Swimming has a tradition at the University of Puget Sound. It's called winning. And the current edition of the Logger mermen is no different.
In fact, Coach Don Duncan, who moved in when the school took up the sport 12 years ago, calls the 1969 squad “one of the strongest teams we've ever had.”
Two reasons for the optimism are Ron Payne, a sophomore who had a late start as a competitive swimmer, and Bill Martin, another second-year man whose only pre-college experience was swimming for a YMCA team.
Payne, who eventually went on to win the Washington high school 100-yard breaststroke title and participated on the Rams championship medley relay team, said, “I never thought much about participating competitively in swimming until Coach Dick Hannula took me out of gym class one day after I had turned in a good time for the 50-yard breaststroke and asked me to turn out for the team.”
Now he has his sights set on a NCAA college division title to add to his growing list of accomplishments.
Martin, unlike Payne, never earned a state high school trophy, since Eisenhower High School doesn't have a swimming team. Instead, he did his pre-college racing at the Yakima YMCA, beginning his career at the age of 11.
“I've always enjoyed swimming — it's a lot of fun,” said Martin. “And it's paid off, since it has provided me with an opportunity to gain a college education.”
Duncan calls Payne “the best breaststroker we have ever had. He is one of the reasons why our medley relay team is so strong. We rarely lose to a college-division team in this event.
“He's a hard worker. We've been working with his stroke and pace this year. Right now he is ahead of last year's times. He is potentially a very fast 100-yard breaststroker and could go under 2:20 in this 200 event.”
His Only Stroke
Payne jokes about the fact that the breaststroke is the only one he swims. “It's the only thing I can do well. I can swim the other strokes, but I have lousy times.”
His best time in a 200-yard race was a 2:26.3 against Pacific Lutheran University last Saturday. The UPS record is 2:26.1. However, he did the equivalant of a 2:23 when he was clocked at 2:41.8 for 200 meters in a race against the University of British Columbia, defeating Phil Dockeril, one of the best Canadian breaststrokers, after losing to him in four previous starts. The latter was a UPS standard and earned him the honor of Logger swimmer of the week. He has yet to lose in five starts this year.
Martin came to UPS primarily as a backstroker but was turned out to be one of the best sprinters the Loggers ever had.
Actually, he has turned out to be “jack-of-all-trades” for the men of Don Duncan, participating in the backstroke is 2:11.5 and the freestyle events, the individual medley and the medley and freestyle relays. His best time for the backstroke, 50 and 500 individual medley 2:13.5
Duncan plans to use him mainly in the freestyle and individual medley competition. “He has the potential of doing under 50 seconds for the 100 freestyle and close to 1:50 for the 200 freestyle,” the Logger mentor commented.
Like other individual sports, a swimmer is on his own when he hits the water. “You swim your own race, you're going against the clock,” Martin said. “If you can see your competition, you have a little advantage. It all depends upon which side you breath on.”
Faster Time
Duncan was quick to add, however, that every time a swimmer looks it costs him valuable seconds. “It always would have been a faster race if he hadn't looked.”
Although the Loggers are heading into the strongest part of their schedule, Martin feels he and his teammates have the potential for another fine record. “The toughest competition starts now,” he said, “but we have a young team and have the ability to pull off some good victories.”
Among the powers on the Puget Sound schedule are major-college Oregon State, Evergreen Conference and NAIA stronghold Central Washington and Cal Davis, which finished third in the NCAA college-division meet last year.
Competition has never bothered the Loggers in the past. Duncan has a 12-year record of 96-37, including third and fourth place finishes in the NAIA meet. Before UPS defected from the Evergreen Conference, it logged a 48-6 record which included five championships and five undefeated seasons from 1960-65. A double-dual victory over Washington State and Idaho in 1962 stands out as the highlight in Duncan's coaching career.
Under his tutelage, UPS has produced six NAIA All-American swimmers.
Faster Company
Now the Loggers have moved on to faster company in the NCAA college-division ranks.
Duncan's swimmers will use their upcoming rugged competition as a stepping stone to what they hope will be a successful venture in the NCAA championships at Springfield, Mass., in Harch.
“We prefer to have our strongest meets in February to get ready for the nationals,” the Logger coach said. “We try to hit our best times during this period, and they should get better with the competition.”
Duncan hopes to enter medley and freestyle relay teams in the NCAA meet with as many members of the two teams qualifying in the various individual events as possible.
And, if the determination of Payne and Martin mean anything the Loggers probably will bring home some NCAA hardware to add to the numerous other swimming honors already achieved by UPS swimmers in the past decade.
