Adriana Owen Named Head Swim & Dive Coach At Wheaton College

Courtesy: Wheaton College Athletics

NORTON, Mass. – Adriana (Grabski) Owen has been named the Head Coach for both the Men’s Swimming & Diving and Women’s Swimming & diving programs at Wheaton College (Mass.), it was announced today by Gavin Viano, Associate Vice President for Athletics & Strategic Programs.,

“Wheaton is thrilled to appoint Adriana Owen to lead our Men’s & Women’s Swimming & Diving program,” said Viano. “In addition to her incredible accomplishments as a swimmer, including her qualification for US Olympic Trials in 2016, Adriana has found success as a coach at the NCAA DII and DIII level, the youth club level, the high school level, and in helping fellow NEWMAC institution, WPI, thrive in the pool over the past several seasons. We are excited for Adriana to bring her passion for and knowledge of the sport to Wheaton Athletics and, more specifically, to Balfour Natatorium as a mentor and coach to our great student-athletes.”

“I am thrilled to be given this amazing opportunity to lead and build the swimming and diving program here at Wheaton College,” exclaimed Owen. “The athletic department has a stand-out staff, and I am eager to contribute to the culture they have built. “Ready to Fire it Up with the Lyons!”

Owen becomes the sixth Head Coach in program history. She is already familiar with coaching in the New England Women’s & Men’s Athletic Conference after spending the last five years on the coaching staff at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Her time with the Engineers was highlighted this past season with a  third-place finish at the NEWMAC Championship, which led to WPI earning NEWMAC Men’s Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year honors. The Pennsylvania native helped WPI’s men’s and women’s squads break over 20 school records over the past five years, in addition to developing the women’s program’s first-ever NCAA Championship qualifier. The Engineers’ men’s and women’s teams also boasted 32 top-three individual and relay finishes during her tenure in Worcester.

Concurrently, Owen has served as an Assistant Coach with USA Swimming through the Greenwood Swimming since 2021, while also giving instruction through the Worcester Area Masters program. Owen’s coaching experience has spanned all the seasons with stints as the WPI Summer Swim Camp Director in 2019 and 2022.

Owen first dipped her toe in the coaching waters with a stint as an Assistant Coach at Division II Assumption University, where she helped the Greyhounds capture the Northeast-10 Championship in 2019.

Prior to her coaching career, the former Adriana Grabski was making a name for herself at the Division I level with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. While with the Hokies, Owen was a main cog in Virginia Tech’s relay teams, advancing to four straight NCAA Championships. The sprinter earned All-America Honorable Mention accolades for both the 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard medley relay to cap her senior campaign with the Hokies. The freestyler helped Virginia Tech’s 200-medley relay unit take the silver medal at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship that year as well.

In addition to her success at both the NCAA and ACC Championship meets, Owen qualified for the United States Olympic Trials in the 50-meter freestyle in 2016. She is still a part of two school records at Virginia Tech with her name etched at the top of the leaderboard for both the 200 and 400-yard medley relay, while also maintaining a spot among the program’s fastest swimmers with the seventh-fastest mark in both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle events.

Owen graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies in 2018.