Wittenberg team members bonded at the conclusion of the "Hour of Power"
Springfield, Ohio — Wittenberg University's men's and women's swimming and diving teams joined 99 other college, high school and club teams across the country to raise awareness for cancer research as part of the third annual Ted Mullin "Leave it in the Pool, Hour of Power Relay" event Thursday, Nov. 6, in the HPER Center Natatorium.
The event was started three years ago at Carleton College, after Ted Mullin, a member of the men's swimming and diving team, died of a rare soft-tissue cancer called sarcoma. The event has grown to include 84 college teams in 2008, including eight of the nine North Coast Athletic Conference squads. All donations raised will be sent to the "Ted Mullin Fund for Sarcoma Research" at the University of Chicago.
The event, organized by men's team co-captain Robby McNeese, class of 2009 from Cincinnati, Ohio, was an hour-long sprint relay in which team members swam 50-yard lengths of each different stroke. At 5 p.m. the Tigers dove into the pool to begin their fight against cancer, spending their first 15 minutes swimming freestyle, followed by 10 minutes of butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke. The final 15 minutes were spent pushing through another segment of freestyle laps. The team was divided into six lanes of eight to nine team members each, mixing the men's and women's teams together and including the members who compete only as divers during meets.
Head Coach Natalie Koukis talks to the team of the "Hour of Power"
Afterward, exhausted but exhilarated by the experience, team members huddled to reflect upon their experience.
"I felt very personally motivated to participate in this event, because my neighbor and very good friend beat Ewing's Sarcoma about 10 years ago," said Conor O'Rourke, class of 2011 from Mendham, N.J. "When I heard we were going to be doing this event, I felt very passionate about the cause and to participate, knowing someone who has beaten sarcoma."
Tom Lillard, class of 2012 from Wilmette, Ill., even had a personal connection to the Mullin family. He and Tom Mullin are both graduates of New Trier High School.
"The first time I participated in this event, Ted's parents were at the pool that afternoon, and it was very motivating to be able to look up in the stands and being able to see his parents and how much it meant to them that we were doing this event to honor their son," Lillard said. "When I came to Wittenberg I felt that it was something worth bringing to the team. After doing it for the second time, it was more inspiring to see my teammates, who really had no connection with the Mullin family like I had, working together for such a great cause."
While money was raised for an excellent cause, the event also helped build team unity and enthusiasm heading into the home stretch of the first half of the 2008-09 season.
"This was a great experience for us," said women's team co-captain Kelly Eggers, class of 2009 from Rye, N.Y. "We came together to support a cause that most of us had never heard of before, and when an hour had passed, I felt that most of our lives had been changed forever."
McNeese said the original goal was $500. Going into the event, team members had raised $400 after making requests primarily of friends, family members, faculty and staff members, but other pledges had not yet been received and others can still be accepted. He believes that $1,000 is possible.