Northwestern Adds 2012 Olympic Trial Finalist Meghan Hawthorne To Staff

Photo Courtesy: Peter H.Bick

Northwestern Director of Swimming and Diving Jeremy Kipp announced Monday that Meghan Hawthorne will join the staff as an assistant coach.

Hawthorne, a two-time NCAA All-American and All-PAC 12 swimmer at USC, spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach under Kipp at Boise State.

“Meghan played an integral role in the success we had at Boise State,” Kipp said. “She is an outstanding recruiter and remarkably well organized, but what makes her so special is her ability to connect with the student-athletes. She was a tremendous swimmer as an All-American and U.S. National team member, but not all great swimmers can make the jump to great mentor and coach like she has in her career. The student-athletes she has worked with know she cares deeply about their goals and I have seen them achieve great things because of the relationship and energy Meghan brings to every training session.”

“I am incredibly honored and humbled to be joining the Northwestern family,” Hawthorne said. “From the moment I walked on campus I felt right at home. Northwestern has a rich history in both academics and athletics that I’m very excited to be a part of. I am so grateful for the opportunity to continue to work alongside Jeremy and am looking forward to this new journey as a Wildcat. Go ‘Cats!”

During Hawthorne’s three years as an assistant with Boise State, the Broncos won the Mountain West title in back-to-back years after finishing second in 2016. In addition, the Broncos earned 104 all-conference honors, won 13 individual and 13 relay titles at the MW Championships and advanced nine swimmers and one diver to the NCAA National Championships

Academically, Boise State received two CSCAA Scholar All-America Team honors and two NCAA Public Recognition Award for multiple top-10 APR scores in the sport of swimming & diving, including a perfect 1,000 for 2015-16. Individually, the members of the swim team have accumulated two CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, four CoSIDA Academic All-District, nine CSCAA Scholar All-Americans, 10 CSCAA Honorable-Mention Scholar All-Americans, two Boise State Top-10 Scholars (2017), 46 Academic All-Mountain West honors and 35 Mountain West Scholar Athlete awards for maintaining a 3.5 cumulative GPA or better.

Hawthorne was a coach with Rattler Swim Club in San Fernando, Calif., from 2009-2015 and swam for the club from 2001-14. As a coach, she worked with young swimmers from ages 7-18 on technique and endurance training. She also served as the assistant coach for the swim team at Viewpoint School in Calabasas.

As a student-athlete at USC, Hawthorne was a two-time All-American over her four-year career (2011-14), earning the honors with top-eight national finishes in the 200 IM (2012-13). She was also a two-time All-America honorable mention in the 400 IM (2012-13). Hawthorne reached the finals seven times at the Pac-10, then Pac-12, Championships, during her career, topping out with fourth-place efforts in the 400 IM in 2012 and 2013. USC finished in the top six of the NCAA team standings in each of her four years in Troy, with consecutive third-place finishes from 2011-12.

Hawthorne was a USA Swimming National Team member from 2012-14, and in 2012 she reached the final of the 400 IM at the U.S. Olympic Trials but finished sixth, just missing a spot in London. She went on to earn a silver medal in the same event for the U.S. at the 2013 World University Games in Kazan, Russia.

She graduated from USC in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in human biology and a minor in occupational science and earned her Masters in educational leadership from Boise State in May 2018. Hawthorne’s high school honored her in February of 2017 by inducting her into the Chaminade College Preparatory (West Hills, Calif.) Hall of Fame.

The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with Northwestern Swimming and Diving. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.

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