Rick West
Head Coach

Coach West will begin his fourth season as Head Coach of the Cardinals this year after re-taking over the program for the 2007-08 season.

The 2008-09 season was a time of turn around and change for the Cardinals.  The men’s team compiled a 7 and 5 record and had a winning season for the first time in several years.  The women’s team won more dual meets than the past four seasons combined.  Recruiting was also an area where the team flourished, the squad grew in size from 26 to 45 members.  Jesuit also decided to make a change at the end of the year conference meet as they joined the Appalachian Swimming Conference and will compete for the first time at its championship in February of 2010. 

West rejoined the Cardinals after serving as an assistant coach for the University of Pittsburgh in 2003-2004 and from Duquesne University, where he served as the head coach of the men’s swimming team in 2002-03. Over the past three seasons, West has been coaching United States Swimming Club teams in Southeast Ohio before relocating back to the Ohio Valley.

As assistant coach for the Panthers, West assisted in coaching of the Pittsburgh’s 8th consecutive Big East Title, the 19th in 22 years. West helped to coach the University of Pittsburgh Men’s Swimming Team in 2003 to the most dual meet wins in the University’s history while the Women’s team achieved the first winning dual meet record in four seasons. He was responsible for scouting talent and recruitment of student athletes and also assisted with the management of Team Pittsburgh. As a coach for Team Pittsburgh, West coordinated one of the largest age-group invitational meets in the nation, hosting more than 1200 athletes.

As head coach of the Dukes, he coached the first ever Atlantic 10 champion swimmer in the program’s 26-year history and directed the organization, training, compliance, budgeting and recruiting for the team. Prior to his work with Duquesne, West was an assistant men’s swimming coach for Ohio State during the summer of 2002. He was responsible for coordinating the Buckeyes’ recruiting effort, including contacting prospects, developing interest and scouting talent.

West served as the head coach and aquatics director for the 2001-02 season. As head coach, he was responsible for the organization and recruiting of the top 25 NCAA Division II swimming program at WJU and coached the men’s team to an 11-3 dual meet record and a first-place finish in the Bluegrass Mountain/West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships. Five of his athletes qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships and four earned All-America status. For his efforts, West was named the Bluegrass Mountain/WVIAC Coach of the Year. While at WJU, West also had the honor of serving as a visiting coach for the Jamaican National Swim Team in Kingston, Jamaica.

West was also a head men’s and women’s swimming coach at Steubenville High School in Steubenville, Ohio from 1996-2000. There, he continued the development of the teams then fledgling program and earned a record of 94-16 in dual meet competition. His teams won five Ohio Valley Conference titles and 49 of his athletes qualified for the district meet. He also instructed eight Academic All-Americans at Steubenville.

In addition to his coaching experience, West has volunteered at many youth swimming programs and has been both a head coach and assistant coach for various YMCA club teams in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The most notable of these teams being the JB Chambers YMCA/Cardinal Aquatics program in Wheeling, the Marietta Family YMCA and the YMCA of Steubenville, Ohio.

West is a native of Moundsville, W.Va. He graduated from John Marshall High School and West Liberty State College. He and his wife, Carrie, have two daughters, Carleigh (10) and Sydney (9) and a son Quinton (2).
 

Nicole Stanley
Assistant Coach

Nicki is beginning her first season with the Cardinals. She is a 2004 graduate from John Marshall High School and a 2009 graduate from Fairmont State University with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science. She is currently working on her M.S. in Organizational Leadership at WJU.

While at Fairmont State University, Nicki was a member of the Women's Swim Team and served as the team's captain from 2006 to 2008. In 2005, she was named an Academic All-American and helped the Women's Team earn the top spot in the Division 2 Academic Championships in the United States. She has also been a member of Student Government since 2005, serving as Vice President in 2008-2009. She has been a member of Phi Epsilon Kappa Physical Science and Education Honorary and also volunteered as a New Student Orientation Counselor for four years. Nicki served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee from 2006 to 2008 and has been an active member of the Alpha Sigma Tau National Sorority since 2007.

Nicki has served as Marshall County Swim Team's Head Coach from 2004-2007 and Fairmont Aquatic Club's Head Coach from 2008-2009.

Sarah Bell
Assistant Coach

Sarah Bell will begin her first season as assistant swim coach for the cardinal team.   Bell is a 2009 graduate of Wheeling Jesuit where she not only swam her junior and senior year but also was the Vice President of her graduating class.  Sarah has the distinction of swimming every event during her tenure as a member of the Cardinal swim team.  While attending Wheeling Jesuit University, she was very involved throughout the campus with clubs that put on events such as Special Olympics, fundraising, formals, and mock disasters.  She also served as a Campus tour guide.

Bell started competitive swimming at the young age of 4.   Her coaching experience dates back eight years where she coached swim teams in Vienna, West Virginia, her hometown.  She has also help coached the Rick West Cardinal Swim Camp for the past two years.