March 13, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - In 1945, the last time the Northwestern men's swimming and diving team finished in the top four at the Big Ten Championships, sophomore Tony Swanson was almost four decades away from being born.
Now, 57 years later, he walks away from the event as the Swimmer of the Championships with conference titles in two events.
"Both Tony and Dan Ketchum of Michigan [the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year] had awesome meets," head coach Bob Groseth said of Swanson's honor. "But the feeling of the coaches was that Tony was having a better meet."
Groseth did not go home empty-handed, either. He was named the Big Ten Co-Coach of the Year along with conference-champion Minnesota's Dennis Dale. It marks the first time an NU coach has ever earned that honor.
The 12th-year Wildcat head coach is modest when asked about the accomplishment. "An award like that is the other coaches telling you that your kids swam great," he said. "You just get to be the one named for it."
And they did swim great. Three individual victories. Six school records. Four NCAA "A" Standard times. Two All-Big Ten selections. And the best conference finish since a 1945 tie for fourth with Minnesota.
"It was a lot of fun," Groseth said. "Hopefully it will be more fun at the NCAAs."
The Dominator
He's only a sophomore. A look at Tony Swanson's accomplishments, followed by that realization, makes most shake their heads in amazement.
Last season, as a freshman, Swanson was an All-America in the 200 IM and the 200 backstroke. He broke school records in the 200 and 400 IM events, was the leadoff swimmer in three school record-setting relays and held team-best times in four events.
At the 2002 Big Ten Championships, he won his pair of signature events-the 200 back and the 200 IM. Swanson's performance in the individual medley was most impressive, as he broke his own school record, an Indiana pool record and a Big Ten Championships record with a time of 1:45.64. He was more than a full second ahead of his competition. A check of Taper and Shave's College Quick 50 shows that Swanson's 200 IM mark is currently the best in the nation.
That was Thursday.
On Friday, the Minnesota native took second in the 100 back with a time of 47.63. It was an NCAA "A" Standard time and a new school record, breaking the mark previously held by Brian Walters (49.17, 1999), who had been the last Wildcat to win a Big Ten title.
By Saturday night, Swanson had placed himself in the finals of the 200 back with a first-place finish in the earlier preliminaries. The 200 back was the kickoff event, and the consolation finals for places nine to 16 were swam first.
Freshman Nick Eggen, who has finished second to Swanson all year in the backstroke events, took his spot on an outside lane after placing 12th in the preliminaries. Once the quick swim got underway, Eggen stayed underwater three-quarters of the way to the other side, unusual for a backstroker. Eggen's strategy proved effective, as he won the heat in 1:47.11, an NCAA "B" Standard time and the best time of his career.
"That set the tone for the night," Groseth said. "Tony got out so fast after that, he was really pumped up by what Nick did."
Swanson did produce a career-best 1:42.94 in the 200 back finals. He had taken two full seconds off his time in the prelims and had defeated the closest opponent by three seconds. Once again, Swanson's time was among the best in the country, placing him third.
After his stellar performance, Swanson was named the Swimmer of the Championships and received a nod to the 2002 All-Big Ten team.
"Tony has the capability to be in the top eight in three events," Groseth said, looking ahead to the NCAA Championships, held March 28-30 in Athens, Ga. "In big time competition, he has shown he has the ability to step up. You sit down and say, 'what can this guy do?', and he always seems to come up to that level."
The Flier
Kellan O'Connor is not a swimmer to be taken lightly, despite his low-profile demeanor. The junior earned All-America honors at the 2001 NCAA Championships with a fifth-place finish in the 200 fly. In all, he has broken the school record six times in three seasons of competition in that event.
At the 2002 Big Ten Championships, O'Connor beat out the opposition by more than a full second to win the 200 fly, garnering his first Big Ten title at All-Big Ten honor. His time of 1:44.35 was another school record, an Indiana pool record and an NCAA "A" Standard mark. It also ranks fourth in the country, according to the College Quick 50.
The opposition that O'Connor smoked was none other than Michigan's Dan Ketchum, the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year. Among his accomplishments, Ketchum was a silver and bronze medalist at the 2001 World University Games.
"Kellan swam an awesome race against a worthy opponent," Groseth said. "One of Kellan's goals was to be a Big Ten champion this year. Another of his goals is to place higher at the NCAAs than last year. He should make the top eight in the 200 fly." If he does, O'Connor would be the first back-to-back All-America at NU in five years.
O'Connor didn't stop breaking school records at the championships. In a "last chance" exhibition the day after taking his Big Ten title, he sped to a 48.08 in the 100 fly, earning him an NCAA "B" standard time and NU's new top mark in the event.
In all, O'Connor competed in three championship events, making the final in each. He finished fifth in the 200 IM (1:47.62) and sixth in the 400 IM (3:52.09), setting NCAA "B" Standard and career-best times in each.
"For about a minute we had a one-two-three in the 200 IM. It was pretty neat." Groseth recalled. Swanson, O'Connor and Mark Hamming, who all finished in the top six, were dominating the event as the rest of the conference sat up and took notice.
The Shadow
A strength of the Wildcats, and the reason they were able to finish in the top five at the conference meet, is their depth. Sophomore Mark Hamming provides the backbone that generates extra team points for a higher placing.
Though he has finished second to Swanson and O'Connor for the last two seasons in the butterfly and individual medley events, Hamming has become quite an accomplished swimmer. This season he has three NCAA "B" Standard times and holds the team's second-best times in the 100 and 200 fly, and 200 IM. He would have set a pool record in the 200 fly in the meet against Iowa had O'Connor not been in front of him.
Hamming also made the finals in every event he entered at the 2002 Big Ten Championships. He finished third in the 200 IM (1:47.58) and fourth in the 200 fly, both "B" times and career bests.
The sophomore had his chance to shine in the 100 fly, an event that O'Connor didn't enter, and Hamming made the most of it. His time of 48.25 and ninth-place finish was a new school record, breaking the seven-year-old mark held by Scott Smale.
But Hamming's time in the books was short-lived. The next day, in an exhibition attempt to better his times, O'Connor broke Hamming's mark to claim the school record.
"Kellan's a good flier," Hamming said. "We're used to racing each other everywhere, in practices, in meets. I think we're both going to make the NCAAs, then we'll see who has the final say this season."
"Mark, Kellan and Tony all train together. They're all very competitive, but they express it in different ways," Groseth said. "They have a healthy respect for each other, but any one, given the chance, would like to beat the other two."
The Scorers
NU's performance at the 2002 Big Ten Championships relied not only on those who won events, but also those who progressed to the finals and scored points.
Senior Adam Kennedy, after having a so-so season in the sprint freestyle events, set a school record in the finals of the 50 free, finishing fourth with a "B" standard time of 19.96. Kennedy became the first Wildcat to ever swim that event in less than 20 seconds.
"When Adam broke 20, that got everyone pumped up," Groseth said. "From there, that first day was awesome."
During that first day, junior co-captain Mike Shue also set a school record in the 500 free, breaking his own mark with a time of 4:23.58 and a seventh-place finish. The remarkable thing about his performance is that Shue entered the championships hampered by an illness.
"Mike Shue had one of the better performances of the meet, considering he was not 100 percent," Groseth said. "He looked horrible going into it. I'm surprised he scored in the top eight."
Sophomore Dan Williams also made it past the preliminaries of the 500 free. He took 16th with a time of 4:33.75 in the consolation finals after posting a career-best 4:30.17 in the prelims. "Dan making the finals in the 500 was a big boost," Groseth said. It was the first time Williams had the chance to swim in the finals at the conference championships.
Another sophomore, Aaron McCracken, added to the Wildcats' total on the final day, posting a seventh-place finish in the 200 breast. McCracken, who set the school record in that event as a freshman, swam an NCAA "B" Standard time of 2:00.06.
The last day of the championships also included the 1,650 free, known as the mile. NU sent six swimmers to the blocks, including David Hersh, who finished 11th with a career-best 15:34.46.
"Dave's points on the last day were big," Groseth said. The coach went on to explain that in the course of the event, two opposing swimmers passed the junior. Then Hersh stepped it up and passed the same guys to finish and score points. "That event was a roller coaster ride. Spread out over 15 minutes, that was intense."
The 200 free relay team also broke a school record most of them already held. Swanson, Hamming, Kennedy and Barnes finished sixth with a 1:20.44 mark, breaking the school record of 1:20.65 set last year by the team of Swanson, Hamming, Kennedy and Steve Steketee.
The Freshmen
Sometimes accomplishment is not measured by standings or top times, but by progress, especially in the case of first-year collegiate swimmers.
At the 2002 Big Ten Championships, Louis Torres had the meet of his life. He was the only Wildcat to reach the finals in the 200 breaststroke, recording a team- and career-best 55.91 and finishing 11th. Torres' "B" Standard time was the first by an NU freshman this season. He also finished 13th in the 200 breast with a career-best 2:02.50.
Nick Eggen touched first in the consolation final of the 200 back with a "B" Standard time of 1:47.11. That time, along with his 12th-place time of 50.03 in the 100 back, were both career bests.
Perhaps most impressive is the fact that Eggen's time in the 200 back is almost 10 seconds better than what he swam at the beginning of the season. Torres also took 10 seconds off his 200 breast time and about five seconds off his season-starting mark in the 100 breast.
The future looks good.
Swimming and Diving's 'Big Dance'
The showdown that is the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships will begin March 28 in Athens, Ga. Two Wildcats are assured a spot already-Tony Swanson in the 200 IM, 100 back and 200 back, and Kellan O'Connor in the 200 fly. Several more, including Mark Hamming, Aaron McCracken and Adam Kennedy, have a shot at selection with their "B" Standard times.
The 'Cats are just starting to peak for the 2001-02 season, and with several NCAA participants, that effort could culminate in the highest national finish for NU in more than six decades.
After all, this is the best Northwestern men's swimming and diving team since 1945.