Contact: Jenna McElroy, Sports Info & Social Media Intern, mcelroy@midwestconference.org
 
Women's Preview

GRINNELL, Iowa – The Grinnell College men’s swimming and diving team is going for its fourth straight title as it hosts the 2019 Midwest Conference (MWC) Championship meet on February 15-17. Lake Forest College is the top challenger to the Pioneers reign and is looking for its first conference championship since winning back-to-back in 2014 and 2015.
 
The meet schedule, live video link, and daily heat sheets and results can be found at the championship page.
 
Grinnell’s attempt at four in a row will be led by two-time MWC Performer of the Week, senior Ben Grubb, along with Newcomer of the Year hopeful freshman Chris Zhang. Grubb ranks in the top ten of seven events including holding the fastest time in the 50 freestyle (22.05) and the 200 freestyle (1:46.81). The senior also ranks fourth in both the 200 butterfly (2:02.25) and the 200 individual medley (2:02.15).
 
Zhang’s first collegiate season has gone as well as one could hope as he holds 13 top-ten times and earned Performer of the Week on January 22. The freshman earned the weekly honor after winning three events with conference-leading times. He ranks first in the 100 freestyle (48.07), 200 IM (1:59.17), and the 400 IM (4:16.50). Zhang is also one of the three fastest in the 100 IM (56.18) and the 200 butterfly (2:01.97).
 
The Pioneers also return 2018 Swimmer of the Year Paul Cover and Newcomer of the Year Mitch Sevier. Cover won the 100 butterfly, 200 fly, and 500 freestyle at last season’s championship and once again ranks in the top-ten in all three events heading into this year’s meet. Sevier won the 50 and 100 freestyle in his first season and currently ranks ninth (22.44) and eighth (49.48) this season respectively. He also enters the conference championship with the second fastest time in both butterfly events at 53.40 and 2:01.55.
 
Since winning the MWC Championship in 2015, Lake Forest as finished runner-up to the Pioneers the past three seasons. The Foresters hoped to regain the title behind the strength of four swimmers and a diver who earned Performer of the Week honors this season. The five total weekly honors for the Foresters were the most for any team.
 
Lake Forest is led by youth as 11 of 12 swimmers in the top ten of the conference rankings are freshmen and sophomores. The leader of this young squad is senior Freddie Weichmann who has moved up the podium each season highlighted by a pair of runner-up finishes in both backstroke events last year. Weichmann enters the 2019 meet ranked third in the 200 (2:03.28) and fifth in the 100 (55.01).
 
The Foresters have dominated the distance events all season as the quartet of Aaron Helms, Alec Pittman, Max Rowland, and Sebastian Wagoner hold this season’s top four times in both the 500 and 1650 freestyle. The freestyle events aren’t the only strokes the four excel at as Helms also ranks first in the 200 butterfly by four seconds and is the only MWC swimmer under two minutes with his time of 1:57.58. Pittman, Rowland, and Wagoner sit 2-3-4 in the 400 IM while Wagoner is top-five in five events.
 
Senior Heath Ogawa is the most successful diver in the conference as he is the defending NCAA Diver of the Year, a two-time MWC Diver of the Year, and five-time MWC Champion across the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. He also holds the all-time conference and MWC Championship meet records on both boards. It’s been more of the same for Ogawa in his final season as he broke his MWC 11-dive 1-meter record (575.80) and his Forester 6-dive 3-meter record (350.20).

After Ogawa, Beloit College’s Wil Kangas-Olson is the highest returning finisher as he placed third on the 1-meter board. The sophomore enters this year's meet after breaking his 1-meter school record by 75 points earlier this season with a score of 469.25. The Grinnell duo of Jon Rebelsky and Charlie Paquette also return after finishing third and fifth on the 3-meter board and fourth and sixth on the 1-meter in 2018. Newcomer Jaxsen Schermacher of St. Norbert College also looks to be in the mixed.
 
Schermacher is part of a Green Knight squad competing in its first season as a program. St. Norbert isn’t going to settle for just being there for the first time but will look to do some damage in the standings after picking up three dual meet wins over conference schools. The Green Knights entered the MWC Championship meet off a close three-point dual meet loss to top contender Lake Forest.
 
Leading the way for the Green Knights are freshmen Ben Stolberg and Peter Martin who have a combined six top-ten league times. Stolberg ranks third in the 50 freestyle (22.18) and fourth in the 100 butterfly (54.31) while Martin competes in the 400 IM and 500 freestyle.
 
The pair are part of an impressive freshman class that also includes Monmouth College’s Andrew Shie and Illinois College’s Davide Sanna. Shie won the first Performer of the Week of the 2018-19 season and currently holds the best time in three events entering the conference meet. He is the lone MWC swimmer to break a minute in the 100 breaststroke as his time of 58.99 is first by three seconds. Shie’s other top times come in the 200 breaststroke (2:16.92) and the 100 IM (55.94).
 
Davide Sanna made a big splash as he made his Blueboy debut in late January by breaking two school records and leads the conference in both backstroke events. Sanna has a massive six-second advantage on the next best swimmer in the 200 backstroke with his time of 1:54.10 while he ranks first in the 100 with a time of 51.62. Illinois College’s top returning swimmer is junior Marty Ambre who had three top-seven finishes at the 2018 MWC Championship.
 
Sanna will have to defeat defending 100 and 200 backstroke champion, Fighting Scot sophomore Preston Bocchi who enters the 2019 meet with the second-best times at 53.57 and 2:00.68 respectively. He also ranks second in the 50 freestyle (22.11) and third the 200 IM (2:01.60).
 
Lawrence University is led by the talented sophomore duo of Anton Hutchinson and Charlie Phillips. Hutchinson is the biggest threat to the Foresters hopes of sweeping the distance events as he ranks just behind the four Lake Forest swimmers in the 500 freestyle (4:53.59) and is the defending 1650 freestyle champion. Phillips was fifth in the same race last year while also finishing sixth in the 200 butterfly. In 2019, he ranks in the top-ten in both events.
 
The senior trio of Jack Lutter, Nate Pakosz, and Alec Sutton leads 2018 third-place finisher, Ripon College. After finishing seventh in the 100 butterfly at last year’s conference championship, Lutter enters the 2019 meet with the top time (53.39). He also finished third in the 100 backstroke, which equals his current position in the rankings (54.37). Pakosz was the runner-up in the 50 freestyle and third in the 100 freestyle in 2018 and ranks in the top ten of both events this year including second in the 100 free (48.30).
 
A trio of upperclassmen also leads Beloit College in Aaron Jolly, Meschach Roberts, and Joe Stephenson. The three combined for seven top-16 finishes at the 2018 MWC Championship including a third-place finish by Stephenson in the 50 freestyle. Entering the 2019 meet, Jolly ranks tenth in the 200 butterfly with a time of2:09.99.
Rounding out the field is Knox College led by senior Joe Hilger and junior Fred Lehman. Both competed in the 50 freestyle last season while Hilger also swam in both breaststroke events and Lehman in the 100 and 200 freestyle.
 
Find all the information for the 2019 conference meet at the championship page.