After losing two of its top swimmers in Josh Kercheval and Nic Cheviron last year to graduation and having a dozen freshmen on the roster, not much was expected from the 2003-04 men’s swim team.

However, returning senior Rich Wahlgren has taken a year possibly set aside for rebuilding into a season that could result with the Panthers swimming their way to a Midwest Classic Championship.

Wahlgren has been nothing short of amazing this year with nine individual first-place finishes in just seven meets. The freestyler from Palos Heights has been dominating as of late, winning both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle in each of the last three meets.

Wahlgren doesn’t know exactly why he has been swimming past the competition in these two events, but if he had to pinpoint one key to the wins he would credit his work ethic.

“I’m not sure why I’ve been so successful,” Wahlgren said. “It’s probably just showing up to practice and working hard every day.”

His hard work is certainly paying off. In a meet against Evansville earlier this month, Wahlgren set a new season-best in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:45.69. In the process of setting a new season-best time, Wahlgren won the event for the sixth time this season.

Fast times weren’t always Wahlgren’s thing. He remembers his first swim over 15 years ago like it was yesterday, and he wasn’t exactly the speed demon he is now.

“I was five years old and with my parents one day when I signed up at a Boys and Girls Club,” Wahlgren said. “My first lap around the pool took me two minutes and 45 seconds to complete.”

Since that first lap in the pool, Wahlgren definitely picked up the pace. A star on the Stagg swim team, Wahlgren credits the reputation of Panther swim coach Ray Padovan for coming to Eastern.

“Ray came highly recommended by my high school coach,” Wahlgren said. “I wanted to stay in the state so it was a good fit.”

During his four years at Eastern, Wahlgren has learned a great deal from Padovan to become a leader on the team. With last year’s co-captains Kercheval and Cheviron departing, Wahlgren has become a leader on a team filled with freshmen.

“A lot of what I do (leadership wise) is just trying to lead in the footsteps of Josh and Nic,” Wahlgren said. “They were my roommates last year and I learned a lot from them and now I’m passing that on to the team.”

One person Wahlgren has taken under his wing is freshman freestyler Bill Senese. The Hickory Hills native has gotten off to red-hot collegiate career, and some of that success can be traced back to Wahlgren.

“Rich has really been a great leader for me,” Senese said. “He’s been like a mentor to me and has helped a lot.”

Wahlgren and Senese have ties that go back farther than the last three months at Eastern. In high school, both attended Stagg and swam together for one season when Wahlgren was a senior and Senese was a freshman. Both said a bond was formed and Wahlgren was a key recruiter to help land Senese in Charleston.

“I was part of the recruiting process with Senese because I did know him from high school,” Wahlgren said. “I’m not sure if I’m a mentor to him, but I have talked to him on how to improve certain things.”

After a slow start that saw the men lose two of their first three dual meets, the team has turned the corner with wins in the last two meets and a first-place finish in the Panther Invitational. Wahlgren, a key part of the recent success, thinks the Panthers have put their early season struggles behind them.

“Yeah, we’re coming around,” Wahlgren said. “We’re getting to know the freshman squad and we have a great group of kids.”

With just four months left in his collegiate swimming career, Wahlgren is hoping his tenure for the blue and white ends with a Midwest Classic Championship in February.

“It’s (Midwest Classic Championship) very important to me and has been our goal since the start of the year,” Wahlgren said. “Last year it was disappointing when we failed to win, but this year we have 12 returning swimmers and 12 freshmen so we have a new, fresh squad.”

Only time will tell whether Wahlgren’s wish is granted, but with him in the pool, the Panthers are never dead in the water.