Contact: Lou Groce, Director of Media and Information, 920-229-8157

GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College is aiming for its third straight Midwest Conference (MWC) men’s swimming and diving crown when it hosts the conference championship from February 16-18. 

Lake Forest College was considered to be the Pioneers’ top challenger at the start of the season and seem to be at the finish. 

Reigning MWC Coach of the Year Erin Hurley leads the Pioneers into the championship meet.  Hurley will certainly benefit from the return of last season’s Newcomer of the Year Houfu Yan and Swimmer of the Year Will Lindell.  Yan enters the meet with the top times in the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes (52.77, 1:57.14).  The sophomore is also exceptional in the butterfly events and ranks second in the league in the 100 (52.55) and leads the league in the 200 (1:57.49).  Yan also has the second-best time in the 200 individual medley (2:00.64) and is third in the 400 (4:22.85). 

Lindell is projected to top the podium in the 200 breaststroke (2:12.70) as he holds the best time in the league by nearly six seconds.  He also ranks second in the 100 breaststroke and is just .56 seconds behind junior teammate Brodie Mikuta.  Mikuta also ranks second in the 200 behind Lindell.  Freshman Paul Cover is hoping to grab a medal with a blue ribbon as he is the top seed in the 100 butterfly (51.30). 

The Foresters will be led by senior David Bunting in the pool and junior Heath Ogawa in the diving well.  Bunting leads the conference in the 200 freestyle (1:46.15) by nearly two seconds.  He is also the only MWC swimmer to break two minutes in the 200 individual medley (1:59.14) and ranks second in the 100 freestyle (48.68) and third in the 200 backstroke (1:59.48). 

Ogawa is the reigning MWC Diver of the Year and is the best diver in the history of the MWC.  Ogawa set both the one-meter (559.30) and three-meter (581.20) diving conference records at last season’s championship meet.  The junior went on to win honorable mention all-America honors in both events at the NCAA Championships. 

Freshman Max Rowland is expecting to make a huge contribution to the Forester effort.  Rowland enters the weekend with the best times in the 400 individual medley (4:19.47), 500 freestyle (4:52.51) and 1,650 freestyle (16:41.02). 

Ripon College’s Nate Pakosz is the favorite to claim both the 50 and 100 freestyle events.  Pakosz swam a 22.09 in the 50 on December 1 and a 48.24 in the 100 the following day.  Bunting is his top competition in the 100 event, while Grinnell’s Mitchell Sevier has the second-best time in the 50. 

Lawrence University’s top swimmier is freshman Anton Hutchinson.  The freshman earned the league’s Performer of the Week Award on January 30 and ranks second in the 500 freestyle (4:55.39) and third in the 1,650 freestyle (17:24.23). 

Preston Bocchi will lead the Monmouth College contingent.  The freshman ranks fourth in the 50 freestyle (22.18) and fifth in the 100 and 200 backstroke.  Joseph Stephenson of Beloit College is the only Buc that ranks in the top 10 in the MWC this season.  The junior has the third-best time in the 50 freestyle (22.17).  The conference’s Elite 20 Award winner the past two seasons, Oak Wattanasiraukl, enters the weekend with top-five marks in both the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke events.   

The Red Hawk foursome of Jack Lutter, Ethan Ripp, Alec Sutton and Pakosz have clocked the conference’s best 200 freestyle relay (1:29.18).  The Pioneer group of Sevier, Albert Ford, Benjamin Heller and Ben Grubb will be the top seed in the 400 freestyle relay.  Sevier, Ford, Grubb and Cover lead the way in the 800 free relay.  The Pioneers also own the top times in the 200 and 400 medley relays. 

Action starts at Russell K. Osgood Pool and Deck begins at 10:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday morning and at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday.