Grinnell College Athletics

David Ressner '92 dominated the sport of swimming during his four-year career at Grinnell. A native of St. Louis, Ressner immediately made an impact on Coach Ray Obermiller's squad, earning Co-Freshman Athlete of the Year honors. After his sophomore season, Dave was named the team's MVP after gaining All-American status for the first time. As a junior, he set three school records that still stand today. Although he specialized in the butterfly, Ressner was also very masterful in the other strokes, breaking records in the 200- meter and 400-meter individual medleys with times of 1:58.26 and 4:15.34 respectively. At the national meet, he broke the school record in the 200 fly with a time of 1:53.45, and placed sixth in the event. That year Dave also was named to the Academic All-American team, proving that he was a gifted student as well as a talent in the pool. Dave continued his successful career as a senior, breaking two other school records, in the 100-meter butterfly and the 400-meter medley relay. Once again chosen as the team's MVP, Ressner won the Morgan Taylor award given annually to the outstanding senior athlete in a single sport. During his illustrious career Dave nabbed conference titles 12 times as an individual and another 10 times as part of relays, helping his team win MWC championships in each of his four years. He earned All-America honors three times. He wrote for the Scarlet and Black while frequently helping out in Sports Information. After graduation, he was an assistant sports information director at the Citadel in Charleston, S.C, before obtaining his masters in journalism from at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Currently, Dave owns Ressner Financial Planning, a fee-only advisory firm in St. Louis.