A Stroke of Luck
February 22, 2006 04:34 PM | General
February 22, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University senior Chris Hagedorn admits he wanted to go out with a bang at this year’s Big East swimming championships at East Hampton, N.Y. But being named the conference’s swimmer of the year exceeded even his wildest expectations.
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| West Virginia's Chris Hagedorn celebrates his Big East title in the 50 freestyle. The senior was named Big East swimmer of the year.
Steve Smith photo |
“I was hoping to do well but I didn’t think it would be to this degree,” he said.
Hagedorn took part in six Big East titles, winning the 50 and 100-meter freestyle races, as well being involved in four winning relays. He helped West Virginia to a third-place finish at the meet – the school’s best-ever placing.
Hagedorn, a Clarksburg resident, has finally found the success that was predicted of him when he was the YMCA 50-meter freestyle national champion as a senior at Robert C. Byrd High School. That performance earned him a scholarship to swim at NCAA power Auburn where he lettered as a freshman.
Though growing up less than an hour from campus, Hagedorn said no one from West Virginia ever contacted him.
“I don’t think the recruiting process they had here at the time was that good under the coach they had,” Hagedorn said.
Family considerations and a philosophical difference in training led Hagedorn to find a school closer to home. This time West Virginia was interested and Hagedorn chose to leave the defending national champions to start anew at WVU.
“The program wasn’t clicking with me,” Hagedorn said of his year spent at Auburn. “I didn’t see myself reaching my potential there.”
Hagedorn wasn’t sure he was going to reach his potential at West Virginia University either, but at least he had friends in Morgantown and he was a lot closer to his mother Judy.
“Yeah it was a big risk,” admitted Hagedorn, who chose to leave the best program in the country to swim for a West Virginia team that was near the bottom of the Big East pack.
But serendipity came in the form of Coach Sergio Lopez, who proved to be just what Hagedorn needed.
“When I left Auburn I just wasn’t there mentally. And then when Sergio came (during his junior year at WVU) he just turned the whole program around,” Hagedorn said. “He got everybody thinking and doing what we had to do to get (better).”
Hagedorn says there were no major changes to his swimming stroke, just a lot of positive reinforcement.
“When you get to the collegiate level your body can only go so far,” Hagedorn said. “What Sergio did for this program is he got everybody believing in themselves. He got everybody mentally ready to compete.”
Hagedorn, open to just about anything, thrived in the environment Lopez created and by his junior year in 2005 he finally exceeded the times he posted in high school. A year later, he is now considered one of the best sprinters in the country.
“I didn’t get faster until Sergio’s first year when I went 20.2,” Hagedorn said. “Before that my best time here was 20.5.”
His top time of 19.57 posted during the 50-meter freestyle preliminaries of the Big East championships last weekend is the fourth fastest clocking this season. Hagedorn became the first male swimmer at WVU in more than 20 years to earn an NCAA “A” cut time, meaning he exceeded the automatic qualifying standard. There are only nine swimmers automatically qualified for the 50 freestyle at this point.
“As a coach I am very thankful to Chris for believing in what we tried to teach him and most important, for not taking his talent for granted,” said Lopez. “He has had an interesting road to the top but most important is that he has developed into an amazing leader and team player.
“By embracing his talent and sharing it with all of us, he has made this team better and established himself as one of the top sprinters in the country,” said Lopez.
Hagedorn has also earned NCAA ‘B’ cuts in the 100 free and the 100 butterfly, as well as helping three relays earn NCAA ‘B’-cut standards. Even though the 200 free relay doesn’t have an automatic time, it is almost a lock to qualify since its 1:18.87 clocking at the Big East championships is the third fastest time in the country.
Hagedorn believes with a fast pool and a good start he could possibly reach 19.3 at nationals. That would put him in contention for a national title.
“The biggest thing is for me to be there mentally and then do what the coaches have taught me,” Hagedorn said.
One area of particular concentration has been his turns. In the past he would do a regular flip turn and then push off and do a flutter kick. Lopez has worked to improve his push off, and suggested he try a butterfly kick instead.
“It’s a more powerful kick coming off the turn and I think it has helped,” Hagedorn said.
Because he is probably going to be competing in multiple events at nationals, Hagedorn must remain focused and get plenty of rest. “They make the format so there is pretty much one sprint event each day,” he said.
Hagedorn admits it will be nice having some teammates there competing with him as well.
“I’m excited and everybody is excited,” he said. “It says a lot for what Sergio has done and what he’s going to do. We have a lot of new recruiting options; we’ve got a lot of awesome recruits coming in next year.”
Because he has played a significant role in the program’s turnaround, Hagedorn will always have a special feeling for what Mountaineer swimming has accomplished and what it will accomplish in the future.
“I’m truly proud to go to a meet and bear my colors,” he said. “At the Big East after last year and the performance this year, people know that West Virginia is going to be right up there, if not winning it, in the next three-four years.”
As for Hagedorn, he’s still got some unfinished business left to attend to on March 23 when the NCAA championships commence at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta.
