Reno transferring from NCAA Division I Cincinnati to push Flames men’s swimmers in sprinting events

Caleb Reno butterfly — Reno considers the sprint butterfly events two of his two strongest, with his best time in the 50 fly fast enough to win a CCS national title.

A third NCAA Division I men's swimmer will transfer to Liberty University's College Club Swimming program, which trains out of state-of-the-art facilities in the Liberty Natatorium, comparable to any collegiate pool in the nation.

Caleb Reno, a rising sophomore sprinter from Dayton, Ohio, who swam his freshman season at the University of Cincinnati, will enroll at Liberty this fall. His sister, Abigail, graduated this past May and is now enrolled in the Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

"We are excited to get someone like Caleb who has competed in one of the best conferences in the country for swimming (the Big 12, a Power Four conference), and for him to come here and see all the resources we have to offer," Flames Head Coach Heath Grishaw said. "From our (CCS) level, he's a titan. He's going to be a record-setter, for sure, for our program, and the title of national champion is definitely in his future."

Earlier this summer, Liberty Christian Academy graduate JC Gordon, a distance freestyle and IM specialist, transferred to compete for the Flames starting this fall after completing his freshman season at Virginia Tech and Aiden Hall, another distance freestyler, opted to transfer from St. Bonaventure (N.Y.).

"Caleb is at the same level as JC (Gordon)," Grishaw said. "He is a major addition for us, and the factor of what Liberty stands for (Christian faith) is what drew him here to some extent. There was a lot of prayer involved in this decision. His whole family was praying, and I've got to give them a lot of credit."

Family of Caleb Reno — Curtis and Christy Reno (left) encouraged Caleb (back) to follow his sister Abigail's lead to Liberty, with brothers Gabe and Gideon still in high school.

Besides his parents, Curtis and Christy Reno, his aunt and uncle, Jordan and Micah Carroll, who met at Liberty in the early 2000s, were encouraging Caleb to follow in his sister's steps.

"They thought it was important that I get a Christian education," Caleb Reno said.

Grishaw noted that Reno's fastest 50-yard butterfly and 100 backstroke times would have won CCS national championships this past spring and his fast time in the 100 fly would have placed third, while his top 50 back and 50 free times would have landed him just off the podium.

"What is he not good at?" Grishaw asked rhetorically, noting the only stroke he is not a potential record-setter in is breaststroke. "In everything else, he is an absolute beast. He's really talented in the 50 and the 100 in three different strokes."

"Caleb has the chance to throw his name on almost every record on our board," he added. "He is a missing piece we've been needing in our relays. His 200 free is going to be a great addition to our 800 free relay, and he will be more diverse with his impact in every relay."

Reno's presence on the team should have positive ripple effects on the three-time reigning CCS National Championships runner-up Flames.

"He's going to help elevate us in terms of team scores and what he brings to relays," Grishaw said. "In terms of individual training, he will help guys train faster. He's at a level some guys on the team would love to be at, and guys will look up to that. He is going to have that level of respect because of what he was able to do his freshman year at Cincinnati."

The challenge for Grishaw is to get as much out of Reno at Liberty as he would have competing against faster swimmers in the NCAA Division I ranks.

"I've got to just throw more at him and sharpen his speed," Grishaw said. "He's going to be the one challenging and pushing the pace of a lot of the guys at a lot of different events. I will be focusing on getting him faster and seeing where he can improve."

Reno said that was a selling point in Grishaw's persistent texts and phone call conversations over the past few months.

"He talked about what I could help Liberty accomplish, and it would be cool to be able to hopefully get that national title this year," Reno said. "It gives you motivation to work toward a common goal. I agree with how (Grishaw) trains his swimmers, his coaching techniques. He's definitely going to help me to improve a lot, and I hope to be a good teammate; to help motivate other people, and push them to improve as well so that we can beat (four-time-defending national champion Purdue)."

Grishaw will continue to challenge him to rise above the tide and press on to the finish line.

"I've been able to work with great swimmers and have been able to get them to swim faster," Grishaw said. "The buy-in has to start now. I told JC (Gordon) this and I'll tell Caleb, 'It's not what you have done, but what you need to do now. We are not focusing on the past, but what does today look like? It doesn't matter what other coaches have done, it's what you're going to do right now.'"

Grishaw had recruited Reno out of high school, but he also received offers from the Bearcats and interest from universities such as Alabama, Ohio State, Oakland (Mich.), Florida Atlantic, and Miami. As with Gordon at Virginia Tech, a reduction of roster spots available at Cincinnati left Reno without a team to compete on for the upcoming season.

Caleb Reno with Summer — Reno plans to board Summer, a colt mule, at the Liberty Mountain Equestrian Center for the upcoming school year.

A unique fulfilled prayer request opened the gate for Reno to transfer from Cincinnati to Liberty.

"His mom and dad really wanted him here and asked him 'What would it take for you to commit to Liberty and to swim there?'" Grishaw said. "He said he wanted to take care of a horse, so we were praying for a horse for him to keep at the (Liberty Mountain) Equestrian Center, and God has provided one. He was working at a horse ranch this summer and the owner gave him a mule."

"(The ranch owner) breaks racehorses, mostly young fillies, and he breeds them," Reno added, noting Summer is a male colt, and a cross between a horse and a donkey. "He's massive, a war horse."

After studying communications at Cincinnati, Reno is considering pursuing a B.S. in Zoology at Liberty.

"I want to do something with animal studies, zoo and wildlife, because I want to own my own zoo, exactly like Matt Damon," Reno said, referring to the 2011 movie "We Own a Zoo."

"Working on a ranch has been great," he added. "Anything with animals I love. This summer, I have been able to bottle-feed baby donkeys, clean out chicken coops, hang out with baby horses, and their moms while they are pregnant."

Grishaw is thankful to the ranch owner who provided the mule, and to land a water horse like Reno as part of the deal — one that he will continue to break in in order to swim faster.

"I did a lot of praying last year, and the Lord knew what I needed," he said. "I learned a lot of lessons. The Lord's not done with this team yet. Going into my ninth season, I'm still living the dream, still chasing that dream (of a national championship)."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer

Reno transferring from NCAA Division I Cincinnati to push Flames men’s swimmers in sprinting events

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