Casey Converse

Casey Converse was a distance freestyler who swam at the University of Alabama. He was 1976 AAU Champion in the 1,500 freestyle. In March 1977, Converse swam the 1,650 yard freestyle in 14:57.39 to win the NCAA Championships, the first to break the 15-minute barrier in that short-course race. He also broke the NCAA record that year in the 1,000 yard freestyle.

Converse eventually graduated from Washburn University in Kansas in 1984. He received a masters’ degree in science from the University of Northern Colorado in 2006. Converse started coaching in the late 1970s with the Cincinnati Pepsi Marlin Swim Team. He coached the swim teams at New Mexico State from 1981-83, and then moved to the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Converse coached at the Air Force Academy for over 30 years, mentoring both the men and women. He has won coach-of-the-year honors five times at the conference level and in NCAA Division-2.