The following is a press release courtesy of Saint Louis University:
ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis head swimming and diving coach Jim Halliburton has announced the addition of 23 student-athletes (13 women, 10 men) for the 2014-15 competition season. Anna Becker, Antonia Franco, Nora Gartland, Mina Glenesk, Megan Harper, Kerby Ingram, Riley Kirby, Heidi Lanning, Elaine Mahon, Morgan Parkinson, Kalley Schwab, Hillary Rancap and Maggie Sheean will compete for the women’s team while Creed Chambers, Shawn Cole, Stephen Cole, Aaron Cosenza, Mitch Cooper, Jeremy Goodison, Ryan McCoy, Jackson Palmer, Rick Roberts and Karl Schaenzer will join the men’s team.
“This is one of the biggest and strongest recruiting classes in Saint Louis Swimming and Diving history,” Halliburton said. “Over 20 new freshmen will be coming to Saint Louis University next fall. On the women’s side, our goal was to try to get several good backstrokers, another diver and some swimmers who could help our relays right away. On the men’s side, we needed another diver and we were looking for help in the butterfly events, along with some top swimmers who could compete for future relay spots. I believe we reached all of our goals with this recruiting class.”
Becker is a breaststroke and IM specialist from Rochester, Minn. She is an All-Conference and All-State performer from Lourdes High School, where she qualified for the Minnesota state championships. Becker has career-best times of 1:08.47 in the 100-yard breaststroke, 2:28.51 in the 200-yard breaststroke and 2:14.12 in the 200-yard IM.
“We are hoping that Anna can provide some depth in the breaststroke events for us next year, especially in the 200-yard breaststroke event,” Halliburton said.
Franco comes to Saint Louis from Omaha Marian High in Omaha, Neb. She is a sprint freestyler who earned a spot in the Nebraska state championships. Franco turned in top times of 24.95 in the 50-yard freestyle and 55.83 in the 100-yard freestyle. Additionally, she earned Academic All-Conference plaudits as a senior.
“Antonia has some very good sprint speed in the 50-yard freestyle and we hope that she can work on her endurance so that she can also help us in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle,” Halliburton said.
Gartland is a standout from Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Ill. She is primarily a breaststroke specialist, turning in a top time of 1:05.70 in the 100-yard breaststroke and 2:30.62 in the 200-yard breaststroke. If she would have competed for SLU this season, Gartland would have had the Billikens second-best 100-yard breaststroke time of the 2013-14 campaign.
“Nora is a sprint breaststroke specialist. We expect her to compete for a medley relay spot right away and hope that she can also develop into a good 200-yard breaststroke swimmer,” Halliburton said.
Glenesk comes to Saint Louis from Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. She competes in butterfly and freestyle events. Glenesk’s times of 1:54.12 in the 200-yard freestyle and 10:37.04 in the 1000-yard freestyle would rank fourth in SLU history. She also would be one of SLU’s top performers in the 500-yard freestyle (5:05.24) and the 200-yard butterfly (2:08.10).
“Mina will be a great addition to our middle distance group. She already has one of the top times on our team in all of the freestyle events 200 yards and longer. She also will help us right away in the 200-yard butterfly,” Halliburton said.
Harper is a backstroke and sprint freestyle specialist from Jesuit High School in Portland, Ore., where she is the 13th-ranked swimmer in the state. She has personal bests of 53.95 in the 100-yard freestyle, 58.62 in the 100-yard backstroke and 2:07.53 in the 200-yard backstroke. Both of Harper’s backstroke times would be in the top five all-time at Saint Louis.
“Megan will give us much needed help in the backstroke events and will also swim some freestyle events next year,” Halliburton said.
Ingram is a Springfield, Ill., native from Sacred Heart-Griffin High School. She swims IM and backstroke events. Ingram touched the wall at 59.41 in the 100-yard backstroke and 2:11.71 in the 200-yard IM at the 2014 Illinois sectional championships. She is a YMCA National qualifier.
“Kerby is another backstroker and we also look for her to help us in the IM events. She improved a lot her senior year and we look forward to more improvement at SLU,” Halliburton said.
Kirby hails from Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill. She competes in the freestyle and backstroke events. Kirby has career bests of 1:54.59 in the 200-yard freestyle (tied for fifth all-time at Saint Louis), 57.56 in the 100-yard backstroke (fourth all-time) and 2:03.94 in the 200-yard backstroke (second all-time, would have scored points in the 2013-14 Atlantic 10 Championship). She is an National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Junior National qualifier.
“Riley comes to SLU with some of the fastest backstroke times we have ever had. We are looking forward to her and our other freshman backstrokers to turn our weakest events last season into one of our strongest events next year. We also expect Riley to help us a lot in some of the mid-distance free events,” Halliburton said.
Lanning is a freestyle and backstroke swimmer from The Woodlands , Texas. She is a Texas regional qualifier, swimming in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 55.68. Lanning also has top times of 1:03.44 in the 100-yard backstroke and 2:12.88 in the 200-yard backstroke.
“Heidi is another backstroker who has looked good in the 200-yard backstroke. We think she will provide valuable depth in the backstroke events,” Halliburton said.
Mahon is a local product from Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis, alma mater of Billiken Haley Debandt. She is a sprinter who qualified for the Missouri state championships competing in the 50-yard freestyle (25.39), 100-yard freestyle (54.18, 13th overall) and 200-yard freestyle (1:58.49, 14th overall).
“Elaine has been a strong swimmer, but has never swam year round. We have been impressed with her times and are excited to watch her develop,” Halliburton said.
Parkinson comes to SLU from Lincoln Way North High School in Frankfort, Ill. She competed in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke at the Illinois state championship, and she is an NCSA Junior National qualifier. Parkinson’s 200-yard breaststroke time of 2:26.87 would have been the second fastest on the SLU team during the 2013-14 season. She also has personal bests of 1:06.25 in the 100-yard breaststroke, 2:13.94 in the 200-yard IM and 53.74 in the 100-yard freestyle.
“Morgan could be one of our top breaststrokers next year. She gained very good experience this spring competing at the NCSA Junior National meet,” Halliburton said.
Schwab is a diver from Owatonna High School in Owatonna, Minn. She qualified for the Minnesota state meet turning in a score of 236.80 and finishing 17th overall.
“Kalley will add some much need depth to our diving group next year. She is a very pretty diver who just needs to work on adding some ‘DD’ to her list,” Halliburton said.
Rancap competes for Lake Forest High School in Lake Forest, Ill. She is a backstroke specialist who also can swim the freestyle events. At the 2014 Illinois sectional championships, Rancap touched the wall at 59.16 in the 100-yard backstroke. That would be the fifth-fastest time in Saint Louis history for the event.
“Hillary is another backstroker coming to SLU next season. We are excited to see her develop as a Billiken and look forward to seeing her in the pool,” Halliburton said.
Sheean is a sprint freestyle and backstroke specialist from Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Ill. She is the 25th-ranked female swimmer in the state of Illinois according to CollegeSwimming.com. Sheean is an NCSA Junior National qualifier, and placed 10th at the Illinois state meet with a time of 52.07 in the 100-yard freestyle. She has posted personal bests of 24.11 in the 50-yard freestyle, 57.75 in the 100-yard backstroke and 2:07.83 in the 200-yard backstroke. All of these times would rank in the all-time top five at Saint Louis.
“We expect Sheean to compete immediately at Saint Louis. She has been very consistent in turning in very good sprint freestyle and backstroke times last year,” Halliburton said.
Chambers is a freestyle and IM specialist out of El Paso, Texas. He has personal bests of 4:45.30 in the 500-yard freestyle, 1:47.70 in the 200-yard freestyle and a long-course converted 4:14.17 in the 400-yard IM. Chambers is a standout in the classroom and will seek a degree in aerospace engineering.
“Chambers has shown some good improvement and potential in the longer freestyle events and the 400-yard IM. We hope that he can add some depth to our distance program,” Halliburton said.
Shawn Cole is a local product out of Rockwood Summit High School in Fenton, Mo. He was one of the top divers in the St. Louis metro area, recording a personal-best score of 172.95. This score placed Cole in the top 25 for diving in St. Louis according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He finished seventh in the diving events at the Suburban South Conference meet.
“Shawn will give us some much needed depth to our men’s diving team. He improved a lot his senior year and we look forward to Shawn developing a good 3-meter dive list,” Halliburton said.
Stephen Cole competes in the backstroke events for Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio, Texas. He swam in the 2014 Texas regional championships, turning in a time of 52.18 in the 100-yard backstroke. That would be the sixth-fastest time in SLU history. Cole’s top time in the 200-yard backstroke is 1:56.53.
“Stephen has a lot of potential in the backstroke events. He is a big strong swimmer who had a great senior year improving his backstroke times a lot. We expect Stephen to step right in and replace our top backstrokers after they graduate,” Halliburton said.
Cosenza is a Texas sectional qualifier from Carroll Senior High School in Southlake, Texas. He most recently competed in the 2014 Speedo Champions Series in College Station, Texas. There, Cosenza swam the 200-yard IM (2:02.74), 400-yard IM (4:17.12) and 200-yard butterfly (2:03.89).
“Aaron is a very hard worker who has done well in the longer distance events, especially in the 400-yard IM, 200-yard butterfly and distance freestyle events,” Halliburton said.
Cooper comes to Saint Louis from Carmel High School in Carmel, Ind. He is a versatile swimmer, competing in butterfly, freestyle and IM events. Cooper placed 10th in the 100-yard freestyle at the Indiana state meet with a time of 46.74. Cooper has top times of 1:53.90 in the 200-yard IM and 4:05.14 in the 400-yard IM, both of which would be in the all-time top five at Saint Louis.
“Mitch is a very good all-around swimmer. We are hoping that he can place right away in the 400-yard IM at the A-10 Championships. We also like the fact that Mitch can help our team a lot in the 200-yard IM and 200-yard butterfly and 500-yard freestyle,” Halliburton said.
Goodison is a versatile distance swimmer from Douglas County High School in Castle Rock, Colo. He has personal bests of 4:45.33 in the 500-yard freestyle, 9:51.97 in the 1000-yard freestyle and 16:27.58 in the 1650-yard freestyle. Goodison placed 15th in the 500 free in the Colorado state championship.
“Jeremy has shown much improvement over the last year in the longer freestyle events and in the 400-yard IM. Some of his top times have been swum at altitude so we are excited to see what he can swim at sea level,” Halliburton said.
McCoy is a standout in the pool for Brophy College Prep in Phoenix, Ariz., alma mater of Billiken T.J. Decker. McCoy is ranked as the No. 3 prep swimmer in Arizona and No. 193 in the country by CollegeSwimming.com. He can compete in many events, and his personal bests of 1:39.12 in the 200-yard freestyle, 9:26.85 in the 1000-yard freestyle and 1:50.49 in the 200-yard butterfly are faster than the current Billiken records. McCoy also is a USA Swimming Winter National qualifier.
“Ryan had a great senior year after coming back from a leg injury. Four of the times that he swam last year would break SLU school records. Ryan has the rare ability to swim all of the free events from the 50 all the way up to the 1650. We also expect him to be a great butterfly swimmer for us,” Halliburton said.
Palmer specialized in the butterfly and IM events for Lambert High School in Suwanee, Ga. He has top times of 51.96 in the 100-yard butterfly, 1:55.69 in the 200-yard butterfly, 2:04.42 in the 200-yard IM and 4:23.20 in the 400-yard IM. Palmer finished 11th in the 100-yard fly and 34th in the 200-yard IM at the 2013-14 Georgia State Championships.
“Jackson will give us much needed depth in the butterfly events. He is a tall swimmer who we think can lower his butterfly times even more,” Halliburton said.
Roberts is a native of Alton, Ill., where he competes in the breaststroke and freestyle events for Alton High School. He competed at the 2014 YMCA National meet in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle. Roberts’ top times are 21.69 in the 50-yard freestyle, 47.78 in the 100-yard freestyle, 1:43.20 in the 200-yard freestyle and 4:43.92 in the 500-yard freestyle. Rick is the brother of Billiken swimmer, Nick Roberts.
“Rick is a versatile swimmer who can swim a wide range of freestyle events along with the 200-yard IM. He had a very good YMCA Nationals meet and improved a lot during his senior year,” said Halliburton.
Schaenzer is a breaststroke specialist from Creighton Prep in Omaha, Neb. Several Billiken swimmers have come from Creighton Prep, including Gavin Hagar, Stephen Hansen and Louis Landen. Schaenzer has personal bests of 1:00.81 in the 100-yard breaststroke and 2:13.26 in the 200-yard breaststroke.
“We believe that Karl can add some depth to our great group of men’s breaststroke swimmers,” Halliburton said.
