Ryan Glavey
Administrative Executive Editor
The votes are in and sophomore Drew Ledwith is the 2011-2012 Equinox Athlete of the Year. The sophomore swimmer has been a big part of the quickly growing Keene State College Swimming and Diving program.
“It feels great to know that all my hard work is being recognized,” Ledwith said, “Because I’ve been training really hard.”
After placing third in the 1,650 yard freestyle swim at nationals and being named an All-American as a freshman, Ledwith came up big in his second season swimming for the Owls. Ledwith not only improved his mark, placing second in the 1,650 freestyle swim, he also garnered an additional All-American honor with his fifth place finish in the 500-yard freestyle.
[singlepic id=1096 w=320 h=240 float=right]
These were big steps toward Ledwith’s ultimate goal of being a national champion.
“I’m just going to keep working, and try to catch the guy who keeps beating me,” Ledwith said.
Ledwith said he focused on a specific part of his technique this year to improve his performance.
“I worked more on my speed this year,” Ledwith said. “So I can have more early, easy speed in my events and it’s really helped my sprint events.”
“We really meant wanted to improve his speed to improve his 200 and the mile would take care of itself,” KSC Swimming and Diving Head Coach Jack Fabian said.
Fabian said while Ledwith’s finishes were their goal for the year, he was very happy to see him perform up to that level.
“That was our goal, but it was still good to see,” Fabian said. “He’s a student of the sport and learns all the time.”
Fabian said having an athlete of Ledwith’s caliber benefits him as a coach, and the team overall.
“It’s a really good learning experience,” Fabian said. “It makes me a better coach and its makes the whole team better when you have someone who is capable of doing those things.”
Fabian said Ledwith was going to dedicate himself to training even harder next year, and make a few technical adjustments to his swimming technique.
Ledwith now has two years remaining at KSC to make a run for a national championship.
—
In addition, in a close race, senior Courtney Cirillo is this year’s first runner-up. The senior forward capped off her standout career as a member of the KSC women’s basketball team with a top-notch senior season.
Cirillo was the pillar of the Owls’ offense and defense, leading the Owls in both points and rebounds.
Ryan Glavey can be contacted at
rglavey@keene-equinox.com