Captures conference crown in the 200-yard backstroke
Competing in one of the toughest conferences in Division III, the Wabash swimming and diving team knows what adversity is. The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) is home to national powerhouses like Denison University and Kenyon College. But this year at the conference championship, in a pool filled to the brim with elite competition, Wabash gained more than experience. They crowned a conference champion.
Ryan West ’28 competed in the NCAC Championships from February 11–14 at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. On the final day of competition, he captured the conference 200-yard backstroke title with a time of 1:46.42, smashing his own previous school record of 1:47.56.
“Winning it just proved that everything I was doing all year was worth it,” said West. “It was meaningful. It was proof that hard work does pay off, and it was especially special to celebrate it with my teammates all around me.”
Hailing from Apex, North Carolina, West got a late start to swimming. He only started when he was 14 years old and did not know how good he would be. But after a few years of competition, he had caught the attention of a certain Wabash coach.
“From the initial recruitment when we first started having conversations with him, we knew he was going to be a pretty special athlete,” said Head Swimming and Diving Coach William Bernhardt.
And that is exactly what the team got when he busted onto the scene as a freshman, setting several school records. But going into the 2025 NCAC Championships, he came up just short as he finished third overall in the 200-yard backstroke. While some athletes would dwell on it, West used it as his motivation.
“Being a freshman and coming in third showed me that I had a shot,” said West. “I was that close in my first year, so I knew all I needed to do was to keep thinking about how I did not win in order to push myself so that I could do it.”
Coming into this year’s conference championship, he knew he was ready, and his team did too. After watching him train over the course of the season, it was certain he could do something special.
“He leads by example; he’s out there busting his butt every single practice,” said Bernhardt. “Every practice he shows up and gives his best effort. That’s the kind of leadership that he brings to the team.”
After breaking the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard backstroke school records earlier in the meet, West surged to the title at the end of the fourth day of competition to take home his victory. After touching first, it immediately became a special moment — not just for him, but for the team itself.
“It’s been almost 10 years since Wabash had an outright conference champion,” said Bernhardt. “For the team to be able to see that level of performance and to see that two of the best teams in the country can be beaten, it’s special.”
West is currently ranked sixth in the nation for 200-yard backstroke but will have to wait for other conferences to finish up to officially know if he secured a spot for the NCAA Division III National Championships. While his spot is not official yet, it is for certain that West has etched himself into the Wabash history books.