CMC75 Moments: Morrow Upsets Olympic Medalist for 1976 Swim & Dive National Title

As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you were a part of this great moment and would like to add to the memories, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moment, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.

Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
1975-76 Men's Swimming & Diving: Morrow Pulls Upset for 100 Fly Title

Gary MacDonald was part of a silver-medal winning relay in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal for Team Canada, one of 11 medals (five silver, six bronze) that the host country captured. As he stood on the Olympic podium to receive his silver in July, it was actually the second time in that calendar year that he came in second during a championship race. While competing for Simon Fraser in March, he was also defeated in the 100 fly by Bill Morrow of Claremont-Mudd at the NAIA National Championships. 

Morrow is one of the most decorated swimmers in CMS history, earning All-America honors 10 times, bridging the gap between the program's NAIA years (seven All-America honors from 1974-76) and the NCAA years (three All-America honors in 1977). His signature effort, though, came in the 1975-76 season in Marshall, Minnesota, when he captured his national title. 

Just winning an individual championship put him in a very select group of student-athletes, but he also pulled off a remarkable upset to do it. At the time, Simon Fraser was the dominant NAIA powerhouse in swimming, as many members of the Canadian National Team also competed for them during the school year. Gary MacDonald was the defending NAIA champion in the 100 fly, and one of those Canadian National Team members that made Simon Fraser so formidable.

Battling the flu, Morrow jumped out to the lead over the first half of the race and tried to hold on as MacDonald closed the gap. It came down to the final push to the wall, but he was able to win with a time of 51.83, beating MacDonald by just six-hundredths of a second. In addition to winning the race, Morrow also broke MacDonald's previous NAIA record of 51.94, which he set the year before. 

During the 1975-76 season, Morrow helped the Stags to a perfect 5-0 record in SCIAC competition and an eighth place finish at the NAIA Championships, in their final NAIA season before switching over to NCAA Division III competition in 1976-77. Joining Morrow on the NAIA All-America list for the 1976 squad were Mike Blatt, Jon Gudman, Dave Kent, Bob Mantey, Ed Mesa, Jack Pearce, and Mike Sutton, while All-SCIAC swimmers included Matt Dahlgren, Greg Dorst, Jeff Glass, Dave Kavrell, Tom Kolepp, and Mickey Moneta.

Bill Morrow:

First and most important, I would never have been National Champion but for Coach Grall. He was, in my opinion, one of the finest college swim coaches. During my first swim meet with Grall, he asked how my swimming felt. I told him "wet". He rolled his eyes and then said we had a long way to go. He took my raw swimming effort and turned it into something special. I could not be prouder of being his last National Champion, there was a long line of former Coach Grall Champions.

Second, I attribute the second phase of my success to the summer we all spent together living in Dana Point. Everyone from Eddie Mesa to Greg Dorst, and especially Jack Pearce and Tom Neff, pushed me to work out during the off season. Three nights a week at SCAR, then lifeguarding gave me the strength and emotional support I needed.

Finally, less than a minute in March of 1976 in Marshall, Minnesota made a difference for the rest of my life. I remember arriving at Nationals, sick with the flu. My roommate Dave Kent telling me to stop being sick and just swim. On the day of the 100 fly Finals, I had a temperature of 102. I ate lunch at A&W Root Beer. As I prepared for the 100 finals, Coach Grall told me: go out hard and come back strong. I told Coach Grall, when I win Nationals I don't want someone from the City Council giving me the award. I told Grall he had to do it. Grall looked at me and rolled his eyes.

I have only vague memories of the events leading up to and following the race. I remember Page trying to talk to me in the locker room just before the race. I remember someone (probably Dave Karvell) telling me something, I never heard, as I waited behind the blocks. I did what Coach said, I went out as hard as I could (23.1 for the 50), and I had a body-length lead over MacDonald. The last four yards were neck and neck. I touched the finish, not knowing if I won. I had to look at the scoreboard and saw: "Lane 4, First Place."

I was on Cloud 9 … then five minutes later I was in the shower throwing up. I believe Jack Pearce, Mike Sutton and Tom Kolepp were there offering support, singing "A&W Root Beer has that frosty mug taste."

A memory was made.

Jack Pearce:

It is just so hard to dust off those brain cells from the 1975-76 swimming season and remember the details, but certain feelings and memories are so powerful they just can't be shaken. I remember Claremont-Harvey Mudd were the SCIAC Champions that season with great performances from Ed Mesa, Dave Kent, Billy Morrow, Dave Kavrell, Mike Blatt, Jon Gudman, Bob Mantey, Jeff Glass, both Tom Kollepp and Greg Dorst on the diving boards. And, of course, Mike Sutton. Claremont-Mudd took first place in 14 out of 18 events including the one and three-meter diving, plus 2 out of 3 relays.

Even with all our success at home in our conference, we knew we had a tough road ahead trying to chip away at the long-standing dominance of Simon Fraser University at the NAIA National Championships. The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire team showed up with one of their strongest teams ever and of course, Occidental College, Drury College and others were hanging tough as well. Our team was smaller than years before and we knew we would have to turn in stellar performances just to be competitive.

Because I was so focused on my own objectives, that being the 200 Freestyle, the 800 Freestyle Relay and 400 Medley Relay, I wasn't totally conscious of what was happening with Billy and his 100 Butterfly challenge. I knew he was feeling sick and struggling to get prepared, but none of us thought he would pull off a top-of-the-podium performance. I can't quite remember how his 100 Fly fit into my own prep for the 200 Free in terms of timing, but I do remember going crazy from our team seats at the far end of the pool as he pulled off the upset over Gary MacDonald of Simon Fraser. It was one of those "life events" where you are so pumped full of adrenaline you are jumping up and down screaming, yet when you come down from that high you can hardly remember what city you were in or who was there.

What I think every athlete remembers from attending a National Championship event at any level is the relief you feel after going through months and years of preparation, training and sacrifices, especially in swimming. So many laps and miles of endless repetition, tapering down toward the championship and then channeling everything into that one event. Bill's accomplishment of a National Champion title in the 100 Butterfly was absolutely astounding and the team had great Top 5 success in two of our relay events. I pulled off a fifth in the 200 Free and was ecstatic with my own senior-year performance. Altogether, it was a championship to remember and a big relief when it was over.

Mike Blatt:

My one lasting memory of Bill winning the 100 fly was seeing Tom Grall jumping about 3 feet in the air in excitement.  (However high he actually jumped, it was higher than any other time I saw!)

1976 Men's Swimming and Diving Roster
Head Coaches: Tom Grall, Donna Evans
Assistant Coach: Page Remillard
Mike Benthale (CMC)
Mike Blatt (CMC)
Ron Borrell (HMC)
Matt Dahlgren (CMC)
Greg Dorst (CMC)
Robert Fisch (HMC)
Scott Foerster (HMC)
Charles Fuller (CMC)
Jeff Glass (CMC)
Jon Gudman (CMC)
Dave Kavrell (CMC)
Dave Kent (CMC)
Tom Kolepp (CMC)
Bob Mantey (HMC)
Ed Mesa (CMC)
Mickey Moneta (CMC)
Bill Morrow (CMC)
Kevin Peters (CMC)
Jack Pearce (CMC)
Mark Runco (CMC)
Paul Sanberg (CMC)
Kent Sanders (CMC)
Peter Soelter (CMC)
Mike Sutton (CMC)
Denton Watumull (CMC)