By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

A year ago, William & Mary's Colin Wright won seven events in the CAA Swimming and Diving Championships. He was the first male swimmer to do so since 2006.
 
If he can match that in this year's meet, which starts Wednesday in Christiansburg, Wright will make history. The conference record for career championships is 22. Wright has 17.
 
Breaking it would be nice, but Wright said he's not obsessing over it.
 
"I don't really aim for any specific records, I just aim for what I think I can do," Wright said. "I'd like to go 18 (seconds) in the 50 free this year. That's something I've set my mind on."
 
Last year, Wright set meet records in the 50 (19.57) and the 100 (42.63). He also won the 200 with a time of 1:36.10. He was on the championship relay teams in the 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle, and 400 medley.
 
More than the CAA record, Wright is hoping to qualify for the NCAA Championships. It's been 57 years since a W&M men's swimmer accomplished that.
 
"I think last year, Colin was like .06 off making NCAAs, and that's a razor-thin margin," W&M first-year coach Nate Kellogg said. "He actually swam a time that in previous years would have gone without a doubt."
 
W&M, which is 8-1 in dual meets, is going for its sixth consecutive team championship.
 
"It's the only meet we taper for and shave for all year," Kellogg said. "This is the basket we put all our eggs into. We just go and let her rip."
 
Other Tribe swimmers to watch out for this week include Chris Balbo, Ian Thompson, Jack Doherty, Ben Skopic, Ian Bidwell, and Colin Demers.
 
On the women's side, W&M's chief competition appears to be two-time defending champion James Madison and Towson. The Tribe lost dual meets against the Dukes and Tigers in the fall.
 
But Kellogg believes his team's strength, depth, makes it better suited for championship events rather than dual meets. The Tribe finished first out of 10 teams in the West Virginia Invitational — 200 points ahead of the host Mountaineers.
 
"We have a lot more depth," Kellogg said, "so we're more set up for a championship meet."
 
Junior Megan Bull placed first in the 500 free in 2018 and '19. She also was second last year in the 200 free and 1,650 free.
 
"I just want to see how fast I can go," she said. "I don't want (championships) to be the end goal because I don't make it, I don't want that to be the definition of if I swim good or if the meet was good. There are a lot of factors that go into that."
 
Another name to watch this week is sophomore Missy Cundiff, who under the circumstances, had a remarkable performance in last year's meet. Two days after a bicycle accident, she broke W&M's freshman record with a time of 22.69 in the 50 free.
 
"We were worried she wouldn't be able to swim," Kellogg said. "For her to step up, we were really happy with that."
 
Another to watch is senior Julia Bland, who had runner-up finishes in the 2019 CAA Championships in the 200 IM and 400 IM.