Newcomers join winning tradition

In 2010 the Whitworth men’s swim team will attempt to turn their success into an eighth consecutive Northwest Conference title. The women’s team will seek their first, after last year’s close second to Puget Sound. The team’s past success leaves a load of pressure on newcomers in the 2009-2010 season.

This year, 10 freshman join Whitworth’s team, each with a unique story.

Freshman Nathan Ranno swims the 50, 100 and the 200 freestyle and the 100 backstroke. He is planning on majoring in physics and chose Whitworth because of the great atmosphere, he said.

Ranno loves the intensity of the workouts he gets and attributes that to why his times just keep dropping.

“The college level training is so much more intense then what I’m used to,” Ranno said. His goals are to keep swimming faster times.

“I hope I can add depth to this already-phenomenal team,” Ranno said.

The other freshman on the men’s team is Michael Locatell from Sierra Madre, Calif. Locatell swims the 200 butterfly and distance/mid-distance freestyle events, and plans to major in health sciences with a minor in physiology. Locatell chose Whitworth because of the swim team, the school’s great academic reputation and because he liked the idea of a change of weather from California.

“The confidence that the team has from doing so well in conference and national levels seeped to all of us freshman as soon as we started practicing,” Locatell said.

Kalen Darling is a junior transfer swimming his first year for the Pirates. He transferred from the University of Hawaii and is majoring in health science and taking courses in the pre-med track. Kalen Darling swims the 500 freestyle, 400 individual medley, 200 backstroke and 1600 freestyle.

Kalen Darling chose to transfer because of the academic atmosphere, available skiing in the Spokane area, and to be close to his brother, junior Quinton Darling.

“We work really hard, but we have such a great time singing in the shower,” Kalen Darling said. “I love the family vibe of the team, not to mention the fact that the extensive training allows me to eat as much as I want.”

No matter where they came from or what their story is, each joined Whitworth’s record-breaking swim team with the intention of becoming a part of a winning tradition in the pool at Whitworth.

Contact Julia Bechtold at julia.bechtold@whitworthian.com.

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