Florida Institute of Technology Women's Swimming

Andrade has transformed the Panthers into a consistent competitor in the incredibly deep and strong Sunshine State Conference. During his two years of direction, the Panthers have seen school-records set 67 times, 42 in 2015 and 25 in 2016. The FIT men repeated as a fourth-place finisher at the 2016 SSC Championship, garnering six medals along the way. The number easily outpaced FIT's previous top number of trips to the podium in a single championship of two. Nir Barnea became the first SSC gold medalist for the Panther men, joining countrywoman Dar Raz as the only conference champions in school-history. FIT's 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams earned silver at the meet, while Yagoh Kubagawa (400 IM), Dar Raz (100 backstroke) and Ferruccio Rossi (mile) brought home bronze. Following the conference meet, seven Panthers advanced to the NCAA Championship. That number was over three times as many as the number of FIT swimmers to advance in program history previously. During the championship, the 200 freestyle relay team tied for sixth, while the 400 free relay squad garnered eighth, becoming the first All-Americans in school-history. Following the season 2014-15 season, the Panther record books were practically unrecognizable. Over the course of the 2014-15 campaign, the FIT men notched 17 program records, while the women's team broke 11 top marks. Andrade also oversaw a number of milestone achievements during the season. Dar Raz became FIT's first-ever SSC gold medalist, winning the 100-yard backstroke at the conference championships. Raz also joined Nir Barnea in becoming the school's very first NCAA Championship qualifiers. Andrade earned his bachelors in exercise science after swimming four years for Ashland University from 2009-13. As a junior, he assisted the coaching staff with implementing a new strength and conditioning program. He is a certified personal trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). He has previously used his fitness background interning with the Department of Defense at the Pentagon, working with swimming programs in Ohio and as a group fitness instructor at Ashland.

Prior Assistant Coach Florida Tech head mens and womens swimming coach Justin Andrade announced on June 23, 2015 the hiring of Christa Prior as assistant swimming coach for the Panther program. I am honored and very excited to join the Florida Tech program this July as the new mens and womens assistant swimming coach, said Prior. I would like to thank Bill Jurgens, Justin Andrade, Jonathan Kleinhenz and the entire athletics community for the great opportunity. I look forward to working with the student-athletes and being involved in the many functions of the athletic department. In a relatively short amount of time, the former student-athlete at the University of Hawaii has amassed a wealth of experience at various swimming clubs and organizations in Hawaii and California. Since February 2014 Prior has served as a graduate assistant on the Concordia University Irvine mens and womens swimming team in Irvine, California. In her role, she designed and administered the strength and conditioning program utilized by the Eagles for the 2014-15 season. She also planned and managed the imagery techniques and relaxation program for the team and assisted the coaching staff with daily duties and meet functions. Prior got her start on the coaching side of the pool as a swim instructor at Swim Hawaii in Honolulu. There she coordinated practices and assessed clients abilities, placing them in the proper class for their level. She also worked under Dr. Jan Prins, researching swimming mechanics and analytics. Over the course of the past year Prior has also developed her instruction and leadership skills working for numerous swimming organizations in Southern California, including SwimLabs LCC, Equinox Sport Club, Newport Beach Swimming and NOVA Aquatics. Before entering the coaching ranks, Prior competed at the collegiate level, starting out at Shasta Community College in Redding, California. At Shasta, Prior was a two-time Bay Valley Champion Swimmer of the Year. After earning her associates degree at Shasta, she moved on to Division I Hawaii, where she earned Mid-Major Honorable Mention All-American honors as a senior. During her final year as a Rainbow Wahine, Prior brought home the Western Athletic Conference Championship in the 100-yard backstroke. She finished her career as Hawaiis all-time record holder in the 100-yard backstroke (54.07) and 200-yard backstroke (1:56.91). Christa has a passion for swimming and working with student-athletes, said Andrade. She brings a great deal of enthusiasm and knowledge that will be very beneficial.  Her strong communication skills will help build our Panther family culture and help us recruit great student-athletes.  She is a great addition to our staff and Im looking forward to continuing the success of our program. A native of Chico, California, Prior will officially start at FIT on July 20, 2015.

Kleinhenz will utilize his expertise in distance swimming and sport psychology to help guide the Panther program.  A National Academy of Sports Medicine certified personal trainer, Kleinhenz came to FIT following a successful swimming career at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio, where he graduated with a bachelors degrees in psychology and speech communication in 2014. During his career as an eagle, he was a four-time Division II All-American, swimming in sprint, mid-distance and long distance races. In addition to his knowledge of the mind, Kleinhenz has accrued an acute understanding of the human body when it comes to strength and conditioning exercises, having served as a personal trainer for over 70 clients. With this experience he has demonstrated ability in instructing technique and mechanics for power lifts and proper training progressions. Kleinhenz also boasts successful coaching experience, serving as the assistant coach and later the head coach of the Wyoming Swim Club from 2010 to 2012. During his time in Wyoming, Ohio, he directed all swimming lessons and training events, including a daily dryland set for all athletes. Kleinhenz direction paid dividends, as several of the clubs members garnered league championships and a team championship title.