Becoming an NCAA Champion: An Unexpected Swimming Journey

How do you go from the bottom of a team to an NCAA Champion the following year?

I started competitively swimming when I was 10, and wasn’t much of a swimmer until I was almost 16, when I achieved my first sectional cut. From there, I continued to drop time, but was never considered a “great” swimmer. Although I was swimming everyday except Sundays, I refused to do morning practices all throughout high school. They just didn’t seem worth it to me, and for that my coach never fully gave me his attention.

I was on the top of my high school team, serving as team captain my junior and senior years. Being a club swimmer automatically catapulted you to the top of most high school teams in California, and it was an interesting experience serving as kids’ role models. This made for an even tougher transition into college, as I went in one of the slowest, coming from a place where I was always the fastest.

I dropped an immense amount of time at Junior Olympics the summer before my senior year, which caught some college coaches’ eyes. I visited Emory and immediately knew that it was the place for me, as Jon Howell can attest when he received an email from me at the airport telling him that I planned on applying early. I was accepted and could not have been more excited yet nervous for the intense training to come.

For my entire swim career leading up until college, I considered myself a moderately hard worker, but I soon found out that my work ethic was nothing compared to successful college swimmers. The first couple weeks of practice were brutal, but I knew that pushing though the pain would make me a better swimmer. I worked harder than I ever did in my life during my freshman season, but my comparatively slow incoming times held me back. I was not taken to the midseason meet, and therefore had no opportunity to showcase my new and improved strokes. I knew that at the end of season meet I had to really impress the coaches to leave a lasting impression.

I’m a pretty realistic guy, and knew that my chances of being taken to conference were iffy, but thought I had a chance over a few swimmers. At the time, our team consisted of about 27 swimmers, 24 of those earning a spot on the conference team. About a month before conference, an email was sent out with the conference roster, and I was not on it. This news was devastating, as I had been working so hard and felt as though it had all been for nothing. The alternate meet for those who didn’t make the conference team was going to be a small meet held at Emory for people who wanted another chance to qualify for NCAAs. It didn’t sound like an ideal situation, but I pushed through the disappointment and tried to focus on myself at practices. This was a tough feat, as I could see the conference swimmers having a great time while I was not yet on taper.

Luckily, conference was at Emory, so I was able to cheer on my teammates. It looked like such a fun and positive atmosphere, and knew that my goal had to be to make this meet the next year. Emory men won the meet, and they were gracious enough to invite me to be in the picture on the medal stands, but I knew deep down that I didn’t belong.

It was a short week later that the Emory Invite commenced, and I soon realized that I would basically be racing against myself at the two-day condensed meet. The pressure, however, was on, as everyone’s eyes were on me to prove that I didn’t belong at this meet, but with the big time guys. The first event was the 100 breast, which I swam against one other guy on Emory. I dropped almost two seconds in the event, achieving an NCAA “B” cut, and my teammates could not have been more supportive and happy for me. The next day I also dropped in the 50 and 100 free, and proved to my team and my coach that I did not belong there.

At the end of the season meeting, I was awarded the team’s most improved award. That summer, I trained with a new club team, despite having an internship which took up a great deal of my time. I came back to Emory eager to start a great swim season, and to my surprise was taken to the midseason meet. I knew I had to prove my worth at the meet, and was again surprised to be on the “A” 200 and 400 freestyle relays. The 200 free relay went well and I dropped a little more time in my 100 breast, but the most exciting event was the 400 free relay. My team and I broke the meet record, as well as the Emory school record. I thought back to where I was at that point in the previous year and took stock of how far I had come.

This time, I made the conference team, although my conference meet was a little disappointing. My only individual best time was in the 50 free, but I was placed on the “A” 200 free relay which came in 2nd.

Since the times that the relays swam at conference were slower than the ones swum at the midseason meet, my coach had to enter the midseason relays for NCAAs. Since I was a part of the relay teams at the midseason meet, I would have to swim at least one relay at Nationals. Just like that, I was invited to NCAAs. I would be swimming the 200 free relay and the 100 breast since I achieved a “B” cut in the event. The fact that I would be attending NCAAs only a year after being left off the conference team shocked me.

Although I was going for relays and didn’t individually qualify, it was a long way to come in a year, and I could not have been more pumped for Nationals. The 200 free relay was the second day of Nationals, after we had all seen Ollie Smith, a fellow Emory swimmer, drop a 19.55 on the 50 free to win the event. Our relay team knew that we had a chance to place in the event, and we were going for the win. In prelims we were beaten out only by Kenyon, and knew it would be a tough race for gold at finals.

As we were being walked out for the championship final for the 200 free relay, I realized I was at the highest level of competition for DIII. The first two swimmers swam and we were in 3rd place before I dove in. When I was finished, although I didn’t have one of the faster splits, we were in 2nd, right where we needed to be for Smith to destroy the field. Smith split an unbelievable 18.90 and won by almost a body length. Just like that, I was an NCAA Champion, and I have to admit it was one of the best experiences of my life. Although I have to give a lot of credit to Smith, it was a team effort, and no one on that relay team downplayed how important every single member of the relay team was.

The win was especially sweet after being at the bottom of the team only a short year earlier, and no one could stop themselves from laughing at the fact that Aaron Schwartz is a National Champion. Honestly, even I find it pretty funny, but behind the humor is an irreplaceable sense of accomplishment and worth.

Believe in yourself and don’t listen to those who try and bring you down. When I first started swimming, my coach told me that I wouldn’t amount to anything, and boy is she wrong now. My story is proof that one can rise to the top, not only with insane speed, but with hard work, determination, and a supportive team behind you.