Grand Canyon University adds first prospect in versatile Burwick

Grand Canyon University is in on the 2014 recruiting action, picking up a verbal commitment from Georgia IMer Nathon Burwick.

Burwick leaves Stingray Swimming in Cobb County, Georgia to join Grand Canyon, the defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champions and recent IM powerhouse.

Last season, GCU coach Steve Schaffer helped Brian Morrison to a school record in the 400 IM and a 6th place finish at Division II NCAAs. He’ll now try to have the same impact on Burwick, who will travel across the country to Phoenix in search of a conference championship of his own.

But the conference title Burwick will chase will be a bit different from his predecessors. This season, GCU entered a new conference and a new division, leaving the RMAC for the Western Athletic Conference and Division II for the big leagues of Division I swimming.

It’s tough to predict where Burwick will fit into GCU’s new conference – the Western Athletic Conference just reinstated men’s swimming this season. But if the WAC is at all similar to last year’s Rocky Mountain conference, Burwick looks like an immediate-impact swimmer at the conference level.

Burwick swims both IM events, and also has the ability to swim backstroke and butterfly events when called upon. A strong IMer is a coach’s best friend when filling out lineups, and Burwick certainly looks the part.

Burwick’s Top Times:

200 IM: 1:53.79

400 IM: 4:02.33

200 back: 1:52.17

100 fly: 51.10

The addition of Burwick only makes GCU more dangerous in the IM events, especially the 200, where sophomore Iegor Lytvenok has already been sub-1:50 this season. A potential training pairing of the two would be a great first step for a program just beginning the official transition to Division I swimming.