Grant Shoults weighed a few strategies before his record-setting performances in the CIF-SS Division 1 swimming championships.
The Santa Margarita senior considered picking the 200- or the 500-yard freestyle to race with all-out abandon. His theory was to channel more of his energy into one event to deliver a special result and then to cruise in the other event.
Shoults decided to passionately attack both events.
“It’s senior year, just go for it,” he said to himself. “See what happens.”
What some consider one of the greatest performances in Orange County high school swimming followed.
Shoult broke two national high school records in the CIF-SS Finals in Riverside on May 14, showcasing a unique blend of speed and endurance.
For his season-long efforts, which included a county-leading time in the 100-yard butterfly plus a pair of No. 2-ranked times, he is the Register’s male swimmer of the year for the second consecutive season.
“I’ll make the claim that Grant is the best high school swimmer to have graced the pools in Orange County history,” Santa Margarita co-coach Ron Blanc said.
Shoults, won also swims for the Mission Viejo Nadadores, carved his legacy without shaving or tapering for CIF, keeping his sights on peaking at the U.S. Olympic Trials in late June.
He also trusted his training regimen and coaches in selecting his approach for the Division 1 finals.
“Coach (Bill) Rose (of the Nadadores) said for the 200 free, you’ll have the atmosphere and he was right,” Shoults said.
The crowd at Riverside City College buzzed as Shoults challenged the national record set by Granada’s Maxime Rooney earlier on May 14. He touched in 1 minute, 33.26 seconds, breaking the mark of 1:33.70 by almost half-a-second.
Shoults returned to attack mode in the 500 freestyle. He went out fast, again excited the crowd and stopped the clock in a national record of 4 minutes, 12.87 seconds.
The Stanford signee smashed the record by a full second. The time would have placed Shoults fifth at the NCAA men’s final.
“(Rose) believed in me, and he said basically I have done work to perform the way I wanted to,” Shoults said.
“I was just going to go for the 500 and just for the team points in the (200), but I kind of changed my mentality for that race.”
Shoults said he set his finals strategy before Rooney, his friend and U.S. teammate at the FINA World junior championships last summer, first broke the record in the 200 free.
“I’m not going change a race plan the day of,” he said. “It’s all mental. It’s a pretty tough double. To do a 4:12 after that 1:33, I can’t ask for much more.”
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
