St. Mary’s Hayburn breaks Phelps’ pool record
St. Mary’s senior Joe Hayburn seems to have made it his mission to accomplish as many fantastic feats as possible before graduation.
The reigning Capital Gazette boys Swimmer of the Year has already been to the Olympic trials as a sophomore, a multi-event Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association champion, accounted for too many records to count and earned All-America status. As a junior, he was the first Anne Arundel County swimmer to claim a National Catholic High School Championships meet record. He was also an All-American again.
So it seems only natural for a swimmer of his caliber to bypass the first person that typically comes to everyone’s mind when they think of swimming: Michael Phelps.
But that’s just what Hayburn did on Sunday at the 84th National Catholic High School Championships meet at Loyola Maryland. Not only did he capture victories in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard backstroke finals, becoming the first Saints swimmer win two events at the prestigious varsity competition while breaking the record he set last year, but Hayburn’s time of 47.61 in the 100 backstroke broke a pool record the 28-time Olympic medalist set (48.10) in 2002.
“Disbelief,” Hayburn said. “The crowd — it was unreal. This is a surreal moment, and I’m so grateful, really.”
Hayburn knew attaining that last feat at the competition wasn’t going to be easy. He came into the meet exhausted, having swum in meets Thursday and Friday. He focused on relaxing, on breathing, to fight the fatigue.
But he approaches important races differently now, he said. Hayburn went to his last National Catholic meet with the intention of having fun and enjoying the support of his teammates.
“The best part about it is it’s about going out and trying to do your best,” he said, “and whatever happens, whatever record or whatever you’re trying to do, just take the time to enjoy the movement. Enjoy the race.”
By the fourth lap, Saints coach Allyson Reiter knew what her standout swimmer was doing. She’d watched Hayburn better his times all year, so she knew he could. But she wasn’t the only one to notice the speed the senior picked up in his final rush to the finish.
The National Catholic meet attracts teams from the East Coast. And all of them, from the Baltimore-based swimmers familiar with the St. Mary’s phenom to complete strangers, were on their feet.
“They just knew they were watching something great,” Reiter said.
Hayburn could have proverbially and literally coasted this winter. He’s done all that a high school swimmer could do and be satisfied with himself. He signedhis National Letter of Intent with Loyola Maryland months ago, continuing on the Hayburn tradition of swimming for the Greyhounds. (Hayburn will be the fourth sibling to attend the school.)
But that’s not him. Hayburn carried the knowledge he’d come close to breaking one of Phelps’ records for a year. After all, his county-record time of 48.34 in the 100 backstroke at the National Catholic meet last winter was .24 seconds slower than Phelps’ mark.
“It’s a combination of his preparation. He takes his goal-setting very seriously,” Reiter said. “He puts his mind to it, and then they’re not unattainable.”
Hayburn isn’t finished. There are, of course, the MIAA championships down the road, where he is capable of not only defending his titles and records but setting new ones. But there’s also the 2024 Olympic trials to prepare for, as well as college. Within a little over a year, it’ll be NCAA marks Hayburn’s gunning for.
“A bright future and more records are definitely ahead of him,” Reiter said.