“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
This quote by American poet Maya Angelou feels so true for high school swimming, in particular, the Region 7 swim meet that took place on February 2 and 3.
Swimming demands years of hard work, including countless laps and sets that can be described as fun and dreaded, depending on the day. A typical swim practice will range from 4,000 to 6,000 yards of swimming, and during that time both inside and outside the pool, many new friendships are forged.
The joy of high school swimming for the 2023-2024 season is nearing an end with Region meets completed and the State swim meet for those who qualified on the horizon. Most high school swimmers’ seasons ended at Region with the heartbreak of not moving on to State.
Tears of joy and frustration were seen in the eyes of many, while others reached new personal bests as they neared or beat school records.
During the Region 7 meet, teams from Springville, Spanish Fork, Timpview, Salem Hills, Wasatch, Cedar Valley and Maple Mountain met at the Wasatch Aquatic Center in Heber City for their chance to be the best top team in the Region. Results at the Region meet decide who will move on to the state meet.
Springville’s Nick Oman had the race of his life in the 100 breaststroke, having his so-called “four minute mile,” which is breaking the 1-minute mark. All season long, he worked hard to meet this goal, and came into the Region meet with a personal best of 1.00.71. You could see his frustration throughout the season as he would break the minute mark at practice but not during the meet. Oddly enough, it is common for swimmers to swim personal best times at practice. Unfortunately, these times only count at meets.
A solid and fun weekend of water polo in California the weekend before, however, helped change his mindset, focus, and confidence.
Nick was very focused and his teammates Jesse Cope, Easton Mousser, Nate Anderson and others could sense today was going to be the day. The team stood opposite the starting blocks ready to cheer him on.
The preliminary race started. In the first 25, Nick started to break away and by the halfway point he had the win in hand. He continued to push himself. He said afterward he could hear the cheers from teammates, friends and the crowd cheering him on. As Nick touched the end line you heard the building rock as Nick overcame his battle and achieved a time of 59.75.
Just as runners do in the four minute mile, Nick had seen himself overcome the minute. In the final race he was set to break the Springville high school record of 58.71. The race started and again he was flying with determination in his eyes. He finished way ahead with the crowd roaring in cheers. Nick finished with a time of 58.74, just short of the school record by 0.03 of a second.
In addition to Nick, other swimmers from Springville who also made it to Region finals were Nate Anderson, Easton Mousser, Jesse Cope, George Holm, Josh Gee, Jon Ferrin, Logan Hansen, John Paapke, Oliver Bandley, Max Baggs, Owen Cornaby, and Ammon White.
The Springville boys’ team fought hard and earned second place against Wasatch, taking home plenty of hardware to boot.
On February 23 and 24, Nick and his relay team broke the Springville High School 200M medley record with a time of 137.88, and Nick was able to break the school record in the 100M breaststroke with a time of 58.02.
Congratulations to all who participated in the Region and State meets! It was a great season!
Submitted by Spencer Oman
