The swim and dive program is one of the most successful teams at Gonzaga. Going into this season with 12-straight WMPSSDL championships and five-straight WCAC championships, the team had a lot of pressure to continue its streak. After multiple key swimmers graduated, the team had to step up in order to fill the holes that they had left.
The team did just that. They extended all of their streaks. And against all odds, they ended the season ranked 18th in the country. There was heavy competition from everywhere; DeMatha, the Heights, Georgetown Prep and Loyola Blakefield all had extremely strong squads.
The competition was fierce, but they turned out to be no match for the Eagles.
“I was really happy with not just the results in the full 13 straight WCAC Championships, but also how big the team was and how much the team gelled with each other,” said Mr. Brian Kilner, head coach of the swim and dive team. “I think we established a great team culture of friendliness and openness to all skill levels and experience with swimming, and I had a lot of fun kind of seeing everybody improve and grow throughout the season.”
The Eagles are home to tons of amazing swimmers who are nationally ranked and recognized. Malcolm McKenzie ‘24, Palmer Bice ‘25, Andre Brooks ‘25, Anderson Bishop ‘25 and Hank Holden ‘24 are just a few of the names that call Gonzaga home. This season especially, the growth in the team was noticeable more than ever. Swimmers who were barely scratching finals were in the top eight of their events. It was a season unlike anything the team had seen before.
“Andre [Brooks] was really good last year and then he just came out of nowhere this year to be top five in multiple events at the championship meets,” Coach Kilner said. “Anderson Bishop became a finalist in every event he swam this whole year after not having done that previously.”
Even the freshmen were firing on all cylinders. Coach Kilner cites Kirk Morgan ‘27 as the standout, with more freshmen such as George Thiede ‘27, Jax Goetcheus ‘27 and Jack Tovornik ‘27 also looking like gems for the future.