University seeks to bridge toward bright future

The predicament is a little uncharacteristic in Hunting Valley.

As usual last winter, University sent a bus load down to Canton for state swimming and diving.

In 2021, none of those state qualifiers return, because they were all seniors.

If this season amid a pandemic didn’t make things unusual enough, reloading to an extent not seen in a while at US merely adds another layer.

What it does, though, is create an exciting opportunity for the Preppers and longtime coach Brian Perry to build, now and into the future.

As US competed in a virtual meet Jan. 7 at Weatherhead Natatorium against Gilmour and St. Ignatius, who were swimming up Route 91 at the Lancers’ natatorium, it did so with unquestionably its youngest roster in recent memory.

The Preppers have one senior swimmer this winter, Ethan Jiang, and a group of up-and-comers who impressed in that virtual competition and have time to blossom.

“It’s important (to maintain momentum), but I think everyone here is doing really well,” US junior Spencer Ernst said. “This is definitely the youngest team we’ve ever had, but I think everyone is transitioning well.

“And I think we want to prove to the world that we don’t really rebuild, we more reload.”

As Ernst alluded, the Preppers have some building blocks, as evidenced by that virtual event. Ernst looks solid as he shifts to distance free from being a sprint freestyler a year ago. His 1:48.59 in 200 free and 4:53.76 in 500 free at that virtual meet are the fastest times in The News-Herald coverage area to date this winter.

Sophomore Jack Faulkner has encouraged in sprint free. Freshman Miguel Figueroa looks poised to have a bright future in 100 butterfly, and fellow ninthgrader Ben Davis could be one to watch in 200 individual medley and 500 free.

One benefit of a clean slate of sorts was young swimmers such as Ernst and Faulkner being under the proverbial learning tree from two of the better US senior classes the storied program has produced. Two years ago, that group was led by 2019 News-Herald boys swimmer of the year Owen Hanna and Ethan Banks, who were both honored on The News-Herald’s 2010s all-decade team for boys swimming and diving last summer.

Last year, the senior class was paced by 2020 N-H boys swimmer of the year Nick Tekieli and Frank Applebaum.

With the caliber among that group, underclassmen had a shining example.

“They were the best role models,” Ernst said. “They were really good to watch on basically everything I had to do. And I think the biggest thing is lead by example. If we’re going out fast on a set, they want out fast on a set, so I had to go out fast on a set.

“I have to push everyone to go out fast on a set with the other captains. And frankly, we’re starting to see that with the younger guys. We’re seeing underclassmen leading practice sometimes. That is really exciting for the future.”

For Faulkner, who logged an area-best 22.81 in 50 free during that virtual meet and a 22.75 on 200 free relay, he knows the lineage well. His older brother Carter was a Division II state qualifier as a junior and senior, earning second-team News-Herald all-star honors in 2020 after swimming legs on US’ state champion 400 free and third-place 200 free relays.

So having been around the program for some of its deepest years, he gets it.

“We’re trying to keep going like nothing has happened,” Faulkner said of the transition process. “We want to just keep going with what our seniors had us doing last year. My brother was on the team, so he taught me a lot about what the team does and how to operate. We’re just trying to keep it normal with the same work ethic.”

In addition to developing young swimmers already in place at US, which has recorded 99 top fours at state all-time in individual events and relays, including 26 state titles, Perry is bullish about the future.

He lauded a current eighth-grade class that should buoy the program further when they arrive next winter as freshmen.

This has been a season unlike any other amid a pandemic and with such enormous change.

But US is eager to push forward with many of its program staples in place, with a bright present and future ahead.

“I was out of the pool until about mid-summer, and thankfully, I was able to get back into it,” Ernst said. “Luckily here, we haven’t had to do anything drastic, in terms of changing or having to quarantine.

“So if we continue like that, we do our typical three practices a day over winter break, and it feels like a normal swim season because of that. It feels like we can still get out of breath, sore and tired so we can go faster in the postseason.”