Under the leadership of William Smith Swimming and Diving Head Coach Kelly Kisner, the Herons have established themselves as one of the top teams in New York State. Since taking over in 1989, she has mentored William Smith swimmers and divers to all levels of success, from conference championships to All-American performances.
Kisner’s teams have enjoyed success in the pool. Compiling a record of 206-95-1 in dual meets, she holds the program record for dual meet victories (206), more than her five predecessors combined. Kisner’s teams posted 27 winning seasons, including a consecutive string in the last 13 years. Kisner recorded double digit wins four times with the high-water mark coming in 1996 as the Herons went 11-2 for the second straight season and she was named the New York State Coach of the Year.
Â
Kisner has coached dozens of All-Americans, state champions, and conference champions. Under her mentorship, she had four swimmers and a diver qualify for the NCAA Division III Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship meet. Heron Hall of Honor Inductees Jaime Van Fossan Kenny ’98 and Kelly VanGorden Dauber ’02 combined for seven appearances at the NCAA Championships. Van Fossan competed at the 1996, 1997 and 1998 championships and VanGorden swam in the 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 championships. A diver, Sarah Costanza ’06 reached the national stage in 2004 and 2005. Becky Grossman ’05 swam in the national championship in 2005. Most recently, Caroline Conboy ’17, who was the Liberty League Swimmer of the Year in 2016 and was voted the Liberty League Female Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2017, competed at the NCAA championships in 2016 and 2017. Conboy was also a Top 30 NCAA Woman of the Year honoree in 2017.
Kisner’s student-athletes have also seen success in the classroom. Since 2001, she has mentored 130 league all-academic honorees and 117 New York State All-Academic team selections. Three swimmers and divers have been named College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America Scholar All-Americans, Conboy (2016, 2017), Costanza (2005) and Grossman (2005). As a team, the Herons have been named a CSCAA Scholar All-America team seven times. Conboy was also voted a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2017.
Â
Kisner also served as the Aquatics Director at Hobart and William Smith Colleges where she had oversight of Bristol Pool operations and aquatic class offerings. She mentored hundreds of lifeguards in this role.
Â
Kisner graduated from Ithaca College in 1989. She also holds a master’s degree in physical education from Cortland. She enjoyed an excellent college swimming career, earning 18 All-American honors in four seasons, serving as team captain in her junior and senior seasons. She was a high-point swimmer at the New York State Championships in 1986 and 1989.
In addition to her coaching experience at William Smith, Kisner has been the head swimming coach at the Ithaca YMCA and has coached at a number of swimming camps.
