The University of Iowa men’s swimming and diving team has signed two in-state standouts to the class of 2019: Ben Colin from Dubuque and Tanner Nelson from Bettendorf. Both will head to Iowa City in the fall.
Ben Colin is primarily a distance freestyler. A senior at Dubuque High School, he is a six-time Iowa state high school finalist, having raced the 200 free and 500 free in each of the last three IHSAA State Swimming Meets. In 2014 as a junior, he placed third in the 200 free (1:44.61) and fourth in the 500 (4:44.36).
Colin swims year-round with the Dubuque Area Swimmin’ Hurricanes, and his top times over the last two seasons are:
| 100y free: 48.41 | 100m free: 55.29 |
| 200y free: 1:44.03 | 200m free: 1:57.90 |
| 500y free: 4:36.68 | 400m free: 4:10.09 |
| 1000y free: 9:46.73 | 800m free: 8:38.89 |
| 1650y free: 16:25.50 | 1500m free: 16:44.79 |
Colin had a particularly strong summer LCM season, dropping 3.1 seconds in the 200m free, 6.5 in the 400, 17.2 seconds in the 800, and 10.2 in the 1500. In SCY, he is 13 seconds ahead of his 2013 pace in the 500 free, 13.5 in the 1000, and 53 seconds faster in the 1650.
Tanner Nelson is a senior at Bettendorf High School, where he specializes in breast and IM.
At the 2014 IHSAA State Swimming Meet he placed third in the 100 breast (58.04) and 11th in the IM (1:59.68). Tanner swims club with Lane Four Aquatics and his top times over the last two years include:
| 100y breast: 57.69 | 100m breast: 1:06.42 |
| 200y breast: 2:05.24 | 200m breast: 2:29.31 |
| 50y free: 22.08 | 50m free: 26.91 |
| 100y free: 47.73 | 100m free: 59.21 |
| 200y IM: 1:59.68 | 200m IM: 2:24.75 |
Nelson, too, has progressed quite a bit over the last year. This fall he improved his 100y breast by nearly 2 seconds over last year’s time, and his 200y breast by 3.8. Over the summer he knocked 1.4 off the 100m breast and 3.1 off the 200m.
Colin and Nelson will join fellow 2015-16 commits Matt Kamin and Quinn Risley on the Hawkeyes’ roster next year.