Philabaum awaiting last chance at state title

COSHOCTON - The Coshocton High School swimming pool has always been home to swimmers of all ages.

High school athletes compete there, older swimmers workout there and young swimmers get their swimming careers started there.

Years ago there was a certain 6-year-old red-headed swimmer, who got his start as part of the Rising Tide program.

He would get in the pool and look up at the Coshocton High School record board in awe.

"Wow. Those are so fast," he would tell himself. "I wish I could be that fast."

The thought of making that board seemed like nothing more than a dream at the time.

A decade went by and that 6-year-old red-headed swimmer has grown into a 6-foot-3 Coshocton High School senior known as Bryce Philabaum.

Now when Philabaum looks at that board he sees his name five times. He holds three relay records and two individual records including a record that he broke, again, in this year's East Central Ohio League Championship in his best event: the 100 backstroke.

While, Philabaum may not look at the board in awe anymore, seeing his name on the board isn't something that he thought would ever happen.

"I never thought that was a possibility," he said.

But his career doesn't end with school records. He has also been named the 2016 ECOL male swimmer of the year, he is a two-time state qualifier and the first Redskin swimmer to stand on the podium at the state meet, which he did his junior year placing seventh in the 100 backstroke.

All of those accomplishments have put him in some good company, as coach Julia Shaw said Philabaum is certainly one of the best swimmers to compete for the Redskins.

"If he wasn't he wouldn't have set the records he did," Shaw said. "But, every kid is different. We had Alex Wheeler on the butterfly and (Philabaum) couldn't touch Alex's butterfly. Brian Rogers broke a 40-year record that was up there and that’s the same person he tried to get on the 50 and it just didn’t happen. I won't say he is the best swimmer, but he is definitely one of the best."

Philabaum has made the backstroke and all of his accomplishments look easy.

But it wasn't. In fact, his high school swimming career almost didn't happen at all.

In the fifth grade, Philabaum stopped swimming to play basketball.

After breaking his leg in the seventh grade playing football and feeling the drawbacks his eighth grade year he decided to switch back to swimming as he entered high school.

It was hard getting back into the pool though Philabaum said.

"I had some pretty good friends who swam and they took me under their wing. They showed me what it's like and how you have to practice to be good," Philabaum said. "It was tough, but the transition was pretty good."

His freshman year, he was on the A relays and finished 12th in the backstroke at district.

"I was pretty close to getting on the podium at district freshman year and I remember my friends got on podium. That set a fire in me I wanted to get it going," He said.

He dedicated himself to swimming and had high goals in the process.

So he battled another talented Redskin backstroker — Marc Smith — each day in practice, he never beat him, yet he continued to improve. Then finally at the district meet he beat Smith and in the process qualified for the state meet.

That, his first trip to state, would end up being more a learning experience than anything.

"I was going in there and I wasn’t the biggest kid around," he said. "I just kind of got the feel for it and see what goes on there. I watched the other kids warm up saw what they did."

In his junior year, state was a different experience. He finished seventh at the meet earning him a spot on the podium, which was his goal from the beginning of the year, but he was also part of the 200 medley relay that qualified for state.

"I knew we could get a relay to state, but I knew it wasn’t going to be easy," he said. "I had to swim backstroke at the relay and that’s my best event, so I knew everybody was expecting me to pick it up and pull ahead."

Again though, state was a learning experience for Philabaum. He saw what he needed to work on to improve.

"I remember there were these kids from Dover that were so quick and they just looked like big kids with a whole bunch of muscle on them," he said. "I really focused on weight training then. I felt like that was where I was lacking at the most."

Expectations rose as he entered this season. Swimmers at each meet knew who he is before he stepped in the pool and it's not because of his red hair. He is one of the most talented swimmers in the district,  but most of the pressure comes from himself. Why?

He hates to lose. And he rarely does, but he can recall all three times he has this year.

"I lost 200 IM to an Orrvile kid, lost to Josh (Bischel) in the 100 back twice," he said.

Dover's Bischel has been Philabaum's main competition throughout his career. He beat him at district two years ago, but Bischel beat him last year at the district meet and at state. But Bischel helps push Philabaum.

"I know that he is going to be at pretty much every meet we have, so you can’t take any days off like that. Can’t take it easy," Philabaum said.

Friday Philabaum will see Bischel again, while he will want to beat him, the main focus is making it to state, because that's where all the hard work he has put in will have to show. Top three at state is within reach, but a state championship is the goal.

"Last year I got seventh and there were four seniors in front of me. There could be some younger kids coming up, never rule that out, but I’m sitting alright right now," he said.

Philabaum has come a long way from the young swimmer who would stare at the school records in awe and even further from the fifth grader who stopped swimming altogether.

Now his run is coming to an end and it's a bittersweet ending for the Coshocton backstroker.

"I’m sure it’s going to get a little more emotional at the end, but as of now I’m ready for it to be over. I need a break," he said with a laugh. "I say that now, but a couple days after swimming I’m going to be wishing I was back in the pool."

But before it's all over he has some unfinished business to take care.

cteaguerob@gannett.com

740-295-3442

Twitter: @cj_teague