By Michelle Gardner
Staff Writer
It wasnt a moment in the pool but one out of it that showed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps swimming coach Charlie Griffiths what freshman Nick Ostreim was made of.
Ostreim, 19, had just finished his best individual event at the SCIAC championships and hadnt even had time to catch his breath when Griffiths asked him to swim the anchor leg in the 800 free relay which was coming up next.
Ostreim said he was ready to go.
Thats a lot to ask, Griffiths said. Most guys would have tried to talk their way out of it or tell me to think about using someone else, especially on the anchor leg where theres more pressure. He didnt hesitate.
Minutes later Ostreim was back in the pool, swimming that anchor leg and touching out a Redlands swimmer for first place in one of the more dramatic events of the meet. The win helped the Stags to a team title that ended the Bulldogs seven-year run.
Im really competitive. I hate to lose, Ostreim said. With swimming you really have to have that inner drive and personal motivation to keep you going.
Griffiths thinks his standout also will be prepared when the stakes are higher this week. Ostreim will compete in the Division III national meet which starts Thursday at the University of Miami (Ohio).
He is the areas lone representative and one of only three men from the SCIAC to qualify, the others being senior backstroker Dickson Fai of Occidental and senior fly specialist Manny Sanchez of Whittier.
Ostreim will swim the 200-yard individual medley Thursday, the 100-backstroke Friday and his speciality, the 200-backstroke on Saturday. He is seeded sixth in the 200 with a season-best time of 1:51.81. First place is nearly three seconds faster but second place is within reach.
The meet sets up perfectly for him with two events to get used to the venue and the championship atmosphere before he goes out for his best race.
Griffiths admits the freshman has done better than he expected. He has cut nearly six seconds off his times in the 200-backstroke and the 200-individual medley and a full second off his time in the 100-backstroke – all significant improvements.
What makes those drops more impressive is that Ostreim missed the first two months of the season with mononucleosis. It wasnt until after Christmas that he was able to train.
He worked out the first two weeks and looked very good. He was leading the team through everything, Griffiths said. Then, the next week he didnt look quite the same. Then he missed a few days. When he came back from fall break we sent him to be checked out.
Despite the slow start Ostreim won the 200-backstroke at last months SCIAC meet, placed second in the 100-ackstroke to Fai and was third in the 200 IM. His goals for this weeks meet are more about his time than a placement.
Id like to swim my best times and maybe break the school records, he said. I cant control what someone else does so if I can go my best Ill be happy, very happy.
No matter what happens though, Ostreim has had a strong rookie season. He attended swimming power Brophy Prep in his native Phoenix, Ariz., and chose CMS over Lehigh (Penn.) because the weather is better and it is closer to home.
He first became familiar with the school through current teammate Alex Hill, who came out of Brophy Prep three years earlier.
Ostreim dabbled in other sports growing up including soccer and baseball. Swimming appealed to him because there is both an individual and team aspect to the sport.
It is individual but it is also a team because youre swimming relays and your there to cheer for you teammates, he said. Its the best of both worlds.
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