The 1960-1961 varsity swimming season got off to a fast start with a resounding team victory at the Loyola University Relays early in December. In that early test, the Cardinals captured first-place honors over such fine teams as Ohio University, Western Michigan, Loyola and Northwestern. During midseason the mainstays of the Redbird tankers, Dick Blick, Ruben Roca and Raul Martin, contracted virus ailments which necessitated their absence from the line-up in several key instances. Without the three Olympians, the Cards suffered setbacks at Bowling Green and at Notre Dame.

They bounced back toward the end of the season to take their 12th consecutive conference championship, winning every event except the diving and setting a new conference record in each event for the second straight year.  Hosting what has become the largest annual Midwestern swimming meet, the North Central Open Senior AAU Meet, the Cards pooled their resources to capture the title from the framed Indianapolis Athletic Club, the defending AAU champion. This was their third championship title for the season leading up to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletic championship meet in Detroit.

At full strength, the Redbirds invaded Detroit to seek the NAIA College National Championship, a title which had eluded them for two years previous. This time the red-suited tankers made certain with a vengeance that the national title would be brought home to Naperville. The Cards shaved their bodies from top to bottom and, one after another, proceeded to smash NAIA and North Central records until the final score stood North Central 111 points, Detroit 78, and East Carolina, the team that took the title two years ago, a humble 23 points.

When the smoke had cleared the local swimmers had set seven new North Central varsity records and six new NAIA records. Ten of the Cardinal men were selected to the NAIA All-American team, an unprecedented accomplishment.

With the remainder of the team completing the season, North Central’s ace, junior Dick Blick, continued the quest for national recognition by entering the NCAA Championships in Seattle, Washington and the national AAU Championships at Yale University. In Seattle, Blick outswam the cream of the American collegiate crop in his specialty, the 220-yard freestyle event. Barely a foot behind Australia’s Olympic champion, Murray Rose, Blick finished in second place and broke the existing American record in the process. Blick’s time was 2:01.6.  In the 100-yard sprint event, Blick was a surprise finalist with a time of 49.7, a full second better than his previous best time and a new NCC record. To complete the record-breaking streak, the lank Californian then entered the 440-yard freestyle and bettered his own NCC record by a full eight seconds, swimming the distance in 4:26.7.

At the National AAU meet at Yale, Blick once again came into national prominence as he captured third place in 220-yard freestyle behind the new American record-setting efforts of Steve Clark and Murray Rose, both of California. Television viewers were thrilled with seeing the lank North Central ace standing erect on the starting block preceding the 220 event. It was good to see North Central’s name nationally displayed by a young man who not only represents the college in the water, but who is a credit wherever he may be. Blick’s immediate plans are to train throughout the summer in hopes of making the American team to Russia or to Japan in August.

by E.W. Giere
- excerpt from North Central NOW (Spring. 1961)
information provided by the College Archives

In the wake of numerous record-breaking performances, North Central College's Cardinal swimmers ripped open the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics meet in Detroit last weekend to score 111 points and wrap up their second national championship in four years. Braced by seven first-place finishes, six new North Central records, five new NAIA marks, and three first from Olympic gold medal winner Dick Blick, the Cards were untouchable for their second title.

Detroit Institute of Technology, a strong team in pre-meet plans, placed second with 78 points, 33 points behind the victorious Naperville club. The Cards won the NAIA championship in 1957-58 and dropped to second in both the 1958-59 and 1959-60 seasons.

Added to the meet records was a record number of 10 Cardinals who were named to the NAIA All-American squad. Aside from Blick, Ruben Roca (the Cards' other co-captain and 1960 Olympic swimmer) Rodolfo Roca, Dick Leckband, Henry Dieringer, Jim Hickman, Bruce Nitsche, Vince Tolentino, Byron Ware and Raul Martin, were chosen. All are underclassmen. Martin, a freshman, was a member of the Cuban Olympic swimming team of 1956 at the age of 14.

The meet provided an interesting milestone for the Cardinals. Of the 10 new NAIA records established in the three-day affair, North Central swimmers set five. Blick won the 220-yard freestyle in a time of 2:04.1 for both a new NAIA and North Central mark; and won the 440-yard freestyle in 4:33.9 for a second NAIA mark. His :50.7 time in the 100-yard freestyle tied the old NAIA record.

Vince Tolentino, the sophomore from Honolulu, Hawaii, grabbed up a fourth NAIA mark with a :22.9 showing in the preliminaries of the 50-yard freestyle, which also tied Dr. Harold W. Henning's North Central mark. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Dieringer, Tolentino, Leckband and Rudolfo Roca, set the remaining NAIA standard with a 3:30 performance in that event.

Ruben Roca, in winning the 1500 meters in 19:42.8 also established a new North Central mark; as did Hickman with a 2:15.8 in the 200-yard backstroke; Ware with a 2:32.5 in the 200-yard breaststroke and a 1:07.4 in the 100-yard breaststroke; and the 400-yard medley relay team of Hickman, Ware, Nitsche and Dieringer with a time of four minutes flat.

According to swimming coach, Dr. E.W. Giere, the caliber of competition in this year's meet was increased considerably over that of last year, despite the absence of the powerful Southern Illinois University squad.

Dr. Giere commented, "I would only add that our boys were at their absolute peak for this meet and exceeded all expectations in performances. Particularly impressive were freshmen Bruce Nitsche and Raul Martin, who both lowered their previous best times by over eight seconds. Also impressive were Blick, Ruben Roca, Jim Hickman and Byron Ware.

- excerpt from College Chronicle (Friday, March 24, 1961)
information provided by the College Archives