Western Colorado University Athletics

The 1966-67 and 1967-68 seasons were some of the most memorable in Western men's swimming and diving history.
 
The program was started just three years prior, but eventually led to a Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference League Championship in 1967. During the conference meet, the Mountaineers set seven conference records out of 17 events at the meet under coach Tom Muhic.
 
That same year, three Mountaineers competed at the NCAA College Division Championships in Long Beach, California. Those swimmers scored 38.5 points, finished 14^th as a team, and took home five All-American honors.
 
Angel Kalehuawehe finished eighth in the 100-yard butterfly, while Nelson Shibasaki placed second in both the 200-yard and 100-yard backstroke. James Leong placed eighth in the 1-meter dive and 12^th in the 3-meter competition.
 
"This unique group of young men came from very diverse backgrounds, yet came together and became a very cohesive team and a powerhouse, representing Western and the city of Gunnison in a very special way," Muhic said in his nomination letter.
 
The following season, 1967-68, Western placed second at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships and qualified nine for the National Championships under new head coach Ric Hutterly.
 
At the NCAA College Division Nationals in 1968, the Mountaineers scored 50 points to secure a top-ten finish, placing ninth.
 
Five Mountaineers recorded seven All-American honors that season. Kalehuawehe earned his second career All-American honor in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing seventh. Leong also earned another All-American title, placing 12^th in the 1-meter diving competition. Fellow Western diver Rick Bunger placed 12th, also earning All-American honors in the 1-meter dive.
 
Freshman Ron Koch earned two All-American honors for the Mountaineers. His first came in the 200-yard medley, where he finished 12^th. Koch then placed third in the 400-yard medley.
 
Shibasaki earned another All-American title in the 100-yard backstroke, with a fourth-place finish. In the 200-yard backstroke, Shibasaki became Western men's swimming and diving's first national champion. His time of 2:01 set a new NCAA College Division national record and qualified him for the NCAA University Division Championships and the Olympic Team Trials.
 
Along with their athletic merits, these men's swimming and diving teams offered a lot more to the campus and Gunnison community. The swimmers formulated the first campus group dedicated to multiculturalism, with the Hawaiian Club.
 
"In addition to being great swimmers, the Western swimming and diving men were outstanding people, and had a big influence on the student body of the college, making it much more cosmopolitan," Duane Vandenbushe said in his nomination letter. "They started a Hawaiian Club, taught Polynesian dancing and helped spread the word about the little school in the Rockies."