By Jacob Riley, Swimming World College Intern
Wabash College is looking to have a breakout year this season in the swimming world. With the graduation of the 2016 class, this could be a hard feat for the Little Giants from Crawfordsville, Indiana.
The class of 2016 held nine out of the 19 school records, and will go down as one of the most talented class the Little Giants swim team has ever seen. Senior captain Wyatt Tarter had this to say about the class of 2016 and the future of Wabash: “The talent we lost last year was some of the greatest the school has ever seen, but I think this incoming class is going to be even better.” Tarter is a math major and holds a school record as part of the 200 freestyle relay team.
The Little Giants recruiting class is one of the biggest in school history, and includes 11 freshmen from the class of 2020. The Wabash class includes multiple time state level qualifiers, USA Swimming Academic All-Americans, and even state champions. The Little Giants are approaching this season with a different attitude than past years, and are looking to have their breakout season.
Brent Noble, the head coach of the Little Giants, stated:
“I have big ambitions for our program, because these men are satisfied with nothing less [than big ambitions]. Every year must be better than the one before, and everyone connected in the program plays a role in that. Our successes in the past three years has put us in the place to attract the team we have now, and this group is very special. We’ve built a team that fits our college and our plans for making a splash at the national level. There’s a great deal of work to be done, but I’m confident it will be. The talent and culture here now set the table for an exciting stretch coming, and I’m thrilled to be seated in the front row.”
Wabash is looking to cultivate this talented class of eleven freshmen into players at the conference and national level immediately, by propagating the ideas of excellence throughout the pre- season, and the season. Senior captain Anthony Repay says “the team atmosphere is different and we are team driven and devoted.”
The Little Giants will have to keep the team driven and focused throughout the season, because they compete in the hardest conference of Division III swimming, the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). The Little Giants have placed fourth in the NCAC the past two years, behind the number one and number two swim teams in the country, Kenyon and Denison, and Wabash’s arch-rivals DePauw.
The goal for the Little Giants this season will be to compete with the best teams in Division III swimming, and right now the team atmosphere is driven to do just that. “By the season’s end, I think we’ll be surprising everyone, including ourselves,” Tarter said. ” I’m just bummed I only get one year to experience this team, but I know it’ll be a great year.”
Wabash College has their work cut out for them, but the direction the team atmosphere is going in right now bodes very well for their future. If they continue to cultivate their general goals of greatness, they will get where they need to go with their fresh talent and veteran leadership. Mark my words, the Little Giants will be fun to watch this year, and everyone should keep their eyes on them.
Andrew Stegelmann Bodie Stegelmann