By Phil Haddad
Wes Trumbauer and Jordan Hartman are juniors at Boyertown Senior High School and they both come from swimming families. It’s something that they’ve been doing since they were little and have qualified for districts in 2009. Now, they are headed to states at Bucknell University March 13th and 14th.
“It’s hard thing not to do when you come from a swimming family,” said Hartman.
Coming from swimming families, it would be hard not seeing either of them not swimming, and they both felt obligated to swim because of that. Wes’s brother stopped swimming because he felt that it was an obligation into swimming and he really didn’t like swimming. Luckily, for Wes, he enjoyed swimming and continued to. “I have a lot of friends here and that’s why I continue,” said Trumbauer. “How would I justify quitting with my whole family in swimming,” said Hartman. “If I didn’t have friends on the team I’m not sure if I would be able to do it. It’s my social life.”
Wes doesn’t have any older siblings so he isn’t in the shadow of his siblings, but for Jordan, he’s not as fortaunate. He’s referred to as Sarah’s little brother and he feels that he has to do that much better to get out of her shadow.
The district meet was held at LaSalle University in Philadelphia and Wes and Jordan knew that there were kids who were shaved and fully tapered. “There were probably 10 kids who weren’t fully rested or tapered,” said Hartman. “We both took second place at the meet and almost won them it came down to the last event.”
Wes and Jordan were nervous headed into the district meet but were more excited since they both took first and second place last year at the district meet. That was an accomplishment they did last year as sophomores. They weren’t in the fast heat, but everyone knew that the kids from Boyertown were going to win the event because they won last year. “I felt more confident than nervous,” said Trumbauer.
Hartman will be competing in the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 freestyle relay, and the 400 freestyle relay events. Trumbauer will be competing in the 100 fly, 500 freestyle, the 200 medley relay, and the 400 freestyle relay.
Having the experience from the state meet last year gives them confidence before this year’s state meet, and helps them not to be nervous. Both swimmers have handled the stress of the state meet. They both feel that their first and second year there are the toughest years because of the nerves. They both thought that the reason why they are nervous is because they don’t know what to expect.
Wes and Jordan feel that they are ready for the state meet. Jordan feels that if they aren’t ready for the state meet that they will by the time the state meet rolls around. “Linda will get us ready,” said Trumbauer.
“I think that we can get really far this year,” said Trumbauer. “The sky is the limit there.”
“This is my third year going for swimming individual events,” said Hartman. “My freshmen year, the finals were cancelled, and they only had half of the events. I was fully rested and tapered for districts so I didn’t drop any time. This year I wasn’t rested and tapered so I have to swim faster at states.”
Jordan and Wes know that the competition at the state meet will be extremely tough, and there will be a lot of very good swimmers there. Jordan knows that the competition will be faster than previous years. There are a lot of new swimming suits out there, and there will be a lot of fast swimmers because of it.
High school swimming this is the biggest meet in the country. “Pennsylvania is one of the better swimming states and swimming is a big part of high school sports,” said Hartman. “When we go to nationals in Florida, there are a lot of swimmers there from Pennsylvania. It’s the best of the best swimmers at the state meet.”
Hartman learned a lot from the state meet last year. The biggest thing he learned was not to take anything for granted while he’s there. He went there seeded second and third but finished seventh. He knows that he can’t worry about what the other kids are doing, but must worry about what he’s doing.
A big reason why the Boyertown swimmers are well prepared for districts and states is thanks to Coach Linda Jones, who keeps the swimmers motivated, which helps them stay focused. “She has different ways of doing it,” said Hartman. “She’ll have positive ways and tell us we’re doing well, and when we’re not doing well, she’ll yell at us. She has a lot of different methods and I’m sure there’s some that we haven’t seen yet. She’ll keep us motivated any way she can.”
“She’s definitely not afraid to yell at us,” said Trumbauer. “She has a lot of tough love for us.”
Phil Haddad is a free lance writer for WZARTV and all comments can be sent to sports@wzartv.com.
