Lindenwood University Athletics

Jason Owen is entering his 12th season as the head coach of the Lindenwood men's and women's swimming & diving teams in 2023-24.

Owen has turned Lindenwood into one of the top swimming & diving programs in NCAA Division II in his time at the school. Under the direction of Owen, the Lions have won nine individual national championships, and the program has accumulated 15 top 20 team finishes, 11 top 10 team finishes, and five top five team finishes at the NCAA Championships. Owen has led Lindenwood to three men’s and four women’s conference championships.

The Lindenwood men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams made a strong impression during its first Division I season inside the Summit League, as Owen was tabbed Summit League Men's Swimming Coach of the Year.  At the conference championships, the men’s squad took second, while the women finished third. During the season, the team broke 21 program records and achieved 7 NCAA Division I "B" cuts.Across six meets, Lindenwood posted 69 top-10 finishes. Both teams took home major awards at the championships. Elliott Irwin was named Summit League Men's Swimmer of the Year, while David-Molina Fregenal earned Diving Championship MVP, and  Johan Cue Carrillo was tabbed Newcomer of the Championship. On the women's side, Stephanie Marks was named Women's Scholar of the Championship. 19 members of both squads earned all-conference honors during the season, making a strong impression during their first year. Irwin and Patryk Winatowski went on to claim national championships at NIC's.  Both squads received recognition from the CSCAA in January for their outstanding work in the classroom. The women compiled a team GPA of 3.59 across the fall semester, while the men posted a 3.22

The Lindenwood men's and women's swimming and diving teams each wrapped their respective 2021-22 campaign with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA DII Championships in Greensboro, N.C. The women produced nine All-Americans across 15 different events, while the men tallied seven All-Americans over the same amount. Jerry Brown, Zach Linder , and Joselle Mensah each earned All-America status in six strokes, leading the Lions on the podium. At a packed GLVC Championship, the women (1,616 points) earned third and the men (1,129 points) fifth. Katie Werkema was named the GLVC Women's Co-Diver of the Year

The 2020-21 season was one of most historical campaigns in program history under Owen, as the men's team finished fifth at the NCAA Division II Championships, and the women's squad closed out the Championships in fourth. Jerry Brown was named a National Champion in the 100 Breast, and 15 different Lions earned individual or relay first-team All-American honors, while 15 student-athletes were recognized with honorable mention All-American status. At the 2021 GLVC Swimming & Diving Championships, the women's squad was touted as the conference's champions for the first time in program history, and Elle Christie collected the Women's Co-Diver of the Year honor. Owen was selected as the GLVC's Men's and Women's Head Coach of the Year, and the men's squad ended the GLVC Championships in third. In the classroom, the Lions earned CSCAA Spring Scholar All-America and GLVC Team Academic All-Conference honors, and the men's and women's teams combined for 26 CSCAA Scholar All-Americans and 37 Academic All-GLVC selections.

In 2019-20, Owen coached the men's and women's teams to top five finishes at the GLVC Championships, in the programs' first-ever appearances at the conference's tournament. Maxime Eekhof was named a GLVC Champion in the 200 Breaststroke, while freshman Beata Maruszczyk earned the conference's Freshman of the Year accolade. In total, 24 student-athletes were named CSCAA All-Americans. The Lions were one day in to the 2020 NCAA D-II National Championships, prior to the canceling of the season due to COVID-19.

The 2018-19 season saw the women's team capture its third-straight NSISC Championship, while the men's squad finished second. Jana Hellenschmidt was recognized as the conference's Swimmer of the Year, Katie Werkema earned Diver of the Year honors, and Owen was touted as the league's Co-Head Coach of the Year. At the 2019 NCAA DII National Championships, both the men's and women's teams secured top 10 finishes, with the Lions earning eight individual All-American honors and four relay All-American honors. Lindenwood also received honorable recognition for 13 individuals and four relays.

In 2017-2018, the women’s team finished sixth overall and the men’s team finished 12th at the NCAA DII National Championships. Simone de Rijcke won her first individual title in the 200 Freestyle. while the women’s 800 Freestyle Relay finished second overall for the highest relay finish in women's team history. 13 total student-athletes were recognized with All-American honors. At the NSISC Championships, the women’s team achieved the program’s first back-to-back NSISC Championship title, while the men’s team finished second. The men won eight individual and two relay titles, while the women won four individual titles and three relay titles, and 15 men and 14 women collected All-Conference honors. In the classroom, the Lions were recognized with a total of 16 CSCAA Scholar All-Americans and six All-American honorable mentions. Justin Winnett was also named to CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-America first team.

In 2016-2017, the women's team finished fifth and the men’s team finished seventh overall at the NCAA DII National Championships. 10 women and eight men were recognized with All-American honors. For the first time in program history, both the men’s and women’s team won the New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference Championships. In the classroom, a total of 18 CSCAA Scholar All-Americans and four All-American honorable mention honors were collected.

In 2015-16, the Lindenwood men’s swimming team made school history by finishing second at the national championship, the best finish for any sport at Lindenwood at the NCAA level at the time, while the women’s team finished ninth at nationals. Serghei Golban won three individual national titles, and also set the NCAA Division II record in the 50 Freestyle. 11 men's swimmers were touted as All-Americans and three were selected as honorable mention All-Americans. Five women’s swimmers earned All-American honors and seven were named honorable mentions. At the RMAC Championships, the women’s team came in second while the men’s team finished third. Alecia McGillivray was selected as the RMAC Swimmer of the Meet and the RMAC Swimmer of the Year. Cristian Vasquez was named the RMAC Freshman of the Year and Owen was named the Men’s Coach of the Year. The Lions collected a total of seven RMAC titles, and 29 swimmers earned all-conference honors. In the classroom, the women’s team received the RMAC Brechler Award for having the highest team GPA in the conference. Felix Eigel was named the RMAC Male Athlete of the Year and Trisha Ishikawa won the RMAC Summit Award. A total of six swimmers were chosen as RMAC first-team All-Academic recipients, and 17 others were mentioned on the RMAC Honor Roll.

In 2014-15, both teams earned top 10 finishes at the NCAA Division II National Championships, including a second place showing for the men’s team. Lindenwood also captured its first-ever NCAA Individual National Championships with women’s swimmer Alecia McGillivray winning two titles and men’s swimmer Krzysztof Jankiewicz winning one championship. 15 total Lions earned All-American honors and six others earned honorable mention All-American awards. At the conference, Lindenwood joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2015. The men’s team won the conference championship, while the women’s team came in third. Owen was named the RMAC Coach of the Year, and he coached the RMAC Men’s Swimmer of the Meet, Jakub Janczyk. Lindenwood won 14 individual conference championships and 27 swimmers & divers secured all-conference honors. Four Lions earned 2015 RMAC first-team all-academic awards, and 15 were named to the RMAC Honor Roll. Maike Tweesman and Matthew Wagner both collected the RMAC Summit Award for having the highest GPA at the conference championship event.

In his second season at Lindenwood in 2013-14, the men’s team won the New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference Championship, the first conference title for the Lindenwood swimming & diving program. Both teams had a top 20 finish at the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championships in the program's first seasons of eligibility. The Lindenwood men’s team won the NSISC Championship, and Owen was named the NSISC Co-Swimming Coach of the Year. 24 total student-athletes collected All-Conference accolades, and on the men's side, David Cochran was named the Diver of the Meet and Chris Pape was touted as the Diving Coach of the Year. For the women's team, Alecia McGillivray was named the NSIC Swimmer of the Meet and NSIC Freshman of the Year. 14 Lions advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championships, as both the men's and women's teams collected top 20 finishes. For the men's team, Sylwester Borowicz-Skoneczny earned All-American honors, while on the women's side, McGillivray earned three All-American awards and Kyleight Troxel were named NCAA All-Americans. Lindenwood earned 10 honorable mention All-Americans, as well. Out of the pool, the men’s team was named a CSCAA Team Scholar program, and the women’s program earned the same award for both the fall and spring semesters.

In Owen’s first season at Lindenwood in 2012-13, the men’s team finished second at the season-ending NSIC Invitational, and Ramunas Paknys was named the Swimmer of the Meet.. The women’s team finished in fifth at the NSIC Championship and Michelle Bell was named the NSIC Diver of The Year.

Owen came to Lindenwood after spending four years at Drury University as an assistant coach. During his time at Drury, Owen helped the Panther men’s and women’s swimming & diving programs become a preeminent national champion contender year in and year out. The Panthers men’s team won its eighth-straight NCAA Division II national championship in Owen’s final season and the Drury women's team won three national championships while Owen was at the school.

Prior to moving into the coaching ranks, Owen was a standout swimmer at Drury. He was a four-time letter winner for the Panthers, and captain of the 2002-03 national championship team. Owen was a 15-time All-American, a national champion in the 1650 Freestyle his freshman year, and 800 Freestyle Relay his senior year. After his junior season, he was named Drury’s Most Valuable Swimmer. After completing his swimming career for the Panthers, he served as a graduate assistant from 2003-05 and earned his master’s degree in Business. Owen received his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from Drury in 2003. He was also the head age group coach and coached the senior group for Springfield Aquatics for 10 years.

Owen is a native of Cape Girardeau, Mo., and currently resides in St. Charles, Mo. with his daughter, Penny.

COACHING RECORD

		Men's Conference Finish	Men's NCAA Finish	Women's Conference Finish	Women's NCAA Finish
2022-23	Lindenwood	2nd		3rd
2021-22	Lindenwood	5th	7th	3rd	7th
2020-21	Lindenwood	3rd	5th	1st	4th
2019-20	Lindenwood	4th		3rd
2018-19	Lindenwood	2nd	7th	1st	9th
2017-18	Lindenwood	2nd	12th	1st	6th
2016-17	Lindenwood	1st	7th	1st	5th
2015-16	Lindenwood	3rd	3rd	2nd	9th
2014-15	Lindenwood	1st	2nd	3rd	10th
2013-14	Lindenwood	1st	12th	2nd	18th
2012-13	Lindenwood	2nd		5th