Reno transferring from NCAA Division I Cincinnati to push Flames males’s swimmers in sprinting occasions

A 3rd NCAA Division I males’s swimmer will switch to Liberty University’s College Club Swimming program, which trains out of state-of-the-art amenities within the Liberty Natatorium, similar to any collegiate pool within the nation.

Caleb Reno, a rising sophomore sprinter from Dayton, Ohio, who swam his freshman season on the University of Cincinnati, will enroll at Liberty this fall. His sister, Abigail, graduated this previous May and is now enrolled within the Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

“We are excited to get someone like Caleb who has competed in one of the best conferences in the country for swimming (the Big 12, a Power Four conference), and for him to come here and see all the resources we have to offer,” Flames Head Coach Heath Grishaw stated. “From our (CCS) level, he’s a titan. He’s going to be a record-setter, for sure, for our program, and the title of national champion is definitely in his future.”

Earlier this summer season, Liberty Christian Academy graduate JC Gordon, a distance freestyle and IM specialist, transferred to compete for the Flames beginning this fall after finishing his freshman season at Virginia Tech and Aiden Hall, one other distance freestyler, opted to switch from St. Bonaventure (N.Y.)

“Caleb is at the same level as JC (Gordon),” Grishaw stated. “He is a major addition for us, and the factor of what Liberty stands for (Christian faith) is what drew him here to some extent. There was a lot of prayer involved in this decision. His whole family was praying, and I’ve got to give them a lot of credit.”

 

Besides his mother and father, Curtis and Christy Reno, his aunt and uncle, Jordan and Micah Carroll, who met at Liberty within the early 2000s, have been encouraging Caleb to comply with in his sister’s steps.

“They thought it was important that I get a Christian education,” Caleb Reno stated.

Grishaw famous that Reno’s quickest 50-yard butterfly and 100 breaststroke instances would have received CCS nationwide championships this previous spring and his quick time within the 100 fly would have positioned third, whereas his high 50 again and 50 free instances would have landed him simply off the rostrum.

“What is he not good at?” Grishaw requested rhetorically, noting the one stroke he’s not a possible record-setter in is breaststroke. “In everything else, he is an absolute beast. He’s really talented in the 50 and the 100 in three different strokes.”

“Caleb has the chance to throw his name on almost every record on our board,” he added. “He is a missing piece we’ve been needing in our relays. His 200 free is going to be a great addition to our 800 free relay, and he will be more diverse with his impact in every relay.”

Reno’s presence on the staff ought to have constructive ripple results on the three-time reigning CCS National Championships swimmer-up Flames. 

“He’s going to help elevate us in terms of team scores and what he brings to relays,” Grishaw stated. “In terms of individual training, he will help guys train faster. He’s at a level some guys on the team would love to be at, and guys will look up to that. He is going to have that level of respect because of what he was able to do his freshman year at Cincinnati.”

The problem for Grishaw is to get as a lot out of Reno at Liberty as he would have competing towards sooner swimmers within the NCAA Division I ranks.

“I’ve got to just throw more at him and sharpen his speed,” Grishaw stated. “He’s going to be the one challenging and pushing the pace of a lot of the guys at a lot of different events. I will be focusing on getting him faster and seeing where he can improve.”

Reno stated that was a promoting level in Grishaw’s persistent texts and cellphone name conversations over the previous few months.

“He talked about what I could help Liberty accomplish, and it would be cool to be able to hopefully get that national title this year,” Reno stated. “It gives you motivation to work toward a common goal. I agree with how (Grishaw) trains his swimmers, his coaching techniques. He’s definitely going to help me to improve a lot, and I hope to be a good teammate; to help motivate other people, and push them to improve as well so that we can beat (four-time-defending national champion Purdue).”

Grishaw will proceed to problem him to rise above the tide and press on to the end line.

“I’ve been able to work with great swimmers and have been able to get them to swim faster,” Grishaw stated. “The buy-in has to start now. I told JC (Gordon) this and I’ll tell Caleb, ‘It’s not what you have done, but what you need to do now. We are not focusing on the past, but what does today look like? It doesn’t matter what other coaches have done, it’s what you’re going to do right now.'”

Grishaw had recruited Reno out of highschool, however he additionally acquired presents from the Bearcats and curiosity from universities equivalent to Alabama, Ohio State, Oakland (Mich.), Florida Atlantic, and Miami. As with Gordon at Virginia Tech, a discount of roster spots out there at Cincinnati left Reno with out a staff to compete on for the upcoming season.

A novel fulfilled prayer request opened the gate for Reno to switch from Cincinnati to Liberty.

“His mom and dad really wanted him here and asked him ‘What would it take for you to commit to Liberty and to swim there?'” Grishaw stated. “He said he wanted to take care of a horse, so we were praying for a horse for him to keep at the (Liberty Mountain) Equestrian Center, and God has provided one. He was working at a horse ranch this summer and the owner gave him a mule.”

“(The ranch owner) breaks racehorses, mostly young fillies, and he breeds them,” Reno added, noting Summer is a male colt, and a cross between a horse and a donkey. “He’s massive, a war horse.”

After learning communications at Cincinnati, Reno is contemplating pursuing a B.S. in Zoology at Liberty.

“I want to do something with animal studies, zoo and wildlife, because I want to own my own zoo, exactly like Matt Damon,” Reno stated, referring to the 2011 film “We Own a Zoo.”

“Working on a ranch has been great,” he added. “Anything with animals I love. This summer, I have been able to bottle-feed baby donkeys, clean out chicken coops, hang out with baby horses, and their moms while they are pregnant.”

Grishaw is grateful to the ranch proprietor who supplied the mule, and to land a water horse like Reno as a part of the deal — one which he’ll proceed to interrupt in with the intention to swim sooner.

“I did a lot of praying last year, and the Lord knew what I needed,” he stated. “I learned a lot of lessons. The Lord’s not done with this team yet. Going into my ninth season, I’m still living the dream, still chasing that dream (of a national championship).”

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer