Wes Matson was anxious during his first ever swim meet 12 years ago. Perhaps too anxious.

Before the race could begin, Matson fell off his starting block and into the pool. However, he was undeterred by his false start. He calmly pulled himself out of the water and took his position back on the starting block. Seconds later the race began and he propelled himself to a strong performance. He might not have finished first in this instance, but the race showed he is not one to be easily discouraged.

Perseverance has played a significant role for Matson, now a junior on the Syracuse swimming team his whole career. As a freshman at SU, he had to walk-on to the team. He quickly recognized the difference in intensity between the high school and college levels.

Matson was a strong swimmer at Wichita High School Southeast and helped his team win the 2003 Kansas high school state championship. Yet, his freshman year ended in disappointment as Matson failed to achieve any qualifying times for the Big East championships.

This result might seem discouraging, but Matson just worked harder. By his sophomore year, his resolve had paid off. He not only reached qualifying times for the Big East Championships, but in his best event – the 200-freestyle – Matson finished fifth overall.

‘Right now he is one of the top swimmers on the team,’ teammate Luk Boral said.

Matson has been swimming since he was 9 years old. He had always watched the sport because his family attended his sister’s swim meets and one day Matson decided to try it for himself.

‘If I had to go to swim meets I wanted to compete,’ Matson said. ‘I got tired of just sitting in the stands and watching.’

By setting personal goals and matching them, Matson quickly became a star swimmer on his high school swim team.

‘Wes leads by example,’ Syracuse swimming head coach Lou Walker said. ‘He’s a quiet guy. Wes is not somebody who is going to stand before the team and give a speech before a meet, but you can always count on him to be at every practice and for him to work his hardest.’

Sometimes swimming is a part of the fun. Matson cites a winter break trip to Puerto Rico this past winter as one of his favorite swim team memories. He enjoyed occasional swims in the country’s sunny beaches instead of being confined to indoor pools at Syracuse. Additionally, he only has time to go home for just one week during winter break. So, the trip to Puerto Rico became his vacation.

Matson will be competing in three individual events and possibly a relay in the upcoming Big East swimming championship that started on Wednesday and continues until Saturday. Matson hopes to improve on his 200-freestyle finish from a year ago and finish in the top three.

‘He’s not only a great teammate and a great friend, but he’s also a hard worker,’ Boral said. ‘So, he’ll always challenge you … and he’s a(n engineering) physics major, which is something I could never do.’

Published on February 15, 2006 at 12:00 pm