Head Coach Nathan Owens has been with the Mavericks since 2004. During his tenure, the Swimming & Diving team has produced the top performers in the program’s rich history. The team’s record books have been rewritten and new benchmarks for success have been set nearly every year. Owens has led the Mavericks to 16 postseason appearances in 20 years and led the team to top-25 finishes at the Division II National Championships 11 times. At Minnesota State, Owens has coached dozens of All-Americans and produced U.S. and Canadian Olympic trials qualifiers.
During the 2016-17 season, Owens helped guide the Women's Swimming and Diving program into a new era as they transitioned from the New South Intercollegiate Swimming Conference (2016) into the Northern Sun Conference (2017). In 2017 the Mavericks finished second out of seven women's teams at the NSIC Conference Championship.
At the conference meet the Mavericks posted 30 individual top-8 finishes which included 9 new school records, 11 individual NCAA provisional qualifying times, and 4 Conference Champions. The Mavericks also won 4 of 5 relay events in route to setting new school records in the 200 freestyle relay, the 400 medley Relay, and the 400 freestyle relay.
The Mavericks capped off their season with their best finish ever at the NCAA Championships, finishing 13th overall. On day 1, senior Cheyenne Rova took 3rd overall in the 50 freestyle (23.06) while junior teammate, Cecilia Hake (23.10), finished right behind in 4th. The Mavericks 200 medley relay team also placed 11th overall. Day 2 featured the fastest 200 free relay team in school history as the Mavericks finished 3rd overall with the time of 1:32.69 (Cheyenne Rova (23.24), Maggie Knier (23.25), Taylor Bass (23.65), and Cecilia Hake (22.55). On day 3, Cecilia Hake lowered her school record in the 100 backstroke (54.48) and placed 6th. On the final day of the meet, Hake placed 14th in the 100 freestyle while Cheyenne Rova set a new school record in the event (50.28) and finished in 5th overall. The Mavericks capped off their National meet with a new school record in the 400 freestyle relay (3:23.74) which finished in 6th (Taylor Bass (51.73), Cecilia Hake (50.42), Chelsea Calhoon (51.69), and Cheyenne Rova (49.90).
“We have a really fun team right now that has been awesome to work with”, Owens explains, “Our current team is one of the most talented groups that we’ve ever had. They’re hard working, dedicated, and have a lot of fun together. The coaches and I are excited to see what the program can do over the next several years”.
In addition to coaching, Owens oversees the Learn to Swim with the Mavericks youth swimming lesson program. This year-round program enrolls over 700 local children annually. He aslo directs seasonal swim camps for youth and age-group swimmers as well as clinics for adults and triathletes.
Prior to coaching at Minnesota State, Owens served as an assistant coach for Texas Christian University (TCU) and helped guide the Horned Frogs to back-to-back Conference USA titles in 2002 & 2003. From 2000 – 2002, he served as a Head Coach at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis., where he helped establish the new program and in only their second year of existence, Owens guided the Green Knights to finish in the top half of their conference finishing 3rd out of 7 teams. Prior to his appointment at St. Norbert, Owens served as the Head Coach for Wausau East High School in Wausau, Wis. In the summer of 2000, Owens coached the Wausau Tide Swimming Club and helped to produce one Olympic trials qualifier.
Owens attended and competed for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point from 1996-1999 where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He received his Master’s degree in Exercise Science from Texas Christian University in 2004. Owens resides in North Mankato, MN with his wife Lindsey and their two children Eli and Vivian.
Program description & training philosophy:
The team's training philosophy is straight forward, simple, and designed to produce results. In short, the mavericks “train to compete”. In practice, this translates to high quality training over volume training. Important aspects of the training program include an emphasis on strength and conditioning. Developing sport specific functional strength and explosiveness is critical to success. In addition, race specific and event specific training are often used in training. Many workouts are in small groups and include general conditioning, race specific training, stroke specific training, power-production-tolerance training, in addition to recovery workouts.
The Women's Swimming & Diving program has steadily improved in recent years and looks to continue on that trend. The coaches are searching for highly motivated and competitive athletes to continue to build a nationally competitive program. Optimistic about the future of the program, Coach Owens explains "Our program continues to have a bright future. The Women’s Swimming & Diving program is well funded and supported. Our coaching staff has the experience and the desire to help our program reach a new level of success. Our focus is to recruit highly motivated women that are hard working and love to compete. In addition, the Division II model here at Minnesota State allows student-athletes to find a positive balance between their respective sport, their education, and the other important aspects of life”. This philosophy also allows our student-athletes to maintain a balance between their course work, family, athletic, and social life. Academic success is paramount. The Women’s Swimming and Diving Programs has been recognized by achieving Academic All-American status on a regular basis.
Top five reasons to become a Maverick
• Cumulative Team GPA above 3.25
• A great campus in a great community
• Over 150 majors offered in a supportive academic environment
• A dynamic training program that builds team unity
• The BEST training trips in the country!
