Swimmers set sights even higher in second season

After a first season that exceeded expectations, Wayland Baptist's swim team is aiming for even greater goals during its sophomore campaign.

"We have more meets this year and a more competitive schedule," coach Alyson Hannan said.

They also have more swimmers and divers, bringing in lots of new faces to add to the core of last year's squads to give the Pioneers substantially more depth in the swimming lanes as well as a handful of divers for the first time.

It all gets going this weekend when Hannan takes her teams to Odessa for a dual against the University of Texas-Permian Basin beginning at noon Saturday.

"It's going to be a fun one this weekend," she said. "It will be nice to compete against another school in this area. That means a short trip for us but also against a program that's been around a lot longer than we have. Their swimmers are right around where we are or a bit faster, so this will give us a good indication of where we're at at the beginning of the year."

By the end of the competition year in the spring, Hannan hopes her teams are in a position to improve last year's impressive performance at the NAIA National Championships in Oklahoma City, where last March Wayland's all-freshman teams combined to finish in 10^th place. The Pioneer men came in eighth while the women were 16^th.

To help them get where they want to be, Wayland has added three more events to its schedule, including its first-ever "home" meet. The Wayland Baptist Invitational will be held Oct. 24 and 25 at the Pete Ragus Aquatic Center in Lubbock, beginning at 7 p.m. that Friday and continuing at noon on Saturday. Joining Wayland in the pool will be McMurry University, Adams State (Colo.) and St. Gregory's University (Okla.), a first-year program and a fellow member of the Sooner Athletic Conference. WBU will see St. Gregory's two other times this season in duals in Midland and in Sherman prior to meets in both of those cities.

The Pioneers also will compete at the Trinity University Western Shootout in Southlake Carroll, the Arkansas-Little Rock Christmas Invitational, the USA Swim Meet in Oklahoma City, the Colorado College Invitational in Colorado Springs, and the Oklahoma Baptist Invitational, also in Oklahoma City just prior to nationals.

In all, Wayland is entered in 13 competitions, three more than a year ago.

"We'll be swimming against some bigger (NCAA) Division I and Division II teams, as well as D-III teams," said Hannan, adding that the invitational in Arkansas is her team's biggest mid-season meet. "We've expanded our competition a little bit, which will give us more exposure."

Wayland's rosters also have expanded. The Pioneer men's team has almost doubled to 19, while the women's ranks have increased from seven to 10.
Hannan likes what she's seeing from both groups.

"Our women are looking really strong. We brought in a few girls this year who are going to make a big impact in the races they are really good at," the coach said.

Two of the newbies are freshmen Mylie Oberg of Richland, Wash., and Deandre Small of Bridgetown, Barbados, who recently competed for her country at the Pan American Youth Olympic Games in Mexico City.

"Mylie will make an impact in the distance events, and Deandre is a solid backstroker who will improve our relays."

Hannan will depend on her veterans to lead the way. Those are sophomore breaststroker Vianney Trujillo of El Paso and twin sisters Judith and Laura Winter of Germany. Trujillo, who was ninth in the 200-yard breaststroke, and Laura Winter provided all of Wayland's 20 points at last year's nationals.

Hannan also is excited about some sprint freestyle swimmers who have come on board.

"We need to continue to add to our depth over the next couple of years, but we're going to be pretty strong this year," she said. "If we can continue in the training we're doing, our hope and goal is to be in the top 10."

Hannan has even higher expectations for the men's team, which scored 159 points in its first-ever nationals last March.

"Not knowing what to expect last year, they were phenomenal at nationals and were eighth. This year I'm hoping the guys can crack the top five, and I think we can with the kids we brought in. We have a little bit more depth, but besides that we have quality swimmers."

All but one member of last year's squad returns, led by sophomore Bjoern Globke of Germany who had WBU's best nationals finish: seventh in the 200 breaststroke. "He had an awesome nationals last year," Hannan said.

Other members returning from Wayland's nationals team are Gabriel Phillips, a sophomore from Newport Beach, Calif., who was Wayland's second-highest point producer at nationals, and Josiah Morales of Trinidad & Tobago, whom Hannan called "an all-around great swimmer. We're looking to add more events for Josiah."

Other veterans are Nathan McCormick, a sophomore from Pecos who "is looking really strong in practices," Hugo Gallegos of El Paso, and Brandon Rodriguez of Chino, Calif.

"We returned all of the national squad and a few extra from last year," Hannan said.

The coach is happy to see lots of intra-squad competition, due mostly to a talented group of newcomers.

"We brought in about a dozen guys who are adding a lot more depth. We'll have three, four, even five people in events this year, so the depth is there for us. We gained a lot from Lubbock and some transfers as well."

One of the transfers is Will Gatlin, a sophomore from Lubbock by way of Florida Atlantic University.

"He will make a huge impact on backstroke races and (individual medleys)," Hannan said.

Another promising transfer, from Austin College, is Bentley Gilbert, a freestyle sprinter.

"We also have a solid core of freshmen that will make a huge impact in the events they swim," Hannan said.

On top of that, Wayland has three diving prospects on board.

"They're working on getting their dives," Hannan said, pointing out that six different dives are needed in order to compete. "Hopefully, they'll be competing in our home meet and we'll be able to debut our divers then."

Because the Plainview YMCA, where the swim team trains, does not have a regulation diving board, Wayland's divers practice in Lubbock twice a week.

"I'd like to have a lot more divers, at least five or six on each side," Hannan said.