Denver Inks Six Preps

DENVER, Colorado, December 6. SIX prep swimmers have signed National Letters of Intent to attend the University of Denver in the fall of 2007 and compete in swimming, head coach Brian Schrader announced Tuesday. The latest class of Pioneer signees are Jon Austin of Terrace Park, Ohio; Ted Bonus of Lafayette, Pa; Austin Fowler of Litchfield Park, Ariz.; Scott Madaras of Yorktown, Va.; Stephen Pendleton of Northfield, Ill.; and Garth Summers of Portland, Ore.

Austin and Bonus are middle distance and distance specialists and will bring depth and relay strength to the Pioneers next year. Bonus is a two-time All American and trains at Germantown Academy with Richard Shoulberg, who has been an Olympic coach and on several national team staffs and has produced many Olympians over the last 30 years. Austin trains with the Mason Manta Rays under Coach Ken Heis and also competes at Mariemont High School. He has competed at the USA Swimming Junior Nationals as a 16-year-old and is an outstanding student.

Comments from Coach Schrader: "Coach Shoulberg gave Ted a glowing recommendation and I think he is going to come in and improve and have a nice impact on our middle distance and distance group. He also is a good prep water polo player and I like his attitude. I had a chance to meet with Jon Austin and his father this summer when they came to look at Denver. I was impressed with how thorough they both were and I very much wanted to have Jon come be a part of things here. He will have an impact right away on us in the 200 and 500."

Fowler is a versatile swimmer, having just helped with Brophy Prep win the National High School Championships. He competes in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, and the IM's. He is a 12-time high school All-American and has several Junior National and U.S. Open cuts. His high school coach is Ron Guerk.

Comments from Coach Schrader: "Austin is a great catch for us because he is so versatile. He is going to come in and be a part of things right away in all of the events he competes. The 50/100 free, 50/100/200 back, 100 fly, 200/400 IM. I have no doubt that he will continue to improve this summer and expect to see him make his Olympic trials cuts. He also does some great community service work with Special Olympics and has several leadership roles on his teams and at school. It is going to be fun to have him here."

Pendleton is a freestyle specialist who has USA Swimming junior national and US Open cuts in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle. He currently trains at New Trier Swim Club under Bob Kiser and at New Trier High School with Mark Onstott and is an eight-time All American. He is a current team captain.

Comments from Coach Schrader: "Stephen is definitely the kind of athlete you want in your program. He is enthusiastic, gets up for relays, and wants to get better. He will be great to coach and will be helping us right away in relays and the 50 and 100. His 200 is very good as well and he will be part of strong relays for us for four years. Stephen also does some great things in his community, notably coordinating Youth for Life at his high school, which is an organ donation program founded in honor of Chicago Bear legend Walter Payton."

Madaras is a butterfly specialist from Yorktown, Va., and competes for the Coast Guard Blue Dolphins under head coach Steve Griffith. He is an All-American, state champion, and state record holder for Virginia in the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle. He is also a scholastic All-American and his team's current team captain. He is a USA Swimming Senior National qualifier in the 100 fly, and has several Junior National and US Open standards."

Summers swims for Hillsboro Swim Team in Portland, Ore., under the tutelage of James Resare. He is a senior national qualifier in the 200 butterfly and has qualified for the USA Swimming spring championships in the 200 IM, 100 Fly, and 200 Fly. He has been selected to participate in USA Select Camps and is a scholastic All American. He is the Oregon high school state champion in the 200 IM and his high school MVP, and holds multiple state records in Oregon.

Comments from Coach Schrader: "Signing men who have senior national cuts as high school athletes is a huge priority. There just are not that many men 18 and under swimming at this level and to sign both of these athletes is something I am very excited about. They are both great students and they will have a large part in helping DU move forward. They are both very versatile and will impact relays as well as individual events. Both Garth and Scott also picked DU because of the engineering program here."

DU's six signees brings Schrader's first signing class to 11 student-athletes.

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