Previous Coaches

Hal Krizan (1956-1973)

Hal Krizan founded the Washington swim program in 1956 and coached until 1973. Winning his first of 11 state championships in 1961, he led the Warriors to 10 straight titles from 1964 to 1973. Krizan is a member of the Iowa Swimming Hall of Fame and the National Swimming Hall of Fame. 

Elected to IHSSCA Hall of Fame in 1979, he was inducted in the first class of the Washington Hall of Fame in 1988.  Hal and his wife Malinda had a total of six children; sons Dennis, Ken, Timothy, Daniel and Kim as well as daughter JoAnn.  He passed away at the age of 92 in May of 2013.

Jim Voss (1973-1998)

Jim Voss was the second head coach in Washington history, taking over for Krizan in 1973 and coaching until 1998. A co-captain for the Illinois State University swim team in 1964, he proceeded to serve 33 years as a coach and PE teacher.  Briefly at Jefferson High School prior to taking the helm at Washington, Voss won 15 state championships and 3 National Championships.  The Iowa Coach of the Year eight times, Voss was also named the National Coach of the year in 1994.

Voss was elected into the Washington Hall of fame in 1999, he has actually been inducted to the IHSSCA Hall of fame twice.  In 1998, he was enshrined for his role as an Official and in 2003 he was inducted as a Coach.  Voss has also been inducted to the National Swimming Hall of Fame. Jim and his wife Carol have two daughters, Jamie (Rogers) and Carrie (Thompson).

Chris Cruise (1998-2021)

Chris continues teaching mathematics while taking on the role of Assistant Activities Director at Washington. He was a 1989 graduate of Washington High School and participated on three state championship teams, as well as two National Championship teams. He was an All-American in the Medley Relay and Breaststroke, and was a member of the State Record Medley Relay until 2006, in addition to holding the State Record in the 100 Breaststroke for nine years. Chris was inducted into the Iowa High School Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Washington High School Hall of Fame in 2004.  His wife Kimberly is currently working as an optometrist with Iowa Eye Care in Marion and they have two sons, Tyler and Conner.  Chris passed away from Pancreatic Cancer in September of 2023 at the age of 53. His presence in the swimming community and at Washington High School will be greatly missed.