| Now in his
36th year of servicing the Marist College aquatics program, Larry
VanWagner's accomplishments speak for themselves.
The ranking tenured coach on the Marist
campus, VanWagner came to the Poughkeepsie campus in 1976, just
prior to the completion (1977) of the James J. McCann Recreation
Center, which houses the school's natatorium. Under his direction,
Marist College elevated its swimming & diving program to the varsity
level in 1978 and, in 33 seasons, has risen to the top of the
Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The largest conference in
the country, the ECAC includes 80 Division I members. Coach
VanWagner's men's squad has captured 14 conference championships
including the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title in the
school's first ten years of competition in the league and most
recently the 2008 MAAC title. The Marist women's squad has captured
16 conference championships: 12 MAAC, 2 Metro and 2 ECAC. In
addition, the Red Foxes have had 41 individual Metropolitan
Conference Champions and 141 individual MAAC Champions.
Individually, VanWagner was named ECAC Coach
of the Meet honors in 2006 and 2007, and MAAC Coach of the Year in
2006, 2007 and 2010.
During his undergraduate studies at
Springfield College, where he graduated with a B.S. and a M.P.E. in
physical education and athletic administration, VanWagner swam under
the legendary Charles "Red" Silvia. While a member of the varsity
team, VanWagner captained the Chiefs to a New England Championship
while earning All-American honors in 1974.
Dedicated to the teaching and promotion of the
sport of swimming, VanWagner also serves as the Director and Head
Coach of the Marist Swim Club, a USS program which has achieved
national recognition and placed dozens of high school graduates into
Division I universities. In its 34-year history, the program has
produced numerous champions including: 11 U.S. Olympic Trials
qualifiers, six world-ranked swimmers, six Junior National
Champions, 96 ESG Champions, 2 US National Junior Team members, 16
US National Championship qualifiers and over 148 Metropolitan JO
Champions.
A Hyde Park native, VanWagner presently
resides in Lagrangeville, N.Y. with his wife Ginny. |
