Nick Alexander Missouri Commit
Nick Alexander of the Flyers Aquatic Swim Team and St. John Vianney High School in St. Louis will head two hours due-west on I-70 next fall after having verbally committed swim in college for the Missouri Tigers.
Alexander has a range of skills in short course and could be an asset to Missouri as either a backstroker, butterflier, or IM’er, but long course is where he really shines.
Best times in yards:
- 50 free – 21.52
- 100 free – 47.06
- 200 free – 1:40.60
- 100 back – 49.52
- 200 back – 1:46.33
- 100 fly – 49.40
- 200 fly – 1:53.21
- 200 IM – 1:49.55
- 400 IM – 3:51.76
What really stands out about Alexander’s resume, besides the times themselves, is the fact that he’s shown an ability to not just perform at big meets, but to win races – an underrated skill in competitive swimming where 95% of the competitors are pushed to “just race the clock.” Last season, Alexander won both the 100 back and the 200 IM at the Missouri High School State Championship meet. The summer before, he was the NCSA Junior National Champion in the 200 meter backstroke (2:02.86). The year before that, he was the Missouri High School State Champion in the 100 yard backstroke as just a sophomore. He has a pile of sectionals titles to go with all of those other victories, and is already a two-event Olympic Trials qualifier.
Alexanders intangibles make him an exciting addition for a Missouri men’s team that’s trying to make the leap into the next-tier of SEC teams with Alabama and Tennessee. In his interviews, he has a certain confidence in himself (probably due in part to his success at not just competing, but winning big races), and he also embraces the team culture of high school (and presumably college) swimming – something that is becoming harder to find as club swimming dominates the elite youth ranks more-and-more.
On a more literal level, Missouri is becoming a magnet for backstrokers. Their reputation has been built largely on the women’s side, thanks to swimmers like U.S. National Teamer Hannah Stevens and Canadian National Teamer Dominique Bouchard. Last year, Carter Griffin carried that tradition over to the men’s side with a breakout sophomore season that saw him with the 10th-best 200 backstroke in the country at 1:40.17. This weekend will be the intercollegiate debut of freshman Griffin Schaetzle for the Tigers, who is also a promising young backstroke talent.
Missouri kicks off their season at their own hosted Show-Me Invitational, inviting the best teams from the state of Missouri into the Mizzou Aquatic Center to race for bragging rights.