We Back
Ladies and Gentlemen: we are back and it feels good. The Whitworth University men’s and women’s swim teams got their dual meet season under way this weekend and despite being tired and sore, it feels good to be racing again!
As a team we’ve spent the last eight weeks of practice laying a foundation for the rest of the season, or “building our cup, from which we shall later drink” as coach Steve likes to say. For the most part this process has not been pretty; I’ll allow my buddy Nathan’s Facebook status from a couple weeks ago sum it up for you:
“Coach said we are filling our chalices today and will drink of them in the grand feast that is conference and nationals. I don’t think I want to drink it though…so far it’s only been filled with blood, vomit, and lactic acid.”
Nuff said.
But as we slowly move out of that phase and into the racing part of our season there is a lot to look forward to. This is my senior year and I am treasuring every moment of it.
Friday night was Pirate night at the aquatic center, which meant that many of the Spokane Waves swimmers whom I coach every night after my own practice were on deck to support. I love racing in our home pool when the deck and bleachers are packed, it definitely helps get my adrenalin flowing so thank you to everyone that came out!
Clearly the support helped me in my 200 Breaststroke as I swam a 2.02.14 to break the Whitworth Aquatic Center record. What amazes me about this swim is that I swam a 2.02.34 in the 200 Breast three years ago at the NCAA National Championships to finish 12th and gain my first All-American certificate. The fact that I went 2.02 at my first dual meet of the 2011-2012 season is an absolute tribute to the Whitworth coaching staff and the swimmers I’ve practiced with for the last three years – how far we have come! Thank you guys.
Photo courtesy of Austin Vierra
So the season is in full swing, we march on next weekend to Oregon for the Northwest Invitational hosted by Linfield College. What happens there is yet to be seen, but I like the trajectory we are on right now. Onwards and upwards!
Ahh, What’s Up Doc?
Summer is upon us in the Northern Hemisphere and I am very excited! Classes are done, the weather is warming up, my schedule is opening up and there are opportunities everywhere! A new season, a new start, new goals and increased focus.
PIcture Featured In The Spring 2011 "NCAA Champions Magazine" Click the pic to view the mag
This last year has been an incredible journey for me. I have been blessed enough to achieve many of the goals I set for myself last September and have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. I wanted to update you all on what is going on with me and my swimming right now, just so you’re in the loop, ya know? 
Two weeks ago Swimming South Africa released their 2011 National Swimming Roster. This year, I was included on the roster. It has always been a dream and goal of mine to represent South Africa and while being on the roster does not guarantee me a spot on any team, I am very grateful to have been considered. I look forward to the opportunities I may be presented within the coming year. You can see the 2011 National Roster here. In addition to the National Roster I have also been selected to represent South Africa at the FISU 26th Summer Universiade (World Student Games) which will be in Shenzhen, China in August this year. The Summer Universiade is an International multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports 
Federation (FISU). The name “Universiade” is a combination of the words “University” and “olympiad”. I am very excited about this opportunity to swimming in this meet. From the research I have done on it, it has an impressive history of fast swimming and it will be an honor to represent South Africa (and Whitworth) at the meet. You can learn more about the Universiade on the official website . Outside of the pool, I have just come to the end of my junior year (third year) of my degree! One more year to go and I will be done! Last week I was voted to the 2011 CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District VIII college division men’s at-large team. I have to be honest with you, I don’t quite understand all of it, but I think it means I’m doing well in school! If you’re interested in the release you can find it here. So that is what is going on in my life right now. I want to thank everybody for all the support I have received this year. It has been absolutely overwhelming and I am so grateful for that. I can honestly say that I have been blessed with one of the best support systems that anyone could ever ask for. I am and will be forever grateful to everyone who has followed me on this crazy dream I find myself living out. Thank you to all of you.
Never Stop Dreaming
Tonight I swam the last of the races on my program this week here in Port Elizabeth. The first of which was the 200 Breaststroke, the second was the 400 Medley relay. I am very happy with the results from both swims and have nothing but positive things to say about my week of racing here in South Africa.
In the heats of the 200 Breaststroke this morning, I dived in and my goggles fell off and lodged themselves between my nose and my mouth. As hard as I tried not to freak out, it was incredibly difficult to try and maintain a stroke count and pace though the 200 meters. I somehow managed to do it however and set myself up for a decent final this evening.
Coming into this meet I had a best time of 2.17.95 in the 200 Breaststroke which I swam last summer. The goals for the race laid out like this in my mind; I would be ecstatic with a 2.14, very happy with a 2.15, happy with a 2.16 and a bit upset if we were still stuck on a 2.17. I touch the wall in 2 minutes and 15.88 seconds and am very happy with the result. I picked up the silver medal, behind Neil Versfeld who swam a great race and qualified for the World Championships in Shanghai later this year. Because non of these races have been broadcast anywhere this week, here is a video of the race. I am in a black cap, lane 5 with very pasty skin.
My final race of the week was swimming the breaststroke leg of the 400 Medley relay. After my individual breaststroke final I said I was a little disappointed in the fact that I didn’t put up a time that I knew my body was capable of so I wanted to find out what I was capable of this evening. Despite the relay being about 25 mins after the 200 Breaststroke final I managed to put up a 1.02.01 split which I am very happy about! A great way to end the week.
It’s really been a good week. I didn’t manage to qualify for the World Championship team going to Shanghai, but I did qualify for selection for the World University Games which will be held in Shenzhen, China in August this year. I will now wait to find out whether I will be included on the team. I also broke into the top 100 rankings in the world for the first time in my swimming career. According to Swimnews.com I am currently ranked 78th in the 50 Breast, 97th in the 100 Breast, and 66th in the 200 Breast.
It’s been a great year. I cannot thank everyone who has supported me enough. My wonderful girlfriend, Carla for putting up with all my crap! My parents for their continued moral and financial support. My coaches for their insight and faith. The Whitworth Swim team for their daily inspiration and all my friends all over the world. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Back to Spokane tomorrow. Back in the pool on Monday. We have work to do friends.
If You Never Try…
If you never try… You’ll never fail. But more importantly, you’ll never succeed. Tonight I raced a little differently to how I would usually go about it. The result of my semi final swim last night showed me what my normal strategy would produce, and I liked it. But if I was looking to be faster I was going to have to change something.
Looking back on my 100 Breaststroke final at NCAA’s a couple of weeks I felt like I wasn’t aggressive enough on the front end of the race, sure that left me with the ability to come home strong, but I believe the tactic prevented me from breaking the 54 flat barrier in the short course pool. Last night I didn’t want to be left with the same feeling and attacked hard from the start.
I managed to get out faster than I did in the prelims and the semi finals, and although I closed the race with the second fastest 50 (behind Cameron VD Burgh who put together a fantastic race) I struggled on my way home finishing in a 1.03.11, just being touched out by two one-hundredths of a second and getting third. (That will fuel my fire on a couple of the tough sets I face in the next year, that you can be sure of!)
Although I am disappointed that I didn’t manage to put together a time that I know my body is capable of right now, this is my first medal at South African National Champs and I am very, very happy with my effort. Thomas Edison once said, ”I have not failed. I’ve just found a 10,000 ways that won’t work”. He has a point. I’m a better swimmer today than I was yesterday and I still have another 365 days of learning to do!
One Done
My first day of racing here in Port Elizabeth has come and gone and I’m going to call it successful. I raced the 100 Breaststroke heats this morning and put together a well controlled morning swim in which I finished the race in 1.03.65. The time was good enough to give me a second seed for the semi finals this evening.
Then, the unfortunate disqualification of Neil Versfeld, a South African Olympian who was seeded ahead of me bumped me up into the top spot for tonight’s semi final. Seeded two one hundredths of a second behind me however, was World Champion, World Record Holder and Olympian, Cameron VD Burgh, and it was obvious he shut it down in the last 50 of his prelims swim this morning so I knew he was going to be fast tonight.
Cameron should his class this evening in the first semi final when he stopped the clock at 1.01.54, qualifying him for World Championships in Shanghai later this year. I was up next in the second semi final. As there is no coverage of the meet, below is a video of how my race played out. I’m the very, very pasty one in the black cap in lane 4.
Any one with any sort of eye for swimming will be able to point out the numerous technical areas in which I can improve. If this trip to South Africa has shown me anything it is that I can make some big gains in minor details of my racing. After watching this video I’m convinced I stopped swimming 5m from the finish and attempted to glide into the wall. Not recommended if looking to swim fast! I am incredibly happy with the time however and know that there will be more to come tomorrow night. How fast can I go, I don’t know? We’ll find out though.
Thank you to everyone for all of your support. I have been overwhelmed by the number of emails and messages I have received over the last two days. Thank you!
Back In The Motherland
After a successful NCAA national championships I decided to extend my season just a little bit, so last week Sunday I traveled back to South Africa to compete in the 2011 South African Would Championship Trials which will be held in Port Elizabeth beginning next week.
South African East Coast From 15 000 ft
After sitting on a plane for a full 30 hours (thankfully not straight as I got to stop off in Dubai for a night with my parents) I arrived in Port Elizabeth excited to see what the city has to offer! I picked up my rental car and headed out to the house we have rented for the week.
Not bad, even if I say so myself!
On Wednesday morning I headed out to check out the competition pool and hopefully get in a swim. I was successful in one of those endeavors, locating the competition pool. It was however being used to host the South African Nationals Waterpolo Championships, and was told it would not be open to swimmers until Saturday afternoon. I asked if anyone knew where I could go get my swim on and was presented with two different options.
Option 1 - St George’s Park Swimming Pool.
St George's Park Swimming Pool...
Enough said…
Option 2 – McAthur’s Pool.
Much more promising. Looks like paradise doesn’t it? I was keen and jumped right in.
It turned out to be a little rougher than it first appeared. Apart from the fact that I had gotten off a pretty long flight the day before, the pool turned out to be 80m long, with no lane lines or even black lines on the bottom of the pool. It was salt water with algae or some sort of slime on the wall and it was more round than it was rectangle! Never the less, water is water and I got it done.
We managed to find a better pool located inside a gym on Thursday and I was able to get a little more of a constructive workout in. I have felt progressively better with each day that passes here and so am looking forward to seeing what next week has to offer!
I am entered into the 50m, 100m and 200m Breaststroke and begin racing on Tuesday next week. They are selecting teams for World Championships which will take place in Shanghai, China from the 24th – 31st July this year. They are also selecting a team for the World University Games which will be held in Shenzen, China from the 12th – 23th of August this year. I am expecting to swim fast. I have had a great season this year and see no reason why it will not continue on through this meet. Best times are the goal. Anything above that is a bonus.
I will obviously be updating my blog each day with videos of my swims and thoughts on how things are going. You can also follow the live results by clicking here. Or check for any news stories by clicking here. You can also see the meet psych sheet but clicking here.
“The Show Goes On”
On the evening of May 29th 2007 I was lying in a hospital bed having just been through a second surgery on my groin. Apart from wondering how the heck I was supposed to get out of bed to pee, I lay there questioning if I would ever be able to swim fast again.
Charles Swindoll once said, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”. I’m going to have to go ahead and believe the man. So many times in life we seem to be faced with crap that we don’t choose, or that we don’t deserve. It’s often not fair, but it makes life interesting, it makes life, life. If we respond in the right way and refuse to give up on what we want out of life there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The last 4 years have been an incredible journey. That journey is by no means over with, but is always fun and educational to sit down and reflect for a moment on where you have been. Not only does it help you appreciate what you may have been through, and realize the incredible people that have been there for you along the way, but it helps you learn and grow.
Last week was a great week for the team and I. I swam in four relays (200 & 400 Medley, 200 & 800 Free Relay), three of which scored in the top 16 at the meet. As well as 3 individual events, two of which I won. My 200 Breaststroke was my last race of the meet, and it was a goody 
If you didn’t get a chance to watch it, Mike recorded it especially for you! Here it is! It was the last race of the meet for me and I am very happy with it. I know for sure that I have more in me, a lot more, and I am excited about what will happen next year.
I have been overwhelmed by the support everyone has shown to me in the last week. Thank you so much for the love! I really appreciate it. I’m headed to South Africa on Saturday for World Championship Trials. I have no idea what I have left in the tank, only time will tell. I’ll keep you all updated!
National Champion Baby!
I don’t really have a lot to say right now, other than I am a very happy boy. I’m tired and my legs are on fire after a second shave this afternoon but I have a big smile on my face.
I had a solid swim in the heats this morning that was very relaxed and controlled and my goal was to simply reproduce that swim again tonight using the energy and adrenalin of the finals to help me swim a little faster. I think I may have been a little bit too relaxed on the first 50 and didn’t get out fast enough to achieve my goal of being under 54.00 and breaking the national record, but that is a minor detail!
If you didn’t get a chance to watch it live, Austin put together a sweet video of the race especially for all of you! Thanks Austin! Here it is… Enjoy
So many people have supported me and helped me along the way and I am very, very grateful to all of you. This would not have been possible without so many of you! Thank you. It’s not over yet though. The 200 Breaststroke is tomorrow. What will happen? Only time will tell.
Bang Bang Day 1
Day one has come and gone here in Knoxville and it was a decent one for the Pirates. We sit in 18th place after finals last night with a load of events still to swim!
Kate and Austin got us started in the 500 Free yesterday morning with solid performances. Kate came into the 500 Free seeded 32nd with a 5.04.30 that she swam at conference last month. Swimming in an outside lane she put together a race that looked almost identical to her conference race finishing in a 5.04.43 which was good enough to move her up to 26th in a field of 45! A very solid performance from arguably her weakest event this week.
Austin looked like a man on a mission yesterday morning as he started the 500 Freestyle. He came in seeded 16th on a 4.33.55 but all of us that have been training with him over the last 8 months knew for sure that he was capable of faster than that. He proved us right yesterday morning! Swimming a beautifully split race where he essentially descended each 100 throughout the race he touched the wall in 4.31.54, the joy and relief on his face when he turned and looked at the score board was priceless. There were mixed emotions though about 5 minutes later when we found out that he missed out on being in the top 8 finalist by less than 3 tenths of a second and that he missed the Whitworth school record by 1 tenth of a second. Never the less he went out last night and raced the B final like a man! Unfortunately it looked like he got stuck in a bad rhythm from the start though and although he descended the race in a very similar pattern to the morning but a little slower. He finished 16th in the final scoring our first points of the meet with a 4.36.70.
Mike and Kalen both swam the 200 IM yesterday morning. Unfortunately both of them seemed to struggle to get going during the race though. Mike didn’t seem to have the closing speed that I am used to seeing from him and Kalen just didn’t have the consistency through the strokes. It could be the time change, I’m not sure, they both have more swims to come this week though so I am hoping for improvements as we go!
I was up next in the 50 Free. This is an event that I do not have a lot of love for. The two requirements to swim a good 50 Free; power and explosiveness. Naturally I have neither of those two attributes. I have worked hard in the gym over the last year to try improve on my power and yesterday I saw a little pay off for that. I have been 21 seconds consistently in season for the last three years but have never managed to break the 21.00 barrier from a flat start. For the first time yesterday morning I managed to do it touching the wall in 20.93. A small mini victory that gives testament to the fact that if you work hard enough at something, even if you don’t have those specific skills, you can develop them. It was also a new team record. Aaron also swam the 50 free yesterday morning, he was a little deep off his start and so wasn’t out as fast as he usually is. As a result he was a little off he entry time, but still managed a solid 21.09 – very good for his fist ever swim at a National Championship.
The highlight of yesterday was probably our mens 200 Medley relay. We entered the meet as the 15th seeds in the event and managed to move up into 12th place last night. Nathan led us off with a solid backstroke leg (25.00) , I took over on the breaststroke (24.90) , Aaron put in the fly leg (21.90) and Mike anchored us with the Freestyle (20.44).
I’ll let you watch the video for a feel on how the race went. We are in lane 6, three from the top. If you lose us, we are the pasty ones and I’m wearing a red cap during the breaststroke leg! Enjoy!
Knoxville 2011 – The time is Now
We are here! The moment that has been talked about nearly non stop since September last year, Nationals 2011. We have spent hours and hours working towards this, tolerated large amounts of pain and sacrificed many things. That all paid off for us at conference where we managed to get seven guys and one girl qualified to swim at here in Knoxville this week, but this is the big show. Now is when it counts and I for one am very excited!
The University of Tennessee Pool
Allow me to introduce the team…
I’ll begin with the rose amongst the thorn, the only girl surrounded by seven boys.
Kate Duvall
Kate Duvall
Kate is just a Freshman this year and she managed to qualify in possibly the most competitive event of the entire meet. The woman’s 200 Backstroke. She broke the Whitworth school record with a 2.03.79 to be seeded 15th in the event and will be looking to lower that mark again for sure! Kate will also be swimming in the 500 Freestyle where she is seeded 32nd and the 100 Backstroke where she seeded 35th.
Nathan Ranno
Nathan Ranno
Nathan is a Sophomore who had a fantastic Conference meet this year and helped us qualify the Men’s 200 Medley relay. The guy has packed on some muscle this season and the strength really showed at Conference. Unfortunately he just missed qualifying for any individual events this year, but if he makes the same progress he did this season next year he will be back for sure!
Oliver Durand
Austin Vierra, Michael Woodward, Oliver Durand & Myself
Oliver too is only a Freshman, but he has been a very valuable part of this team this season. He swam our third leg of the 800 Freestyle relay at conference and played a big role in helping us qualify that relay for the big show. Unfortunately he too just missed out on qualifying for any individual events this year, but that means he will be very ready to do work on that relay on Friday! I have no doubt that he will qualify individually next season after getting the chance to see what it’s all about this year!
Aaron Vaccaro
Aaron is a freshman this year, but I have to be honest I have never seen a guy with so much explosive power in my whole life. He put up arguably the two best swim of the 2011 season in the 50 Free and 100 Fly this year. He was the first Whitworth swimmer to break 50.00 in the 100 Fly and is seeded 15th with a 49.84 in the event. He was also the first Whitworth swimmer to break 21.00 in the 50 Free and is seeded 29th on a 20.95. Look for big things from this guy here in Knoxville and in the future!
Austin Vierra
Austin came in as a transfer to Whitworth this year from one of the fastest D3 universities in the country. He had a solid Conference meet in February but he has gotten better and better as the days have gone on since then. Austin sits 16th in the 500 Freestyle but I would not be at all surprised to see him jump way up the standings. He is also swimming the 200 Freestyle and the 1650 Freestyle and I will expect he’ll be faster in both those events too!
Michael Woodward
This is Mike’s last meet as a Whitworth swimmer and potentially his last ever as swimmer (although I’m sure he will pick it up again at some point!). Obviously he is looking to go out with a big bang and I think he is more than capable of creating the fireworks we want to see! He is seeded 11th coming into the 200 IM this year, he finished 11th in the event last year so I know he is going to jump up the rankings when all is said and done. He is also swimming the 100 and 200 Freestyle, he holds the Whitworth school records in both those events and I know he would love to lower those marks before he leaves!
Kalen Darling
The "Pussycat" Ready To Pounce
Just like Mike, this will be Kalen’s last meet as a Whitworth swimmer. As a Junior last year the guy ripped it up going a 3.59.04 and took 7th in the 400 IM. He’s back this year, seeded 13th with his 4.01.24 from Conference, I know he’s got more in him though so lookout Knoxville! Kalen also put together solid races in the 500 Freestyle and the mile last year, but to show off his divisibility a little bit, he decided this year to go with the 200 IM and the 200 Backstroke instead of the 500 Free and mile. No biggie. I’m looking forward to seeing what he pulls out in these two races. There could be some school records that go down!
ME!
I’m up in the 50 Free, the 100 Breast and the 200 Breast this weekend. I had a fantastic nationals meet last year, and would love to repeat that or out perform myself this year. I have had a much better season this year and I feel ready to swim fast. So here we go…
Dressed to Impress for the Banquet Dinner
It’s a good looking team on a honorable mission. We have our goals firmly in sight and there should be nothing that gets in our way! You can keep up with what we are doing by checking in here daily!
You can see the action live starting at 10am tomorrow morning (Eastern Time!) by clicking here
You can also check the live results as they happen by clicking here
