Haverford High Senior Looking To Close Summer Strong

had been ripping through this summer at an easy pace—to this point. That will change Monday, when the rising senior steps on a plane to go to Senior Nationals at Stanford University, which will begin on Tuesday. Ryan’s competition level will increase drastically the remainder of the summer.

At nationals, Ryan will compete in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 100-meter backstroke, 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter backstroke. If the 17-year-old Ryan finishes in the top two in any of those events among the 18-and-under aged competitors, he gets to compete in the Junior World Championships in Lima, Peru from Aug. 16-22.

In the meantime, Ryan is enjoying a successful summer, going undefeated in the Delco Swim League, breaking pool and meet records. He’s also entertaining college offers, one from Penn State and one from Tennessee. Virginia, Georgia, Cal-Berkley, Auburn and Louisville have also shown considerable interest in Ryan.

“I’m just trying to swim my best at Senior Nationals and trying to get on the junior world team,” Ryan said. “I feel pretty good, and I know it’s going to be tough. Everyone is so close, you just never know. I will be going up against the best again, and that makes it exciting. Last year, I went to Junior Nationals, which was basically swimming against guys my own age. At Senior Nationals, we’re talking about the best in the world, like Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.”

Ryan says he’s more excited about the chance than intimidated. He figures going up against the best of the best will bring out his best.

“I go into big meets like this for (speed) times, that’s what it’s about,” Ryan said. “Everything has gone well this summer. I’ve been practicing every day, waking up at 5:30 each morning and swimming for two hours. But the training is different, getting in and doing 7,000 to 8,000 meters each practice. I probably won’t feel in great shape until Monday or Tuesday, for nationals.”

At last summer’s Junior Nationals, Ryan finished fourth in the country in the 100 backstroke (56.46 seconds) and made the junior youth national team. Ryan is noted for the backstroke, an event that he won the PIAA Class AAA state championship as a sophomore.

What is different for Ryan this summer is the college attention. Major schools have contacted him before, but now college interest has increased.

“It’s a whole new experience, I’m soaking everything in and concentrating on which schools are among the top 10 and top five, and I’m planning the official college trips sometime this fall,” Ryan said. “I’m shooting for a program that has swimmers better than me, this way it keeps me hungry and I can go after them. It’s motivating, because I’ll push myself more. I can improve myself by being around better athletes, and with me pushing them, that makes them better. It’s about a team aspect.”

Ryan is aiming to make his college choice sometime during his high school swim season.

“I like the attention, anyone would,” Ryan said. “It’s nice to know that the hard work is paying off and these college coaches think I’m a good swimmer. I still feel I need a lot of work to do, but waking at 5:30 every morning, it sets you up for later in life. There will be a time in my life where I wake up at 5:30 in the morning to go to work.”