Swimming and Diving Coaching Staff

 Head Coach Peggy Ewald

Peggy Ewald is in her sixth season as head coach of the ONU men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs.

She also serves as assistant facility manager and as a lecturer at ONU. Ewald is the first full-time swimming and diving coach in ONU history.

In her first five seasons at the helm, Ewald guided the men’s team to Ohio Athletic Conference Championships each year and the women’s team to the 2007 and 2009 OAC titles.

The Polar Bear men and women have each won four OAC Regular Season Championships.

She was named the OAC Men’s Coach of the Year in ’05, ’08 and ’09 and the OAC Women’s Coach of the Year in ’06, ’07 and ’09.

Her squads have set 45 school records during her tenure.

Ewald was also an assistant coach at ONU in 2003-04.

She arrived at ONU with impressive coaching credentials.

Ewald is a Level 4 ASCA certified swimming coach, a level 5 ASCA certified disabled swimming coach and has 15 years of coaching experience working with novice to National Champions.

She was one of the Level II and III coaches on the travel list with the US Paralympic Team.

She was the head coach for the US Paralympic team for the 2007 ParaPanAm Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in 2007 and served as an assistant coach for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China.

Ewald was head coach of Tiffin Columbian H.S. from 1997-2004, was head coach of Tiffin Calvert H.S. from 2001-’04 where she coached six Ohio High School State placers.

She also served as an assistant coach at the University of Findlay from 1997-99. She coached with the Tiffin YMCA swim team and for many years took athletes to the YMCA National level.

Ewald is also the founder of the USA Swimming club team Seneca Aquatic Klub team, where she has coached Senior National, US Open and two current members of the US Paralympian Team.

She also coached with the USA Swimming FAST age-group swim team in Findlay for five years.

The Tiffin, Ohio, native also worked as the Dean of Academic Affairs at AEC-Southern Ohio College in Findlay from 2001-04 and owned and directed the Ohio Institute of Electrology in Tiffin from 1982-2001.

She received her B.A. degree in business administration with honors from Tiffin in 1989 and earned a M.A. in education from Heidelberg in 1996.

Ewald is married to Dan Ewald and they have three children; Ellen, a Heidelberg graduate, Jessica, a graduate of Ohio Northern, and Jacob, a graduate of DeVry Institute in Columbus.

Assistant Coach Justin Hiskey

Assistant Coach Samantha Phillips

Justin Hiskey is in his fifth year as an assistant swimming coach.

He serves primarily as the meet manager, helping run each home meet from an administrative position.

Justin was a four-year letter winner for ONU from 2003-2006 serving as captain his junior and senior years. 

His honors include being a 4-year All-OAC honoree and two time Academic All-District award winner. 

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio Northern in mechanical engineering in 2007.

Justin currently works for Crown Equipment Corporation in New Bremen, Ohio.

Justin is originally from St. Marys, Ohio, where he coaches the community’s summer age-group swim team.

Samantha Phillips is in her second season as a student assistant diving coach at Ohio Northern.

She is currently enrolled in the ONU School of Law.

Phillips graduated Magna Cum Laude from West Chester (Pa.) in 2008, where she was a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and was named to the Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll every semester.

In 2006, competed at the NCAA Division II National Swimming and Diving Championships in Indianapolis, Ind.

Samantha graduated from Pottsville (Pa.) High School, where she left her mark as the Schuylkill League Diving Champion, and as a PAHS record-holder.