That’s how Temple senior Byron Stickney described the Wildcats’ 2007-08 swimming season.
Temple had three coaches in a four-month span and dealt with hazardous water conditions at Hardin Swim Center in October that caused several students to lose hair all over their bodies, have it dry out or become bleached.
Many also complained of skin irritation, nausea and vomiting, which forced the swimmers to lose two weeks of practice time in the water.
“Lots of turmoil. Pool problems. Coach problems. It’s been rough,” Stickney said.
Despite all the obstacles, the Wildcat swimmers have moved forward.
Now, they’ll be looking to advance to the University Interscholastic League State Meet in Austin when Temple sends 14 competitors to the Class 5A Region IV Meet, set for today and Saturday at the University of Houston.
Belton also will have 14 swimmers at the regional.
“It’s been challenging, but I think we’ve been able to push through it really well,” said junior Carrie Davis, one of five Temple girls who will compete in four events. “At district and now at regionals, we’ve been doing really well for everything that’s happened. I’m really proud of our team for that.”
Added Stickney: “We knew it didn’t matter what shape the pool was in or what coach we had. We still had to keep our eye on the prize.”
Assistant coach Patrick Mays, the lone constant figure throughout each crisis, deserves credit for providing encouragement.
In late December, Timm Anderson was hired as Temple’s third coach this school year.
With 43 years of swimming competition and coaching on his résumé, Anderson has strengthened the swimmers’ focus and revived the program’s spirit.
“The team’s morale wasn’t the highest,” said Anderson, also a minister and a part-time instructor at Baylor.
“They were looking forward to see who had been hired and there was a mutual attraction right off the bat. I told them, ‘Hey, it’s going to work out. I know you’ve been through some challenging experiences so far this season but let’s look forward.’ And that’s the attitude they took. They were hurting a little, but they’re all looking forward.”
The mutual attraction began the day he introduced himself. Anderson - dressed in Temple’s school colors with a mostly blue UCLA jacket, a blue Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts - used his catchphrase “pleased as punch,” which was an instant hit with his new team.
“He came in the first day at 6:15 in the morning and said, ‘Hi, guys. I’m trying to be as Wildcat as I can,’” Davis said. “He’s real upbeat and that definitely made everyone so happy and got everyone excited again.”
Anderson’s late arrival hasn’t allowed him sufficient time to maximize his swimmers’ abilities, but his presence has had an immediate effect.
“You can tell his deck presence is better because he knows more about swimming,” said Stickney, whose times have dropped under Anderson’s guidance.
Added Davis: “He’s been able to bring stuff to our team that we haven’t had in the past. He has so much experience and knows so much about technique.”
Stickney, Aaron Struckmeyer (nicknamed “Truck”) and Joey Jaworski each will compete in four events for the boys. Clayton Rutkowski is in three, Jared Moltenberry and Landry Wheeler are in two apiece, and freshman Jacob Stickney, whom Anderson considers Temple’s most improved swimmer, will compete in one event.
Swimming four events for the girls will be Davis, Rachael Glenister, Sarah Jane Robinson, Sarah Shaffell and Sarah Alpini. Brittany Edens is in three events and Erika Allen - who broke the school record for 1-meter diving at the District 13-5A Meet in College Station two weeks ago - will compete in diving at the regional.
Only the event winners from the eight regions plus the next eight-fastest times overall will advance to the state meet at the University of Texas in Austin.
Anderson has high expectations for his swimmers, especially the boys because he has tapered them all week.
Anderson said tapering is the act of cutting back severely on long distances to focus more on sprints and rest. The sprint-type workouts help mold the athletes’ ability to swim faster at championship meets toward the end of the season.
“I didn’t taper them for the district meet, so they were swimming tired,” he said. “This meet, we are tapering them down to almost nothing in yardage, so they’re doing more sprints and getting a lot more rest, so they should be able to go faster.”
Added Byron Stickney: “I’m nervous because it’s my last time, but I’m also really happy because the (boys 400 freestyle) relay has a chance to make it to state.”
Belton’s boys swimmers qualified for the regional are Kyle Burt in four events, Alec Dekeratry in three and Trey Falson, Jason Shuler, Mike Presta and Jason Ellis in one each.
The Lady Tigers are sending Sheryl Burt, Samantha Horton and Katie Booth in four events apiece, Faith Redus in three and Emma Zendt, Angelica Torija, Raven Bodkin and Lauren Winkler in one each.
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
