(LEBANON, Ill. – Oct. 2) -- McKendree University men's swimming and diving head coach,
Jimmy Tierney, has announced the additional signings of ten Bearcats to the upcoming 2020-21 season.
"We are very excited to welcome 9 new Bearcat women and 10 men for the 20-21 season here in Lebanon. This group comprises the largest combined group in the history of our program," said head coach
Jimmy Tierney.
"Our men's class is very versatile and will shore up some events we lacked depth in previous seasons. We have a few men that should be national level point scorers for us, primarily
Filipe Pinheiro () (breast) and
Kevin De Grijze (Duluth, GA/Berkmar) (breast and fly). There is also great excitement for the potential contributions from
Jacob Brehm (Schertz, TX/Samuel Clemens),
Christian Weaver (Rockwall, TX/Rockwall),
Callum Grobler (Sarasota, FL/Cardinal Mooney), and
Elliot LaBeau (North Little Rock, AR/Little Rock Central) (breast),
Nik Fischer (Bensenville, IL/Fenton) (back and free),
Colton Grimes (Champaign, IL/Champaign Centennial) (back). Also joining our powerhouse men's team is former NCAA Division II champion
Henrik Dahrendorff (Beckum, Germany/SC Magdeburg) who will have an immediate impact on both breaststroke events and Medley Relays," said Tierney.
Jacob Brehm (Schertz, TX/Samuel Clemens), a Schertz, TX native, joins the Bearcats from the Alamo Area Aquatics Association and Samuel Clemens High School. Brehm graduated with the academic honors of Cum Laude in his class. On the athletic side, he finished his high school career as a school record holder in the 200 Free, 500 Free, and 100 Breast.
Henrik Dahrendorff (Beckum, Germany/SC Magdeburg), is a Beckum, Germany native who is a transfer from Saint Leo University. Dahrendorff became a National Champion at the NCAA DII Championships in 2019 in the 200 Breaststroke. In 2018 at the NCAA Championships he placed 2nd in the 100 Breaststroke and 6th place in the 200 Breaststroke.
Kevin De Grijze (Duluth, GA/Berkmar) comes to McKendree from Duluth, GA. De Grijze swam for Berkmar High School as well as Swim Atlanta, where he qualified for Junior Nationals and placed 6
th in the 200 breaststroke. De Grijze specializes in butterfly and breaststroke.
Nik Fischer (Bensenville, IL/Fenton), a Bensenville, IL native, joins the Bearcats from B. R. Ryall YMCA club and Fenton High School. Fischer served as team captain, helped lead his team to All-Conference honors, and holds the school record in the 100 backstroke.
Colton Grimes (Champaign, IL/Champaign Centennial), a Champaign, IL native, comes to McKendree from Champaign County Heat and Champaign Centennial High School. Grimes finished his high school career as a 2x school record holder in the 100 backstroke.
Callum Grobler (Sarasota, FL/Cardinal Mooney) is a Sarasota, FL native who comes from Cardinal Mooney High School, as well as the Sarasota Sharks. Grobler served as team captain for his high school team, where they became state finalists. Grobler specializes in breaststroke and freestyle.
Elliot LaBeau (North Little Rock, AR/Little Rock Central) is from North Little Rock, AR where he swam for the Arkansas Dolphins and Little Rock Central High School. LaBeau was named to First-Team honors as a sophomore and junior, as well as the All-Conference and All-State honors. He also led his team to become Conference Champions two times.
Filipe Pinheiro () is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he represented Brazil for the 2018 World School Games. Pinheiro also became national champion for his age group in breaststroke events.
Christian Weaver (Rockwall, TX/Rockwall), a Rockwall, TX native joins the Bearcats from Rockwall High School. Weaver specializes in breaststroke, butterfly, and IM.
