KELLY ESSLER STEPS DOWN AS HEAD SWIM & DIVE COACH

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – After four highly-successful years leading the Olivet Nazarene University swimming & diving program, Kelly Essler announced her resignation as head coach, effective immediately. She will be taking an assistant swimming & diving coaching position at an NCAA Division I university.

"I am very thankful for my time here at ONU", said Essler. "I have been blessed with a phenomenal group of swimmers who have helped me not only grow as a coach, but as a person."

Essler led both Tiger teams to top ten finishes at the 2023 NAIA Swimming & Diving National Championships. The Tiger men scored 155 points to place eighth while the ONU women notched 391 points to bring home the third-place trophy for the second straight year. This came on the heels of the ONU sweep of the 2023 KCAC Championship titles in February, helping Essler win the KCAC Women's Coach of the Year award. She earned six Coach of the Year distinctions from the KCAC in four seasons.

"Kelly has done an outstanding job of leading our men's and women's swim and dive program over the last four years," said ONU Director of Athletics Mike Conway. "She has worked tirelessly in supporting our students in so many ways. I have been blessed with the opportunity to work alongside her and we sincerely thank her for her commitment to Olivet, our students and the program."

Essler coached Karla Islas to a pair of national titles in 2020, where she was the champion in the 400-yard individual medley and the 1650-yard freestyle. Her student-athletes earned a total of 70 All-American honors, earning 24 in one season back in 2021. Essler coached 16 Tigers to All-American finishes at the 2023 NAIA Championships, led by Allison Pearson and Julie Vega, who garnered three each.

The 2023 men's and women's KCAC Championship titles were the fifth and sixth conference championships earned by the Tigers under Essler. She led the ONU women to a perfect 4-for-4 stretch in KCAC titles during her four-year tenure. The men won the last two KCAC Championships under Essler.

Her teams also excelled in the classroom. In 2023 alone, Essler had 17 KCAC Scholar-Athletes, 15 NAIA Scholar-Athletes, and eight College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District selections. She also had three student-athletes earn CSC Academic All-American first team honors: Nicholas Klenner, Mason Beall, and Megan Schroeder.

"I could not be more proud of what we did together as a program," said Essler. "I will continue to follow this program from afar and will always be a Tiger."

Essler is a 2014 graduate of Milligan College, where she set five individual school records as a freshman for the Buffalo swimming & diving team.

A search for her replacement will begin immediately.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu