W&M Tribe Men’s Swimming Picks Up 10 in Recruiting

The William & Mary men’s swimming team added 10 new athletes in recruiting for this fall, as W&M aims for its third-straight Colonial Athletic Association Championship. The Tribe’s Director of Swimming Matt Crispino ’02 and his staff will bring in one transfer and nine freshmen from up and down the East Coast, and as far west as Kentucky. If the class had swum at last winter’s CAA meet, they’d have accounted for 15 spots in the championship finals, and 38 in the consolation finals.

“We knew it would take a herculean recruiting effort to fill some of the void left by the graduation of the Class of 2016,” said Crispino. “Due to the work of Associate Head Coach Chris Carter, we believe we’ve found a group that is up to that task. This is a talented, versatile, and physically imposing group of student-athletes. We expect them to make an immediate impact on our program and we believe they will help us remain in contention for CAA titles for years to come.”

Carter Kale – So., 6-0
Free/Fly
Williamsburg, Va./Lafayette (Virginia Tech)

2015-16 (at Virginia Tech)
Finished the year at the Carolina Invitational, setting season-best times in the 500 free, 400 IM, and both fly events … Swam 4:33.02 in the 500 for 10th place, and time-trialed a 4:04.10 in the 400 IM … Went 50.12 for ninth and 1:49.93 for fifth in the 100 and 200 fly … In the fall, won the C final of the 400 IM at the Tennessee Invitational … Finished 14th in both the 1650 free and the 200 fly … Had six third-place finishes in dual-meet competition … Swam in every regular-season meet for the Hokies.

Prep
Scholastic All-American … Finalist in the 200 fly at Winter Nationals … Won the 2014 NCSA Junior National title in the 200 fly … USAS Junior Nationals Qualifier … Won seven state titles for Lafayette High, four of them in individual events … Won the 500 free three times and added the 200 IM once … Also helped the Rams to three 200 medley relay golds and one in the 400 free relay … Named the State 3A Swimmer of the Year … Set state records in the 400 free and both relays … Named the 2013 Swimmer of the Year by both the Daily Press and the Peninsula Sports Club … Salutatorian of his graduating class … Made Honor Roll all eight semesters … Member of the National Honor Society … Also a member of the Math and Science Honor Societies, as well as the Key Club and Pep Club.

Personal
Son of Wilford and Kelly Kale … Father graduated from W&M in 1966, and later wrote both a history of W&M’s football team and a history of the College in general … Older brother, Walker, swam at Ferrum … Plans to major in kinesiology.

Chris Balbo – Fr., 6-0
Free/IM
Short Hills, N.J./Millburn

Prep
Scholastic All-American … NISCA Scholar All-American … Qualified for both Winter Nationals and Summer Junior Nationals … Three-times all-state in the 500 free … County and conference record-holder in the 500 free and 200 IM … Won the 500 free county title all four years of high school … County Swimmer of the Year as a senior … Earned a silver medal on the National Latin exam.

Personal
Son of Antone and Carolyn Balbo … Father played soccer at Franklin & Marshall … Plans to major in business.

Philip Barto – Fr., 6-1
Back/IM
Midlothian, Va./James River

Prep
Scholastic All-American … Helped lead his club team (NOVA of Virginia Aquatics) to the 2016 NCSA National team title, after finishing second in 2015 … Named all-state in 2014 and 2015 … Honor Roll all four years.

Personal
Son of Daniel and Sie Barto … Father ran cross country and track at Wyoming … Enjoys hiking, camping, and water skiing … Undecided as to his collegiate major.

Lee Bradley – Fr., 6-0
Free/Back
Crestwood, Ky./Louisville Collegiate

Prep
Scholastic All-American … National Merit Finalist … Junior National qualifier for both the summer and winter meets … Helped LCS win the state titles in both the 200 and 400 free relays as a sophomore … Runner-up in the 100 free state championships in both 2014 and 2015 … All-Region as a senior … Member of the math team.

Personal
Son of Craig and Nell Bradley … Enjoys playing the guitar and the piano, and photography … Plans to major in physics.

Ian Bidwell – Fr., 6-4
Free/IM
Pelham, N.Y./Fordham Prep

Prep
Scholastic All-American … Winter Junior Nationals qualifier … Led Fordham Prep to four state championships … Was a five-time individual finalist at the state championships … Won the Governor’s Island Open Water swim twice in record-time … AP Scholar with Distinction … Member of the National Honor Society.

Personal
Son of Jon and Kristin Bidwell … Mother rowed at Syracuse … Enjoys fishing, playing football and basketball, and rooting for the Yankees, Giants, Rangers, and Knicks … Undecided as to his collegiate major.

Colin Demers – Fr., 6-5
Back/Fly
Virginia Beach, Va./Frank W. Cox

Prep
Scholastic All-American … Took third at the Virginia 6A state championships in the 100 back each of the past two seasons … Won the region title both years as well … Led Cox to all four district and region championships … Took third at the Virginia Senior Championships in the 100 back in 2016 … Member of the Spanish Honor Society … AP Scholar with Distinction.

Personal
Son of Dan and Jenny Demers … Enjoys spending time at the beach … Plans to major in international relations.

Jack Doherty – Fr., 6-0
Fly/Free/Back
Middletown, Conn./Middletown

Prep
Prep All-American in the 100 and 200 free … YMCA Junior National qualifier in the 100 fly and both medley relays … Won the Connecticut all-state championship in the 100 free as a senior … Won both the 200 and the 100 free at the Class M state championships … Won the Class M state titles in the 50 free and 100 free as a junior, and Class L state title as a sophomore in the 100 free … Section leader of the Middletown Concert, Jazz, and Marching Bands … Was his class secretary … Editor and business manager of the school newspaper.

Personal
Son of John Doherty and Marybeth Bonsignore … Father played football at Southern Connecticut State … Uncle, Dave Darling, played baseball at UCONN … Cousin, Kathleen Darling, ran cross country and track at Wake Forest … Enjoys sailing … Undecided as to his collegiate major.

Ben Skopic – Fr., 5-11
Free/IM
Marriottsville, Md./Marriotts Ridge

Prep
Scholastic All-American … Finalist in both the 200 and 400 IM at the 2015 NCSA Junior Nationals … Qualified for Winter Senior Nationals in the 400 IM … Winter Junior Nationals qualifier in both the IM events … Finished second in both the 200 and 400 IM at Sectionals in 2016 … Third in the 400 IM at the Maryland State Championships each of the last three years … Also took fourth in both the 200 breast and 200 IM as a junior … Member of the German Honor Society.

Personal
Son of Todd and Christina Skopic … Enjoys playing table tennis, cycling, hiking, and skiing … Plans to major in physics.

Ian Thompson – Fr., 6-7
Free/Back
Alexandria, Va./St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes

Prep
Scholastic All-American Prep All-American … Qualifier for Winter Junior Nationals … Won the state title in the 50 free as a senior … Was third at the state independent schools’ championship in the 100 free … As a junior, took second in the 50 free and the 100 back … Named All-Met by the Washington Post each of the last two years … Member of the jazz band.

Personal
Son of Ross and Amy Thompson … Will be the fourth member of his family to attend W&M, after his father (Class of ’74) and two sisters, Bridget (’17) and Casey (’15) … Cousin played football at VMI … Enjoys puzzle cubes, 3-d printing, and playing jazz … Plans to major in either math of chemistry.

Colin Wright – Fr., 6-2
Free/Fly
Williamsburg, Va./Jamestown

Prep
State champion at the Virginia 4A championships in both the 50 free and 100 free as a senior … Set the state record in the 50 free … Prep All-American … Named the Men’s Swimmer of the Year by the Virginia Gazette.

Personal
Son of Jim and Debbie Wright … Enjoys playing the bass … Undecided as to his collegiate major.

Swimming news courtesy of William & Mary Swimming and Diving.