Last week, prior to their trip to the Big West Conference Dual Meet Invitational in Irvine, Calif. the Clarion spoke with swimming and diving Head Coach Jim Bain and the teams co-captains Chase Kelly and John Kolstoe spoke with the Clarion. The team is in a time of transition, having moved to a new conference, and is now preparing for the retirement of Coach Bain, who has guided the Pioneers for 32 years.

You placed second in the CSU Invitational exceed or fall below your expectations?

That’s probably a little bit above, because we were fourth last year, I believe so that was good. The men did a good job. (There were) a lot of teams there so it was good.

So, what do you think of the new recruits?

We’ve got quite a few of them. We’ve got so many new recruits it’s amazing – there are 13 new women and four new men (on the team), so that’s a lot of people. They’re doing really good (sic).

What do you expect of the seniors on the team?

I’m sure like any coach in the athletic department (I) would say leadership – (to) lead the way kind of show (the younger team members) how things work. That’s what was good about CSU’s Early Bird invitational. (It was in) the championship format, so the new kids get used to what that meet is like.

Is there going to be any drop off in the team’s performance, or will they be better?

The results might look like a drop off, because (the men are) moving to a new conference and it’s a really tough conference. We won conference last year, and that was great, and now we’re moving to a conference that’s definitely a step up. You’ve got the University of Hawaii, you’ve got SMU, which were (both) top twenty teams at the national championships, so that’s pretty impressive, and the five or six other teams that are in there are good too.

What do you consider the strongest event for your team?

I’d like to think we’re good in all of them, but we have a little more depth in certain events . . . We’re pretty pleased (with) all the events.

For the men’s team, if I was to say there was a weak point, it would be the sprint back stroke, Chase Kelly is very good at the backstroke, but he’s better at distance. Will Price, and Matt Kazan are good in the backstroke too, but they’re (also) better at the 200 meter than the 100.

Why did you make the decision to retire?

Well 32 years, that’s quite a few years, so that’s the main thing. I think the programs in good shape and I know they’ll bring in a really strong coach, because we have a lot to offer – to any coach in the country. (We have) one of the top pools in the country. . . It’s a very good school to recruit to. It’s been a good run, but 32 years – it’s time to move on.

So looking forward to the meet in Irvine – how do you think you’ll do?

Well we’ve really upgraded our schedule. There are some really fast teams there, a lot of teams there: Washington, Hawaii, BYU – I could go on and on.

(They are) going to be really strong competition for us we’ll be successful in the pool with some of the teams and some of the other teams will offer some pretty strong competition.

We’ve really upgraded our competition, so our record might not look as strong as it was the previous year, (but) in reality we’re doing better.

We’re kind of a mid level team right now (that’s) gradually moving our way up. We want to start scoring at the NCAA nationals, with both the men and women.

So who do you think is the strongest competition in your conference?

That’s easy, it’s Hawaii and SMU, because both of them have preformed really well at the national championships.

There are a lot of good teams there, but we’re going to be competitive and have a good time with it.

Do you think the team is as strong as strong as last year’s team?

John Kolstoe: We did lose some good swimmers last year, but I think after the big win (at the conference championships) last year we’ve come together as a team and I think we’re going to be stronger this year than we were last year.

What sort of leadership roles do you have on the team?

John Kolstoe: Just basically lead by example, get in, work hard, show the younger classmen what to do, and how to win, and how to win as a team.

How do you psyche yourself up for meets?

Chase Kelly: When we’re trying to get psyched up for meets we usually just talk about how hard we’ve worked and what we’ve done to get to where we are and just go out and do what we’ve been doing in practice every day.

So what are your personal goals for the season?

Chase Kelly: Personally, for me, I’d like to have all best times (and) perform well at conference – really that’s our big meet – that’s really what counts, so (my goal is) just to have good swims there.

John Kolstoe: Same pretty much: (to have) all best times and perform well at conference and just help the team out as much as we can.

So what are the team goals? Are they the same as your personal goals?

Chase Kelly: Yeah, I think everyone on the team wants to do their best at conference and I think we want to swim as fast as or faster than we did last year at conference. I think we all did good (Sic.) last year, but I think we can do even better.

So what do you think of your coaching staff?

John Kolstoe: I think they’re working really hard for us and we have to work really hard for them. In the end it will pay off. This is Jim’s last year so we have to send him out with a bang so hopefully we’ll do really well.