By BILL KEEN
The Intelligencer

Some athletes are inspired to succeed merely by a love of competition and others by a desire to challenge school records.
But some of the most driven of all athletes are those who had an older brother in the program. At Archbishop Wood, Tom Whelan saw older brother Kevin - now swimming for the Explorers of La Salle University - make a name for himself during his days as a Viking, and would like nothing better than to eclipse Kevin's best times. Wood coach Charlie Stillwell said the junior is well on his way to doing just that.

"Tom has already had some success in his own right," Stillwell said. "He was third in the Philadelphia Catholic League last season in the breaststroke. Kevin won the breaststroke at the league meet two years ago, but Tommy's times are already better than Kevin's at the same point in their careers." Considering that the younger Whelan has the rest of this season and all of his senior year to go, chances are excellent that there will be a new leader in the family's record books. "I think he realizes what it takes to succeed," Stillwell said. "Because of his brother, Tommy knows what he needs to do to get to that level or to exceed it."

Bill Keen is a staff writer for The Intelligencer. He can be reached at (215) 957-8158 or bkeen@phillyBurbs.com
December 23, 2004 9:41 AM