Franklin & Marshall College

When it comes to athletic success in the pool, Tom Grabiak '10 seemingly did it all for the Franklin & Marshall men's swimming program. Not only was the Diplomats' star a six-time All-American and numerous time conference champion to highlight his individual accolades, Grabiak's success helped usher in one of the strongest eras in program history as the Diplomats won four consecutive Centennial Conference Team Championships.

Although it took an entire team to win those championships, Grabiak was certainly a focal point of the team's success. During three of those four Centennial Conference Championships, Grabiak was named the conference's outstanding performer of the meet for scoring the most individual points. In those same three seasons, he was also recognized by the Diplomats' coaches as the team's MVP.

On his way to being recognized as the top swimmer in the Centennial Conference during three consecutive seasons, Grabiak won a combined 21 gold medals at the conference meet. Showcasing a great diversity of skill, he won seven different events through his conference championship history. That success was highlighted by four conference championships in the 200 breaststroke and the 400 medley relay. Grabiak was also a three-time champion in the 100 breastroke, 200 individual medley, and 200 medley relay. By the time Grabiak was done setting and resetting his own personal bests, he held conference records in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, and 200 individual medley. He would qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships during each of those events throughout his career. Also elevating the success of those around him, Grabiak and his teammates set Centennial Conference records in the 200 medley, 400 medley, and 800 freestyle relays. With a talented team around him, the Diplomats also set a new school record in the 400 freestyle relay.

In a sport where technology has allowed records to be broken on what feels like an annual basis, Grabiak's school records lasted for a decade before being topped. However, those swimmers who have been able to replicate what Grabiak did in the pool during his career even with the advancement in swimsuit technology are few and far between. His career bests in the 100 breastroke (55.98), 200 breaststroke (2:01.66), and 200 individual medley (1:51.55) still rank second in school history. His personal best in the 200 butterfly (1:56.22) was third at F&M when he graduated and still stands as the eighth-fastest time in school history.

Although Grabiak made a name for himself competing in a variety of different events to help the team achieve success, the F&M team captain honed in on his signature events for the national championships where he was a three-time All-American in the 200 breaststroke, two-time All-American in the 100 breaststroke, and also claimed All-American honors in the 200 individual medley during his junior season. His highest NCAA Championship finish came in that signature 200 breaststroke event where he advanced to the A final during his senior season and came away with a fifth-place finish. During that same national championship, he advanced to the A final of the 100 breaststroke before coming home with a seventh-place finish.

After graduating from Franklin & Marshall, Grabiak spent six years working in higher education at Drexel University. During that time, he continued to study and received his master's degree in communication. His professional career took him to Denver, Colorado in 2016 when he began his career in corporate talent acquisition. Most recently, Grabiak joined Google's People Operations team in 2018 and currently works as a recruiting manager where he leads Google Ads technical hiring.