Raiders Borgolte swims to best
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Philipp Borgolte won’t graduate until next year, but he already has gotten an education in swimming since coming to The Hun School last year from Singapore.
“It was never as competitive as it is here,” Borgolte said. “It’s just not as competitive. The pools are different. The times are ridiculously different. I never saw swimming as something I wanted to go to college for. When I came to Hun, it opened new doors and experiences for me.”
On Tuesday, the Hun junior swam in his second Prep A state championship. A year ago, stepping up to that level was eye-opening.
“I think last year, I was a lot more nervous when I went to states,” he said. “It was a huge new experience. You see all these incredible swimmers. This year, I felt more confident. I had fun.”
Tuesday, Borgolte broke his personal best in the 100 backstroke to finish 15th, swam on the Raiders’ 200 freestyle relay team that finished sixth in a new season best, was 18th in the 100 freestyle and was a part of the 400 free relay that was seventh.
“I think it went great,” Borgolte said. “I personally broke my personal best in the 100 back. I have teammates who broke their bests. We may not have done as well as we wanted overall, but we all broke personal records.”
Connor Bowman was the highest individual Raiders finisher. The senior was fifth in the 200 free and sixth in the 100 back to lead Hun to third place in the Prep A division.
The Hun girls finished 11th Wednesday. Emily Logan was third in the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle. The Raiders were 10th in the 200 free and 400 free relays.
“I always base things on time,” said Hun head coach Mark Kolman. “Not on place, not on the finish. That’s how we have to qualify success. So overall we did have some guys that dropped some great time. What ended up happening was a kid swimming three events dropped time in one, matched their best in another and by the time they got to a relay or third event, they were slower. Our endurance just wasn’t there.”
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Endurance is tough to build for the Raiders, who have a less consistent schedule than other swim teams. Without their own pool, they do not swim during exam periods or their winter break. Yet, Hun has been able to slowly improve its times.
“We come back and we’re not as proficient as we are before the break,” said Borgolte whose family is living in Shanghai now for business. “We do practice hard. We try to get back in motion.
“We’ve taken steps to improve the overall swimmer. Coach started morning practices. I go to them. I think they help a lot. You can be good at stamina, but working out helps a lot.”
The Raiders will go for one more time drop when they compete in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League Championships on Saturday at Peddie. Hun has not swum in the MAPL Championships before.
“It’s a new experience,” Borgolte said. “The team hasn’t done this before. We’re doing it for experience mainly and to try something new. Our coach has high hopes for us. Our coach is just trying to get us to achieve the best we can. The only way we can progress is to compete with people better than us.
“When you go to a meet, you watch other people swim. You see their style. It sort of motivates you to get better. When you swim in your school, you may be the top at something. At states, you may not be the No. 1 anymore. You may be No. 20. It’s a humbling experience. It makes you want to strive to be better.”
Having been to a second state meet and seeing the level of competition has only further motivated Borgolte. He is looking forward to Saturday’s stiff competition and beyond.
“I’m excited for next year,” Borgolte said. “We’re losing some really good swimmers, but we’re getting these good swimmers. We’re losing Connor Bowman, but we’re getting his little sister.”
Kolman is looking for something to build on with Saturday’s meet. He hopes to see improvements from Tuesday’s performances.
“For a lot of our guys, especially the newer ones, it’s pretty intimidating,” Kolman said. “Getting in for warm-up when there’s 30 people in a lane is a battle in itself. For a few of them, they’re really hesitant. Some of them feel a little out of place when they get on the block for those races. It was good exposure for them, a good opportunity to see what’s out there.
“The meet on Saturday, it’ll take what they’re experiencing now and step it up, but decrease the numbers. Instead of their being seven heats of an event, maybe there’s only four or five. I hope that gives them the feeling they deserve or belong at that type of meet.”
Borgolte is an example of a Hun swimmer who looked much more comfortable in his second state meet. He has become a steady contributor for the Raiders in the 100 free, 100 back and the relays. His second Prep A meet produced stronger results than his first time around.
“He did swim in the 200 freestyle relay and did pull a pretty fast relay split, about half-second faster than in the season,” Kolman said. “I think he’s made huge improvements over where he started. He jokes around a lot and has fun, but he also works hard and pushes himself.
“A lot of him pushing himself is his own internal pressure to hang out with the faster people on the team. I think that’s what motivates him. Last year, I think he was a little out of place in his swimming lane. This year, he jumped right back in and has gone with it. He’s shown he deserves to be where he is.”
Borgolte picked up the competitive spirit early. He understands the ultimate motivation, regardless the meet or opponent.
“Swimming is all about beating yourself,” he said, “not your opponent. Every race you try to beat your personal record. It’s one step at a time. This year, I started off with a reasonable time. As we went to our different meets, my time slowly progressed. I’ve been putting in the effort. We get what we put in the effort for.”
Philipp Borgolte has put in plenty of work in two short seasons and been rewarded with a tight-knit group of swim team friends. He also enjoys being a part of the Hun water polo team, a team that he began with as conditioning for swimming, but has gotten so serious about that he will continue to play with an outside club team. The Raiders swim squad is looking forward to what his third season with them brings.
“The fact he does not swim on any club, but is able to be competitive at the level he is, I think there’s more potential there we can tap into,” Kolman said. “Next year, he’ll be a senior and one of the faster returning swimmers. It’ll be his opportunity to step up and take a leadership role.”
And help others at Hun get a swimming education.