaking his school record in the 500 Free with a time of 4:42.47. After breaking the 200 IM school record with a time of 2:11.49 in prelims, Katie came back to finals and smashed her own school record with a 2:09.79 and

took first place!!

The 400 Medley relay team of Keller, Claire, Katie and Helen shattered the school record with a time of 3:58.71.With all these great swims plus many more lifetime and season bests today, I cannot wait to see what will happen tomorrow!

Finals!

2011-02-25T18:34:00.001-08:00

Charlotte doing pace work with Jamie during warm-ups

The Bubble

2011-02-25T17:04:00.000-08:00

NWC Update

2011-02-25T15:10:00.001-08:00

What a great morning session!

Season Bests!

Lifetime Bests!

Congrats to Katie Chapman for breaking the school record in the 200 IM with 2:11.49!

NWC Update

2011-02-24T21:14:00.000-08:00

Due to Weather:

Friday's Prelims are starting at 12:00pm and Finals start at 7pm.

We are still swimming at Mt. Hood Community College.

We look forward to seeing you there!

NWC Championships!

2011-02-23T20:00:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

If you are in the Portland Area stop by the NWC Swimming Championships at Mt. Hood Community College this weekend. I have included a link to the website for more information.

NWC Swimming Championships

Congrats!

2011-02-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

Congrats to the Men's and Women's team for their Overall team GPA!

Whitman Men's Team Top's Nation in GPA

In Preparation for Conference

2011-02-19T14:33:00.000-08:00

...we decided to experiment with our gender

2011-02-17T22:33:00.000-08:00

Whitman Mentor Program

Mentees to Campus Day

Great Articles!

PS. The Arm wrestling looks like a great match up!

'Nuff Said

2011-02-07T20:10:00.000-08:00

This is definitely without a doubt by far the absolute best "first person interview" i've read ever, hands down.

http://www.whitman.edu/content/news/libbyarnosti

so yeah. enjoy.

Diving In.

2011-02-07T11:34:00.000-08:00

Whitworth vs. Whitman Dance Off

2011-02-06T10:43:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a few swimmers at Whitworth for capturing this video.

Cheer!

2011-02-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

What a Meet!

2011-02-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

What a great finish to the dual meet season. With pink caps abound, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, the team was in high spirits through the entire meet. We had standing room only in the spectator area, a dance off between Whitman and Whitworth (video to come), season & career bests..... and did I mention a school record was broken!

Great Job!

Meet Zen...

2011-01-31T10:17:00.000-08:00

Parting shot from this week's issue of the Fountain.

Hooray for another solid day of training!

2011-01-25T23:25:00.000-08:00

Begin: 6 AM. With the 25-meter pool length still keeping us on our toes, we got our bodies going with some viciously long arm circles (wait – 1:20 EACH WAY?!), a little kicking, some stroke, and some snappy 200s to boot.

Round two: 4 PM. We each got to do 20 x 100 of our very very favorite stroke, on descending intervals – who's complaining?! I mean, it's our specialty stroke for a reason. It's special to us and we love it! There were smiles all around, my friends. Oh happy day.

Round three: 6 PM. We heard that apparently we were skipping right into "a real humdinger" of a workout by our beloved Coach Hise.

Hum. Humm. Hmmm. Uh oh.

It was only 22 minutes of lifting! 6 minutes here, 12 minutes there, another 4 at the end. Peas and carrots, right? Wrong!! I have no doubt that in those 22 minutes we sweated out all of the chlorine we had just absorbed in the pool. I bet the other people in the gym even thought there was a leak from the pool air or something.

End: 6:40 (we had to take some breaks in between the Sets of Doom, ok?) 40 clean-smelling, sweat-covered, shaky and tired-feeling champions stumble out of the weight room. Thanks Hise, you always know the best way to finish out our day!!

Gratitude

2011-01-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

A special thanks to all the friends and family who attended our last four meets, both in walla walla and tacoma. It was amazing and inspiring to have you there! Costumes, cheering, food baskets, encouraging smiles, and comments on how jacked we look after CA never go unnoticed. We are honored by your support.

Super STL shout-out to our buddy team, Whitman Tennis, who supplied us with bus snacks this weekend past! CapriSuns totally rule! Big Ups!

Back in Walla Walla

2011-01-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

After a week long trip to Southern California, we have successfully made it back to Walla Walla. Spirits remain high and the we are ready to finish out the season. Come check out our two Home meets this weekend!

Friday January 14th vs. Linfield at 6pm

Saturday Januray 15th vs. Willamette at 1pm

Chick-a-wowWOW

2011-01-12T22:20:00.000-08:00

We're done?!
How did that happen?
Where did the week go?

These are some questions considered this evening, after a final glorious beautiful day in Pomona. Albeit, the breezes and saltwater at CalLU did provide a good bit of consternation, but nothing a bit of sprint relays and a good dose of lotion couldn't cure.

Giddy magic was in the air as the captains led a renegade practice, starting with some dryland in the setting sun, and transitioning to the bejeweled pool for IM yardage and relays of our own design.

Long travel day tomorrow---walla walla here we come!

Last in the Pool

2011-01-11T14:00:00.000-08:00

When you think of "sprinters" or the "sprint training group" you think of short sets. Not today. The sprint group had the luxury of being the last training group in the pool. With possibly the least of amount of yardage out of all the workouts running, their training set took the longest on this great California morning. With the rest of the team involved in a combined dryland/water set, A group consisting of Jamie, Lauren, Helen, Mitchell, Ellen, Colin, Shunei, and Keller decided to venture to the farthest lanes possible without crashing in on Claremont's Diving Practice. With fins in tow, they had no indication of what tasks they would set out to accomplish today. They started off the day in a group warm up. Then their workout shifted. While the other groups prepared their running shoes and were getting instructions from Jenn, the "sprint group" continued on a technical course before their pre-main set. With two 25's of Resistance & Assistance and some of the guys trying the biggest long belt we have, they were told they have to prepare for their main set. The same questions always follows "What is our main set?" They set out with the first few 50's and were feeling good with the long rest. Few more 50's in, you could hear them trying to catch their breathe and it was unusually quiet. Most were determined and encouraged to swim easy between the interval.

Behold an hour later these 8 individuals finished the set they started, with consistency and determination. With support from each other and teammates watching on the deck they accomplished something awesome.

Great Job!

2011-01-10T09:02:00.001-08:00

There are airplanes in the sky. An unusually large quantity of them, we have been noticing. Maybe it's airplane appreciation month. Maybe there's an airplane show going on. Maybe all of the private pilots in the area saw us swimming and were so impressed with our incredible strength and good looks that now they can't help but circle around and watch us practice. (I feel this is the most likely.)

The point is, there are airplanes in the sky, and clouds and birds, too, and WE CAN SEE THEM! With no roof above our heads there is an added challenge to swimming and kicking on our backs - a skill which most native West Coasters have already honed nicely (good for you, will you quit pretending it's easy?), but which others continue to struggle with. The latter group thanks everyone for continuing support on this front - it's an work in progress for a few native midwesterners... But despite this swimming difficulty, getting to look over your gallon of gatorade as you gulp down mouthfuls of lemon-lime in between sets and seeing the pool steaming up into the night air - this makes it worth all the angry red battle scratches. Watching a cloud-dog turn into a cloud-dragon turn into a cloud-teacup during a kick set (be warned, O ye zig-zaggers), and squinting at the sun peeking out from behind that teacup - this is an experience to be relished in itself.

When the going gets tough, I remember that we're swimming outside! I watch the airplanes, utilize my powers of peripheral vision, and enjoy the moment. We're in California, folks. This is pretty sweet.

Big Ups!

2011-01-10T09:01:00.000-08:00

Another HUGE thank you to Ellen's family and extended family for hosting a rambunctious and hungry team for dinner. Peter Viehl (whitman alum!), his wife Allison, and their children Charlie, Amy and Andrew fearlessly opened their home and shared the masterwork that is Taco Teresa's. We walked in with the glazed-over look of the glycemic-ly indebted, and walked out more boistrous and energized as ever.

When the Warm-Down Hurts

2011-01-09T21:59:00.001-08:00

When the 300 easy at the end of practice hurts--not feels bad but actually hurts--that's when you know you've pushed yourself. Tonight we didn't swim an awful lot of yardage but coupled with yesterday's IM massacre and this morning's abundance of breaststroke and underwater kick, things just didn't work very well by the end of the evening. I always look forward to that feeling.

The best part of this trip is that by the half-way point, everything is firing on all cylinders. Yes, my arms and legs and core all hurt. I did not want to hear that we were doing a bunch of 200's, but we did them all the same and we went as fast as ever.

Only five more practices to go!

Practice is a Beach!

2011-01-08T20:41:00.000-08:00

This is how our practice this morning went. It had a fun theme: choose-your-own-set/adventure. All components other than the warm up and cool down could be done in any particular order.

Practice start time: 9:00AM
Warm-up: 1x65835yd choice on bus (Napstroke, iPod Shuffle, Chatstroke)

50 Sprint out of bus at Newport Beach

2x500 walking on beach until a solid spot by the water has been found

150 towel change

FAILURE SET

Continuous 50s:
Odds: run out into the really cold water with the gnarly waves
Evens: Run back out to the beach due to perceived excessive coldness/gnarliness

If you end after an odd 50, continue with the following: 25s bodysurfing until you get purple like Eliot and Charlotte
If you end after an even 50, continue with the following: 5x200 sand fight, Nate vs. Everybody, OR make a sand turtle, defending it against the onsluaght of the tides.

Continue until 11AM.

5x200s Walking to Fun Zone and ogling goofy eyeware. (Paul and Kevin bought some pretty slick shades.)
2x300s Libby and Charlotte riding on Ferris Wheel ("IT WAS SOOOO FUN!!!")
1x100 Taking a dollar ferry to Balboa Island ("I don't understand why we left the Fun Zone to begin with. I mean, it's called 'THE FUN ZONE.' And we payed a buck to leave it." -Jake "The Snake")

1x2000 Walking past beautiful beachfront properties and sporty cars to Balboa Island's business sector
6x250s Figuring out what and where to eat
1x500 Munching on delicious, delicious food (likely Mexican fare and Tutti Frutti)

1x100 Taking ferry from Balboa Island ("And now we're paying another buck to go back to the Fun Zone." -Jake "The Snake")
5x200s Walking back to beach
30x50s Sitting on beach and catching up on our individual set/adventures

Cool Down: Same as warm-up. But swim it backwards. And in Napstroke. Focus on form.

We were exhausted by the end of the set. But with adequate rest, we were able to take on the rest of the day. Needless to say, despite any ups and downs, it was awesome.

The Buffet

2011-01-08T20:26:00.000-08:00

Today was beach day. We spent our morning running around the empty beach, "swimming," building giant turtles out of sand, and buying ridiculous sunglasses. It was a welcome break from the nearly 13,000 yards that we put in yesterday. Was it restful? Not really. But it was fun.
Tonight, after putting in a solid 4000 yard IM set, we set off for dinner at the Chinese Buffet.

Before I explain the buffet in more detail, let me first outline how much we like to eat. Since we got here, I have been packing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat in the shower immediately after getting out of the pool. We have purchased gallons of Gatorade, pounds of Nutella, and at least 200 bananas. There are giant cartons of flavor-blasted Goldfish in every room. There are baby carrots in every refridgerator and there are probably enough slices of bread to stretch from our hotel to the CMS pool, a couple miles away. We like to eat.

In general, I am not a huge fan of buffets. I tend to think of them as "feeding" not actually "eating." However, given the circumstances, feeding is exactly what we need after practice. Upon walking in the door, we were quickly ushered past the rows of hot food to the back room, which, fortunately, we had completely to ourselves. We sat and waited, somewhat patiently, for Jenn to give us the nod.

Plates were piled high wich chicken, both fried and skewered, onion rings (yes, onion rings), spring rolls, fried rice, regular rice, three or four different kinds of sushi, and in the other hand--cookies. Round one. Round two and we decided to be "responsible" and eat something that wasn't previously frozen and then tossed into oil, and we made for the salad and fruit. Round three and we were back to the fried goods. We swam 7000 yards, whatever. There was a frozen yogurt machine with multi-colored sprinkles. Need I say more?

By the time we were finished I'm sure the average number of calories consumed per person was well over 1500. Probably closer to 2000. Again, we swam 7000 yards, so whatever.

Tomorrow morning we'll be at it again. Then tomorrow afternoon too. In the next three days we'll have six practices and I would guess that we'll swim somewhere around 35,000 yards. That sounds like a lot, and it is. But, when you're here with 38 of your closest friends, it feels more like eating a nutella and banana sandwich--which, according to Claire Collins is pretty one of the best things in the world--and less like five hours of swimming and dryland every day. It's a blast, trust me. It's probably the most memorable week of my year, both because of the new discoveries I make about my own limits in the pool, and because of the things I learn from the Discovery channel in between practices. For example, if you've ever wondered what it looks like when a warehouse full of acetylene tanks catches fire, talk to me about it.

There are some double-stuff Oreos in my room, and they're not going to eat themselves.

Happy Swimming!

2011-01-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

Starting to look like a turtle.

2011-01-08T10:22:00.001-08:00

Trying to make a turtle

2011-01-08T07:17:00.000-08:00

YUM YUM YUM

2011-01-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

An enormous THANK YOU to the Banks family for hosting the team for dinner this evening! We are very grateful for your providing us with nourishing food and sharing your home with such hospitality and grace. A lovely, comfortable time after a day of hard training-- what a treat!

2011-01-07T18:22:00.001-08:00

First morning practice of Training trip

2011-01-07T09:45:00.000-08:00

Chick-a-BOOM

2011-01-07T07:40:00.000-08:00

After an excessive amount of re-unition squealing and enough buzzing, bumbling, excited energy to power the state of California (nothing new, Washington residents have always done that...), we donned our caps for Practice 1 (see image below).

I was certain that a dose of training would quell the storm of jabber, and yet-- despite reaching aerobic threshold (ahhh yeaaahhhh, feels great Jenn! keep those 200's coming!)-- hoots and hollers continued to intercalate themselves between splashes, stars, and gasps for air. The joy of working together again after weeks of separation anxiety was too much for silence to handle.

During a pizza/pasta/salad dinner the cooing and burbles continued, yarns from break unwound, gossip murmured with furtive glances from table to table, and most importantly we refueled our bodies in anticipation of what Practice 2 will bring...

Perfect night for Training

2011-01-06T22:32:00.001-08:00

Touchdown! After landing in California, making sure everyone is accounted for and shopping for groceries, we have the first practice of the trip.

Winter Training

2011-01-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

With a good night's rest at the La Quinta. We are currently waiting at the Horizon Gate to board our flight to Southern California. Spirits are high as everyone anticipates a great training trip. Keep checking back for updates from current members of the Team.

2011-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from Whitman Swimming

2010-12-20T14:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Holiday's from Whitman Swimming

Whitman Magazine

2010-12-10T14:11:00.000-08:00

Whitman Swimmers featured in Whitman Magazine

Check it Out!

2010-12-02T22:46:00.000-08:00

Real Time Results from the Husky Invite!

Husky Invite Info

2010-12-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

Parents and Swim Fans!

Here is the link to info about the Husky Invitational, Dec. 3, 4, 5th. We're looking forward to swimming fast this weekend.

http://www.huskyswimmingfoundation.com/husky-invitational/

2010-11-25T10:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving from Whitman Swimming.

Northwest Invite Day 2

2010-11-21T21:30:00.000-08:00

Jamie takes 1st in the 50 Free followed by Mitchell who is 4th!

Chris and Kevin on the podium for taking 1st and 2nd in the 1650 Free.

Northwest Invite Day 2

2010-11-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

After a fantastic prelims session, the Whitman Swimmers are resting nicely back at the hotel. We had some awesome swims this morning and we will be gearing up for some more fast swimming tonight.

If you are in the Tacoma area, stop by Pacific Lutheran University and cheer on Whitman Swimming!

NWI Pictures

2010-11-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

Sara, Tyler, Nate, and Kevin enjoying a little dinner after Day 1 of the Northwest Invite

Northwest Invite Day 1

2010-11-20T20:30:00.000-08:00

Paul Chang takes first 1st place in the 100 Breast followed by Mitchell Lee (3rd), and Nick Wood (5th)

Eliot showing some spirit during finals!

200 Free Relay takes 1st Place.

On the Road to the Northwest Invite

2010-11-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

We are on the road to the Northwest Invite. If you are in the Tacoma area please come check out Whitman Swimming as we swim at Pacific Lutheran University November 20-21.

Prelims start at 9am and Finals start at 5pm!

Hope to see you there!

Leave it in the Pool!

2010-11-09T22:01:00.000-08:00

On One Day, for One Hour all across the United States and other Countries over 6300 swimming athletes collectively participated in the 2010 Ted Mullin "Hour of Power" swim relay to support Sarcoma research. This relay is in honor of Carleton College swimmer Ted Mullin, who passed away in the fall of 2006 from sarcoma, a rare soft-tissue cancer. Funds raised through this event support research at the University of Chicago into the causes and treatment of sarcoma in young people.

If you interested in supporting the Ted Mullin Fund for Pediatric Sarcoma Research please check out the link below.

Hour of Power Relay for Sarcoma Research

Sara showing off her fins during the "Hour of Power"

Diving head first into Winter Training Plans

2010-11-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

Whitman Swimmers have started preparing for our annual Winter Training Trip to Southern California. During the last part of Whitman's 4-week semester break from classes in January, the team will rendezvous in the L.A. area for some of the toughest training, and most fun bonding of the season. In addition to heightened training volumes and intensity, the trip offers us the opportunity to compete against teams outside of our region, which is especially important as we focus on becoming more nationally competitive.

And did I mention it's a lot of fun?!

Interested in Whitman?

2010-11-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

Are you a prospective student interested in Whitman? Would like to learn more about the College and the Swimming Program? Interested in Visiting Campus? Please contact Head Coach Jenn Blomme (blommjb@whitman.edu) or Assistant Coach Anthony Russo (russoam@whitman.edu) with any questions you may have or to schedule a visit.

We look forward to speaking with you.

Whitman Takes Second at the NWC Relays!

2010-10-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

With a morning hindered by wrong turns and ferries, the Whitman swimmers adjusted nicely and placed a combined second overall with 112 points. As separate teams, the Men and the Women both placed third! We had very consistent swimming across the board and we look forward to our first dual meet on November 12th.

Road Trip!

2010-10-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend we will head to our first away meets of the season. On Friday we head to Willamette University for the NWC Sprint Pentathlon at 6pm and Saturday we will be trekking to Linfield College for the NWC Relay Invite at 11am. If you are in the Salem area please come support Whitman Swimming!

Smile!

2010-10-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

NWC Sprint Pentathlon and NWC Relay Meet

2010-10-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

A week after the alumni showcase their skills in the pool, we look forward to diving in against our competition.

On Friday October 29^th we travel to Willamette University for the Northwest Sprint Pentathlon. A day later we will compete in the Northwest Conference Relay Meet at Linfield College. If you are in the Salem area, come support the Whitman Swim Team!

Week Three is History!

2010-10-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

Week three is now coming to close and we have had a successful start! A week from today The Whitman Swimming Alumni will be in town to take on the current team on October 24th at 10am. We look forward to some interesting races!

Swim-Bike-Run!

2010-10-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

On October 2nd we held the Annual Fall Triathlon. This event helped raise money for the team to travel to California for training. We had a great turn out from the Whitman and Walla Walla Community. We would like to thank all of the organizers, sponsors, and participants for attending. We look forward to more swimming-biking-running at our Spring Triathlon!

End of the Year Banquets

2010-05-18T00:23:00.000-07:00

Last week we celebrated the end of the season!

We began the evening with a "dress to impress" swim team dinner. After eating a fabulous meal, we handed out awards. We had many awards this year, and the winners are listed below:

Most Improved: Andrew Roehrig and Erin Kiskaddon

MVP: Jamie Nusse and Charlotte Graham

Most Inspirational: Nick Hurlburt and Lauren Flynn

STL Superstar: Brian Wakefield, Katie Tackman, and Sara Behrens

Workout Warrior: Chris Bendix and Charlotte Graham

Land Shark: Nick Hurlburt and Lauren Flynn

New Misisonary: Adam Brayton, Kevin Dyer, and Libby Arnosti

Coach's Award: Matt Liedtke and Sidney Kohls

Oz Award: Nick Wood and Alyssa Bader

After our team banquet, we walked to the pool to marvel at the newest records on the record board. Those athletes who broke the record then proceeded to sign the old one to be given to the previous school record holder.

Finally, after all our team festivities, we made our way to the Varsity Athletics Banquet where we made our presence very well known. In addition to being the loudest and most enthusiastic team in the room, we also made our appearance known in the awards; we had a team member nominated in every possible field! Out of our nominations, Kevin Dyer was named the First Year Outstanding Performer and Jamie Nusse was named the Outstanding Performer for the junior class.