Posted: Jan 24, 2025
Chillicothe's Siberell looking to cap swimming career with bang
Humble. Talented. Smart.
Shawnee State men's swimmer Evan Siberell is definitely all that -- and as a result, Siberell has helped provide a piece of stability within the men's swimming program at Shawnee State.
The graduate student, a two-time NAIA National Qualifier in the 100 and 200 yard breaststrokes and a top-five conference championship finisher in multiple events in arguably the toughest swimming conference in the NAIA, has proven himself time and again between his national qualifications as well as his work in accounting, where Siberell finished with a grade point average above 3.8 as an accounting major, graduated with honors, and is now in graduate school classwork.
For his work, however, Siberell credits his teammates for keeping him grounded and providing loose moments that have also been equally motivating.
"The swim team has been a big part of my college life," Siberell said. "I've made some great friends and memories that will go beyond these four years."
Siberell, who began swimming at 11 years of age after growing tired of playing baseball, and as he phrases it, "needing another sport to stay active," found a passion in the water through Roger and Sue Blum, who have been major advocates for the sport throughout the Ross County swimming scene and the local area, in general.
Through the sport, Evan and the Siberell family not only developed a tighter bond with the Blums, but their three sons -- Noah, Andy and Ryan.
"The Blum family have always been major supporters of my swimming career," Siberell said. "Mrs. Blum has always made sure I was signed up and prepared for all my swim meets. Mr. Blum took a lot of pictures of our swim meets and us goofing around on the pool deck. And I was able to swim with all three of their kids, Noah, Andy, and Ryan who I was able to train and race with and have become such good friends with."
As Siberell's love for the sport grew, so did his internal fire and love for the sport as a whole.
In addition to competing for the Ross County YMCA during the offseason, Siberell also starred for Chillicothe High School -- winning OHSAA Southeast Sectional Championship in the 100 yard breaststroke over three consecutive seasons, and capping off his sectional run by not only winning the 100 yard breaststroke, but the 200 yard individual medley as well as a senior.
Siberell also translated his successes in both events to greater hardware beyond the sectional level.
During Siberell's final two seasons of high school swimming, Siberell won the OHSAA Central, East and Southeast District Championship in the 100 yard breaststroke two seasons in a row -- and followed up a seventh place finish overall in the 200 yard individual medley in 2020 with a runner-up finish in the OHSAA Central, East and Southeast District Championship in the 200 yard IM in 2021.
As a result of his efforts, Siberell ultimately qualified for the OHSAA State Championships two separate times -- competing across three different events. Siberell finished 15th in 2020 in the 100 yard breaststroke, and followed it up with a 12th place showing in the 100 yard breaststroke and a 23rd place finish in the 200 yard individual medley in 2021 to conclude his high school career with three top-25 finishes against the best of the best statewide.
Along with his efforts in the water during the winter months, Siberell stayed plenty active around swimming -- playing boys volleyball for two seasons and competing in cross country and track during his time at Chillicothe, as well.
"I enjoyed my time at Chillicothe, even during the (COVID-19) pandemic," Siberell said.
Siberell's standout performances at the state level made the senior an easy target to go after for former Shawnee State swimming coach and current SSU athletic director Gerald Cadogan -- and between the short driving distance from home to the opportunity to balance his love for swimming with his dedication in the classroom, Shawnee State ultimately fit Siberell like a glove.
The Chillicothe native has since wasted no time in making an impact.
After winning two events each in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events at Midway and Campbellsville as a freshman, and claiming two fifth-place conference showings as a freshman in the same events, Siberell added in seven more victories between the 100 and 200 breaststrokes and 200 individual medley, placed fourth in the 200 yard breaststroke at the Mid-South Conference Championships as a sophomore, and qualified for the NAIA National Championships for the first time, placing 24th in the 200 yard breaststroke and 29th in the 100 yard breaststroke.
Last season, Siberell did even better -- winning 12 individual events and claiming two fourth place finishes in both the 100 and 200 yard breaststrokes at the Mid-South Conference Championships, all while setting an NAIA Provisional Cut yet again to reach the NAIA National Championships for the second season in a row. There, Siberell matched his 100 yard breaststroke finish and raised his 200 yard breaststroke showing from 24th to 18th.
"It's been awesome to be able to represent Shawnee State at the national level," Siberell said. "However, I definitely could not have done it without my teammates. Having teammates from all over the world and with so many different swimming backgrounds has taught me a lot about the sport and they have supported and pushed to become a better athlete."
As a senior, Siberell's won four individual events so far -- including two in Shawnee State's Tri-Meet victory over Midway (Ky.) and Pikeville (Ky.). There, Siberell swam his best 400 yard individual medley time of the year -- and has already qualified for the NAIA National Championship Meet for a third consecutive season in the 200 yard breaststroke with two meets still to go to potentially add more provisional cuts to his standout career.
"I have learned how to adapt and overcome and to keep putting in the hard work to reach my goals," Siberell said of what Cadogan, as well as former SSU swimming head coach Kenzie Pennington and current SSU swimming head coach Tricia Boggs, have taught him. "I'm grateful to all my coaches and will be able to take the work ethic they have expected of me beyond the pool."
With his final meet at the Warsaw Aquatic Center less than 24 hours away, Siberell says that he simply wants to soak in the moments in not only Saturday's dual meet against Pikeville (Ky.) at 12 p.m., but the times that he has left with his teammates, as well.
"As my swimming career comes to an end, I just want to enjoy my time left with my teammates," Siberell said, "and leave everything that I have left in the pool."
