Dickinson College Director of Athletics Joel Quattrone has announced the hiring of Katie Wingert McArdle (Messiah ’18) as the new head coach of the Red Devil men’s and women’s swimming programs. McArdle spent the past year as an assistant coach with the program and proved to be an excellent choice to replace former Head Coach Paul Richards, who is retiring at the end of the academic year.
McArdle began her collegiate coaching career in 2018 as a volunteer assistant coach at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During that season, both the men’s and women’s programs placed in the top ten at NCAAs, with 20 swimmers earning All-America honors.
She also brings many years of club coaching experience to the pool deck, first as an assistant coach for the Lebanon Valley Otters and most recently as the head coach and aquatics director at Orchard Park Country Club.
McArdle holds a B.A. in English with secondary education certification from Messiah College and received an Ed.M. in language and literacy from Harvard University in 2019.
The Red Devils had successful campaigns last season as the men broke nine school records while the women set six new marks on the year. Both teams finished fourth at the Centennial Conference Championships and both were recognized as Scholar All-America teams by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America.
McArdle is excited to remain at Dickinson and for the opportunity to direct the programs. She expressed much appreciation to Coach Richards for providing a strong foundation for both programs.
“I would like to thank Joel Quattrone, the search committee, and the entire Dickinson College community for the wonderful opportunity of guiding our men’s and women’s swim teams into the next chapter,” said McArdle.
“I am grateful to Coach Paul Richards for the tremendous legacy he leaves behind: a program grounded by the values of holistic care, inclusivity, and both academic as well as athletic excellence. I look forward to building on that groundwork and supporting Dickinson College student-athletes in their development as scholars, swimmers, and agents of positive change in our global society.”
During McArdle’s four years at Messiah, the Falcons captured four Middle Atlantic Conference Championships, with McArdle earning MAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2015 and Swimmer of the Year honors in both 2017 and 2018. Specializing in sprint freestyle and Individual Medley, McArdle swam to 25 MAC titles and five NCAA “B” cuts, ultimately becoming the first Falcon swimmer to earn a berth to NCAA Championships in 2017.
At the national level, she was a two-time Elite 90 recipient, a two-time Academic All-American, and the 2018 MAC nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year. At the conclusion of her collegiate career, she received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship to pursue research focused on the benefits of writing for the overall well-being of student-athletes.
Quattrone believes McArdle is a great choice to lead the swimming programs and will be an outstanding role model for Dickinson student-athletes.
“We are very excited to welcome Katie McArdle into the Dickinson Athletics family. We felt her passion for coaching swimming and her vision and plan on how to move our programs forward was a perfect fit for the college. She will provide outstanding support and mentorship to her student-athletes as they work toward high achievement in their academic and athletic pursuits. We all look forward to what the future holds for Dickinson Swimming.”
McArdle also has strong ties to the college as the daughter of Dickinson swimming alum David Wingert ’85. She currently resides in Mechanicsburg with her husband, Nolan.
