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Dylan Herink of Waterloo, Iowa, has announced that he will be continuing his education and athletic career at Swarthmore College. Herink recently graduated from Waterloo West High School, and will arrive in Pennsylvania in time for the 2023-2024 season.
He shared his commitment on Instagram:
Herink, who trains year-round with the Black Hawk Area Swim Team, is quickly improving across the board in IM, backstroke, and breaststroke events. This spring at the Westmont Pro Swim Series, he notched a Summer Junior Nationals cut in the 200m back with a time of 2:06.73.
Prior to the Pro Swim Series stop, Herink also raced at Speedo Sectionals in Fargo. He earned as high as 2nd in the 100m back with a best time of 59.29, marking a second drop from last summer. He also cut nearly three seconds off his best in the 200m breast to take 7th (2:30.95), while in the 200 IM he came within a few tenths of his PB to finish 6th overall (2:13.85).
Top SCY Times:
- 100 back – 51.57
- 200 back – 1:51.74
- 100 breast – 57.58
- 200 breast – 2:06.19
- 200 IM – 1:53.67
- 400 IM – 4:04.36
Swarthmore College is a Division III program that competes in the Centennial Conference. This year, the men successfully defended their Centennial Conference title with a total of 869 points. Four swimmers went on to compete at the 2023 NCAA Division III Championships, where the team ended up finishing 27th.
Herink is projected to make a major impact on Swarthmore’s record book, as his best times in all six of his primary events would already rank on the team’s all-time top-10 list. His 200 backstroke time would have finished 4th at this year’s conference meet, while in the 400 IM he would have placed 3rd.
Leading the 200 backstrokers this season was Jacob Sherman, who posted a 1:50.25 to earn 3rd at conference. In the 400 IM, Ham Williams-Tracy and Sherman both cracked 4:05 this season with times of 4:04.07 and 4:04.87, respectively. Both will be juniors this fall, meaning Herink is joining a talented group.
Herink is joined by Will Kilponen, Damian Rene, Mateo Smith, and Danny Castle. Castle also swims backstroke events, and owns best times of 51.01 and 1:53.70 in the 100 and 200.
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