SEATTLE – Last season, Seattle University men’s swimming had a strong year, putting together many all-time top-10 performances and establishing four new school records. In 2018-19, the Redhawks will try to continue their run of momentum as they work to further overhaul the program record book.
Coach Craig Nisgor, now in his eighth year at SU, returns many of its top performers from last season. Seniors Austin Barnard, Mitchell Crossen, and Ian Keane have each tallied all-time top-10 efforts in their Redhawk careers. The junior class features several top competitors, as Greg Raper, Alex Roderick, and Ryan Shaw each have multiple all-time top-10 times on their resumes.
Crossen has the fourth-fastest effort in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle in program history. Raper has the second-fastest 100 freestyle, the third-best 50 freestyle, and the fourth-best 100 butterfly in SU history, while Shaw ranks second in the 100 backstroke and fifth in the 200 backstroke. Freshmen Ryan Ascencio (1000 freestyle, 1650 freestyle) and Juan Varela (500 freestyle, 200 butterfly) have both clocked prep times that would stand in the Redhawks' all-time top-10.
The 400 freestyle relay of Crossen, Raper, Isaac Parker, and Jake Goguen returns after setting a school record with a 3:01.35 at the 2018 WAC Championships. Crossen, Goguen, Zach Zenteno, and Roderick are all back, having recorded an SU-record 6:39.79 in the 800 freestyle relay at the conference meet.
In 2017-18, the Redhawks saw 94 percent of its roster post at least one lifetime best showing. They logged 28 new program all-time top-10 times and claimed a top-10 time in each of the five relay events. SU will have to replace four seniors, including Jack Baldoni, who earned College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Honorable Mention honors.
SU opens its season on Friday against Pacific Lutheran. It also hosts Air Force (Jan. 12) and Simon Fraser (Feb. 2), along with the annual alumni meet (Nov. 10) at the Redhawk Center.