Philhower is top sprinter for Raiders
By: Justin Feil
Without it’s own pool, the Hun School swimming team only has one hour of practice per day. It’s not enough for any serious swimmer, let alone a water-sport lover like Andrew Philhower, but you won’t hear him complaining.
"Short practices, I kind of like them," said the Hun sophomore. "But I know we should be getting more."
Philhower gets plenty of extra pool time and higher yardage as a member of the X-Cel club team outside of school. For both teams, the Princeton resident is a strong sprinter, though he’s versatile enough to help the Raiders in any number of events, as long as they’re not real long.
"No matter what I put him in," said Hun head coach Madeline Jones, "I know he’s probably going to win. I can move him around a lot. He’s very versatile. We only have a couple kids who can swim butterfly and breaststroke legally or the IM. He’s mainly a freestyler."
Philhower took his best two events the 50 and 100 free races and was part of two winning relays as Hun tied Blair, 85-85, last week to move to 1-4-1 this season. Philhower, who was joined as a quadruple winner by Nick Vacca and Christina Keeney, excelled despite just coming off flu-like symptoms that cost him a day of school.
"I had it the whole day right before the Blair meet," Philhower said. "And my 100 free was my best time this year. It was not what I expected. It was really just a quick race, but I felt horrible. I got over it and I was really surprised it was my best time. I wasn’t feeling that great during the meet."
Illness, on top of a lack of pool time, remains one of the major reasons the Raiders aren’t sporting a better record. Hun, which has as deep a team as it’s had in the past four seasons, has been missing key swimmers in two of its losses.
"Meets that were really close, I think we could have won," Jones said. "We would have been more competitive, like we were against Blair, if we weren’t sick. When I looked at the schedule, I thought we’d beat George and I think we’d have beaten Ranney."
With front-runners like Philhower, Hun obviously has the talent to excel. And with the addition of another knowledgeable coach who swam in college in Mark Kolman, the Raiders are trying to utilize every minute of practice. But keeping the depth of the team healthy has been the hardest part. The Raiders won all 11 events against Blair, but needed just a bit more depth.
"We can’t really do that much about it," Philhower said of the illnesses. "We just have to make everyone keep themselves warm and dress properly."
Philhower has special motivation to stay healthy for the remainder of the season. He missed the Mercer County Championships last season as a freshman due to illness, and he’d like to be healthy enough to see where he stacks up in the county. Princeton High’s leading sprinter, Jesse Applegate, is an X-Cel teammate. If Applegate is to defend his sprint titles at the MCC, Philhower is one swimmer he’d have to beat.
"I was trying to get below a 23 and possibly lower," Philhower said of his 50-free goals. "While I haven’t fulfilled that yet, that’s a big goal. I have a 52 in the 100 and I’m trying to get under 50.
"I haven’t really improved at all this year," he added. "I’ve dropped just a little time. But most of the time I haven’t dropped in high school."
As he matures and puts more and more time into swimming, those lower times will come. So far, his times have been fast enough to secure Hun numerous first-place points.
"For him to be a sophomore and doing the times he’s doing, he’s right on target to go to junior nationals and for getting a scholarship to a good swimming school," Jones said. "He can’t stay at these times for another year though. He has to take a second off every year. He’ll get bigger as he gets older."
Philhower won’t necessarily find his best times at Hun, though swimming with the Raiders remains a fun and important part of Philhower’s athletic life. It was in swimming the butterfly for Hun that he discovered an enjoyment with that event. Now, in addition to swimming the fly leg of the 200 medley relay for the Raiders, he dabbles with the fly events for X-Cel as well.
Philhower has other interests besides swimming, though he’s never far from water.
"I also so water polo with a Lawrenceville team," he said. "And I do crew for Hun during the spring. In the spring, I have crew, water polo and outside swimming. That’s all the sports I’ve really done. I did soccer and baseball when I was really little.
"I like water polo best. It’s more of a contact sport. Water polo is all sprinting too. Personally, I think it’s a lot more fun. Swimming really helps though."
Growing up in Texas, Philhower quickly gravitated to swimming. And within swimming, he’s always been a sprinter.
"I’ve never had that much endurance," Philhower noted. "I can do a 200, but it’s nothing amazing. I’ll do a whole bunch of events, but they’re shorter."
Following a break in Hun’s swimming schedule due to exams, Philhower and the Raiders look to close out the season on a high note. The Raiders face Rutgers Prep and Ranney on Tuesday before ending their dual meet season by hosting Wardlaw-Hartridge, whom they defeated earlier this season, Thursday. After that, they’ll prepare for the Prep A state meet and counties one hour at a time.
"It’s a lot of fun," Philhower said. "Miss Jones and Mr. Kolman are good coaches and it’s a good environment. We don’t have a lot of time. It’s surprising for the amount of time we get in the pool, we’ve definitely improved. And we always have so much fun no matter where we go or what we do."