Carl Albert's Putman wins two state titles
EDMOND—Kaleb Put man was loose and relaxed as he waited to compete in his races at the Class 5A swimming state meet.
Wearing a cowboy hat, unbuttoned blue flannel shirt and jean shorts with a big belt buckle, he mingled with his fellow Carl Albert swimmers and exuded confidence.
He had reasons to be confident. After a dominant regular season, the senior won a pair of regional titles.
Putman shined again on Tuesday, winning the 200- yard freestyle (1 minute ,43.03 seconds) and 100 backstroke (52.32) at Edmond Public Schools Aquatic Center.
He also helped Carl Albert place second in the 200 freestyle relay (1:32.11) and 400 freestyle relay (3:25.61) as the Titan boys earned t heir f i rst state runner-up finish in school history.
Carl Albert boys swimming i s gett i ng better each year.
Putman has had a lot to do with that.
“I've reset the school records, and I've beaten my idols,” he said. “It's a lot. It's good to know that all of my hard work I've put in, it's finally coming out to show.”
Put man' s brother, Brandon, was a standout swim mer for the Titans and graduated just before Kaleb entered high school.
Brandon and his group at Carl Albert laid t he f oundation f or t he program.
Kaleb a nd hi s gr oup have taken it to another level.
“All of his friends, they set the records that our school had,” he said. “I grew up, I knew I wanted to be them.”
Putman now has three Class 5A gold medals. He won the 100 backstroke last year, and the Titans placed third as a team.
Putman has set school records and left his mark on the program, but he appreciates the way he and his teammates have put Carl Albert on t he map i n the high school swimming world as much as anything.
"There's a lot of heart in the team," he said. "When I was little, my brother s wam. I s aw t he t eam then, and i t was really small. It was not like it is now. It's really grown."