Jack Fabian, Ph.D, the head coach of the swimming and diving teams at Keene State College for the past nine years, has resigned to become a resident coach of the U.S. Paralympics Swimming.
“Coaching at Keene State has been one of the greatest joys in my life,” said Fabian. “I have made many lifelong friends at KSC and will always consider myself an Owl. I would like to thank all the KSC coaches, faculty, admissions, sports information and the athletic department staff for their support of the program. I would especially like to thank Joel Feldman for volunteering her time to coach the program; Jeanne Hearn for her dedication and passion for working with our student-athletes that use the Aspire Program; Global Education Office for helping our international students feel welcome at Keene State, and my current assistant coach Dan Morse for his dedication to the program.”
Fabian has brought unprecedented success in the pool for Keene State, coaching the Owls to 11 New England Intercollegiate Championships and coaching 17 NCAA All-Americans.
In particular, the Keene State College women’s team has won nine consecutive Little East Conference championships, setting a meet record with 668.5 points in 2014. The Owls also reaped a host of individual awards, including seven straight LEC Swimmer of the Year awards: Kristine Trutor (2009, 2010), Kaila Umbarger (2011), Jillian Whitaker (2012), Diana Pimer (2013), and Allison Bartlett (2014, 2015).
Whitaker (2009), Umbarger (2010), Pimer (2012), Bartlett (2013), and Rachel Butler (2014) were all named LEC Rookie Swimmer of the Year, while Rachel Battis was named LEC Diver of the Year in 2010 and Kelly Gilmore was named the LEC Rookie Diver of the Year in 2013.
Fabian was named LEC Coach of the Year in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
Regionally, the Owls won five men’s New England Championships (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015) and six women’s (2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015). Under Fabian’s watch, Rachel Mondello qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2008, the first time KSC had sent a swimmer to the national meet since 1976.
The success for KSC continued to grow, as the Owl men reached the top of the Collegeswimming.com Top 25 poll in 2013, and the Owls recorded their highest finish as a team at the NCAA Championships with a ninth place finish in 2014.
Chris Woolridge ‘04, a former swimmer and associate head coach for KSC and current head coach of the Exeter Swim Club, will take over as interim head coach at the beginning of August.
“Chris Woolridge is an alumni of Keene State and one of the top coaches in New England. He understands the culture of success and excellence we value and have developed at KSC. He will bring creativity and passion that will energize the returning and incoming athletes in the program,” said Fabian.
The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at newsmaster@swimmingworld.com.
Great coach !! Best of luck !
Congratulations Jack!
Wish we had someone like here x
All the Best, Jack!