Hall of Fame
Ed Lanoue of Boiling Springs, Pa., Class of 1989, was a purely dominant freestyle swimmer in the mid-to-late 1980s for Shippensburg. LaNoue shattered several school records and has made a name in the national record books for his performances.
His swim of 20.39 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle event from 1986 is still the fastest time in the history of Shippensburg University and the entire Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The mark was the best time in the history of Division II until it was bested in 1988 by Hilton Woods of Oakland University. LaNoue defended his national championship in 50-yard freestyle by posting a time of 20.49 seconds in 1987. At the time, LaNoue was the first to repeat as a back-to-back national champion in the 50-yard freestyle in an 11-year span, and only the third to ever win more than one championship in the same event.
LaNoue was also the first swimmer in Division II to ever post a time under 45 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle event, registering a monumental time of 44.89 seconds in 1987. The feat earned him his third national championship overall, and his first for the 100-yard freestyle. While the national record was upended the following year by Ted Hollahan of California State Northridge, the time served as a record in the PSAC for 15 years. West Chester’s Matt Matys bested LaNoue’s mark by a mere five-hundredths of a second in 2002.
Before arriving as a Red Raider, LaNoue was still shattering swimming records. He held two school records at his native Hershey High School, posting a time of 21.31 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle and a mark of 46.21 in the 100-yard freestyle.
