MILL CREEK – An up-and-coming Jackson boys swim team couldn’t ask for a better leader than Nick Win.
The junior standout is coming off a strong performance at the Class 4A state swimming championships. Win took home an eighth-place medal in the 200-yard individual medley, the first medal of his high school career. Win, the district champion in the 100 backstroke, placed 10th in that event.
Win clocked in with a state qualifying time of 2:02.63 in the 200 IM and 56.13 in the 100 backstroke during dual meets against Shorewood and Mariner, respectively.
“He’s already swimming times pretty close to what he was swimming at the end of the season last year,” said Jackson coach Drew Whorley. “He has a great attitude. He’s very, very supportive of all the kids, who are a bit new to the sport. … He is one of the guys that everybody looks to every time he climbs up on the block. Everyone wants to see him be successful.”
Since his arrival at Jackson, Win has improved every year.
“That’s what he expects of himself,” Whorley said. “He does everything you ask of him.”
Other strong returners are brothers Tim and Jeff Walters. The two have club experience.
“Their versatility and work ethic has certainly been of great assistance,” Whorley said.
Two other key individuals are Brian Collado, a freestyle sprinter, and Will Hanson, a butterflyer.
Hanson, in particular, has been active in encouraging newcomers to join the team. The result is a turnout of close to 50 individuals, about 20 more than usual.
“A lot of that credit goes to Will Hanson,” Whorley said. “He’s done a really good job of talking up the program and getting a lot of people to come try it out for the first time. From that standpoint, it’s one of the best seasons we’ve ever had.”
The flip side is that Whorley is taking it slow with the group. The team’s yardage in the pool is less than what Jackson has done in the past.
“We’re just getting to the point where we can increase the yardage a little bit,” Whorley said.
Many of the newcomers have a cross country background.
“We have a pretty open attitude to new people trying out the program,” Whorley said. “We try and be really supportive.”
As far as the relays, Whorley admits he still has some tinkering to do. He’s hoping to firm up the lineups in the coming weeks.
“We have started slow as far as yardage is concerned and as far as drill work is concerned,” Whorley said. “We’re really taking our time. … Over the course of the next months we’ll get some serious swimming done. With that you can always see some big time drops.”
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