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More championships could be just strokes away

By BRYAN BURNS, Times Correspondent
Published September 14, 2007

BY BRYAN BURNS

Times Correspondent

Newsome High School's Jason Taylor just might be the best 200-yard individual medley swimmer in the state.

No wait, make that the 500-yard freestyle. He definitely can't be beat in longer distance races.

Or maybe it's the 100-yard butterfly. Taylor claims that's his best event.

Actually, Taylor can compete in a number of different races and swim them well. Long, short, backstroke, butterfly, Taylor can do a little bit of everything in the pool for Newsome.

"He can sprint in our pool and post a time that makes us happy," Newsome boys swim coach Liz Schwieterman said. "And he can swim long distances in our pool and make us extremely happy."

It seems Schwieterman might have a tough time figuring out which events are the best fit for Taylor. In the postseason, swimmers are only allowed to race in two individual and two relay events.

So is Schwieterman sometimes tempted to enter Taylor in every race? Not really.

"It's actually kind of easy because we can put him in any event and he'll do well," she said. "There isn't anything he can't swim."

Taylor, Schwieterman says, is by far her most well-rounded swimmer ever. He's the defending regional champion in the 200-yard individual medley and the 500-yard freestyle and finished second and fourth, respectively, in those events at last year's state championship.

Only a junior, Taylor says winning a state championship is one of his goals this season.

Which event he'll win is anybody's guess.

"I don't even really know what I'm going to swim this year," he said. "I might not even do the 200 IM. I'm still kind of deciding. It'll come down to which event I have a better chance of winning. I'm really considering doing the 100 butterfly this year because I think I have a good chance of winning that."

At the City Relays on Sept. 8, Taylor swam on the gold medal-winning 400 IM, 4x100 IM and crescendo relay teams. He led Newsome to a first-place finish, knocking off eight-time defending champion Jesuit in the process. After finishing second to Jesuit last season, the victory was the first for Newsome at the prestigious county event. Newsome's girls team also won its first-ever City Relay championship last week.

"We felt like this year we have a really strong team," Taylor said. "We knew it was our best chance to win."

The victory, which girls swim coach Joanne Grogan said was the best of her and Schwieterman's coaching careers, should give the teams confidence for the rest of the regular season and beyond.

Both coaches feel like their teams could win a regional championship and maybe even a state title.

Taylor, meanwhile, could win championships in four different events, but the talented swimmer isn't getting ahead ofhimself.

"Multiple state championships would be nice," he said. "But if I could just get one, that wouldbe good."

. FAST FACTS

Jason Taylor

District championships: 200 medley relay (twice), 200 IM, 200 free, 500 free (twice), 400 free relay

Regional championships: 200 IM, 500 free

Club team: Blue Wave club team at Brandon Sports and Aquatic Center

Practice habits: Trains year-round with the Brandon-based Blue Wave Swim Team, usually 10 times a week for two hours a session. He also practices with Newsome the day before a meet.

Favorite event: 100 butterfly

Things to know:

At age 14, Taylor won the 1,500 freestyle at the junior Olympics in Gainesville against the state's top competition.

He enjoys watching sports as much as playing them, especially college football and basketball. He also watches swimming, but it's not as easy. "There aren't big meets every week. There's maybe two or three a year on television, so it's harder to follow."

[Last modified September 13, 2007, 16:37:49]