Swimming for Dad

When Michael Pettengill’s (‘10) family left their home in Fort Mill, S.C. to travel to Myrtle Beach in the summer of 2005, his father, Merle, and his father’s best friend, Tony Atkins, decided to ride ahead on their motorcycles instead of in the family’s van.

It was a hot, humid Sunday morning—perfect conditions for a four-hour ride across northeast South Carolina. Two hours into the drive, though, the family vacation ended tragically.

With only one car separating Michael and the rest of his family from his father’s motorcycle, a car in the oncoming lane swerved across the yellow line striking both Michael’s father and Tony. Instantly, Michael saw his dad’s body fly through the air and his motorcycle skid and shatter across the pavement.

“It looked like a scene from a movie,” Pettingill said. “Metal and glass were everywhere—it was chaos.”

Michael’s mother immediately pulled the van over while Michael grabbed his Bible and ran to his dad.

“I knelt over him and just prayed to God,” he said. “I talked to him even though he wasn’t awake.”

As Michael’s mother rode in the ambulance to the nearest hospital, Michael took over the van and responsibility for his twin sister, Mallory (‘10), and two younger siblings.

“At that point I had to step up from being a 17-year-old and become something more,” he said.

As he reached the hospital, Michael was told that his father and Tony had died between the crash scene and the hospital. Merle was 44 years old, leaving behind his wife and four children.

Michael, a two-time All-American honorable mention swimmer at Luther, remembers his dad didn’t always want him to swim. With four children, his parents couldn’t afford to have every child in swimming, and always wanting things to be fair, his father didn’t want Michael to be the only child with that privilege.

“My parents would argue about my involvement in swimming,” Pettengill said. “I remember my dad crying one night after an argument with my mom. He asked me if I really wanted to swim.”

Michael initially said no, reminding his parents of the financial constraints the sport put on their family, but his father had changed his mind.

“He told me he wanted me to swim,” Pettengill said. “Because that’s what God gave me talent for.”

After finishing his senior year in Fort Mill, Michael and his family moved back to Vinton, Iowa where they had lived until December 2004, before Merle took a job out east.

Michael’s swim coach in Vinton had been Dave Happel, who was and currently is the diving coach at Luther. Happel encouraged Michael to swim for the Norse and referred him to Head Coach Lance Huber.

“Happel told me what a great coach Huber is,” Pettengill said. “That’s why I came to Luther College.”

Once at Luther, there was no doubt in Michael’s mind about his swimming career.

“I wanted to continue swimming and to reach my potential,” Pettengill said. “My dad would have wanted me to swim in college.”

As a first-year student-athlete, Michael was quickly becoming one of the top swimmers in the nation, reaching the national tournament and earning All-American honorable mention honors in 2007 and again in 2008.

Also budding was his relationship with coach Huber.

“I noticed coach Huber’s work ethic and spirituality mirrored my dad’s,” Pettengill said. “He had the same understanding of what life is about.”

Over the next four years, Huber became a father figure to Michael, always looking after his personal life and standing at the end of the pool cheering him on.

“There are times when Huber knows I have a busy mind,” Pettengill said. “He helps me clear things out. That’s what I miss about my dad.”

On Feb. 20, Michael swam his final 200 meter breaststroke at the Liberal Arts Championship. The first person to give him a hug as he exited the pool was Huber, and Michael broke down.

“I started crying,” he said. “When he hugged me it reminded me of my dad.”

Along with two national championship appearences and All-American honorable mention honors, Michael has Luther school and pool records in the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke and multiple pool records at campuses around the region.

After graduating in May, Michael plans to teach high school chemistry and coach swimming.