LARAMIE, Wyo. (12/9/22) – University of Wyoming swimming & diving head coach Dave Denniston is the keynote speaker Saturday at the Winter Commencement for UW graduates. That talk will cover many different topics woven together from a distinguished former collegiate swimmer and now coach who isn't defined by his disability.

That's the overarching theme with Wyoming's swimming & diving team. Their coach, who is paralyzed from the waist down, has constructed a squad that competes for conference championships while also possessing an understanding of the value of having student-athletes who have character that rises above any physical disability.

Collin Davis and Jack O'Neil both began their lives with disabilities. Davis was born with extremely poor hearing before becoming completely deaf at a young age, and O'Neil was born with a left leg that was significantly shorter than his right and one that grew at a slower rate. 

Life for Davis and O'Neil is different and more difficult than it is for the majority of the populous. But on the surface, not a soul would notice because they don't advertise it, complain about it and they certainly don't allow their disabilities to inhibit them from accomplishing what they set out to do.

What Davis did a few weeks ago and what O'Neil will do here in a little over a week is proof of that. Davis broke the USA Swimming Deaf Record in the 200 IM at the SMU Invitational in mid-November, and O'Neil is slated to swim in his second consecutive Paralympic National Championships as a collegiate athlete next weekend.

Those are monumental life moments for Davis and O'Neil. And while they're individual highlights for each of them, they shine a light on Wyoming, and what it has done for the two and what the two have done for the brown and gold.  

"One of the biggest things that just gets the team fired up is seeing what Jack does in the weight room," Denniston said. "He's not going to modify anything unless he absolutely has to. He brings that same type of energy before a meet, and Jack is the guy that gets the entire team fired up not because of the disability but because of what he says.

"He's that energy guy that you want to have on any team."

Davis, on the other hand, is a shining example of mental toughness. Any time he's in the pool, his hearing aids are left on deck, and nothing can be heard.

There's no workout music to keep him going, and there's no motivational words of encouragement. It's just Davis and his plan on how to attack the next swim set in utter silence.

"Collin is just a racer," Denniston said. "He loves the strategy. He loves everything about our sport. He does a great job focusing on what he can do and where he can get better. And the other guys see that."

Both Davis and O'Neil have had positive reverberations on the team through their actions and their demeanor. And that street goes both ways, as the team has welcomed and embraced the two.

"They're very accommodating, but they don't make it obvious," Davis said. "They're very subtle with it. If I don't hear something, they make sure I know what's going on. I want to just put my head down and work, and they're very accommodating with that."

For O'Neil, who's in his second year with the team, he's living out a childhood dream. It's not just having the student-athlete moniker, it's the teammates and coaches that have made his Wyoming experience nothing short of remarkable.

"It was everything I wanted and even more," O'Neil said. "Everybody's dream as a club swimmer is to get to college swimming, especially Division I. Everything from the atmosphere of the team to the times I threw down in April to the improvement I saw at the start of this year.

"It has been more than I could ask for."

So, when Denniston gives his keynote speech Saturday, it will cover a number of different talking points. He'll speak about adversity and growth; two things Davis and O'Neil have experienced.

Denniston will also touch on a university and a state that accommodates and doesn't judge. A university and state that looks after its own and positions its individual for success in life.

It's the same atmosphere found within the swimming & diving program. It's one that Denniston has built and student-athletes like Davis and O'Neil enhance.