Elwood-John H. Glenn High School junior swimmer Evan Creter recently competed in the 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter individual medley, 200-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly, qualifying for the New York State meet in all of these events. John Glenn’s swimmers compete on a combined team with Harborfields, Huntington and Walt Whitman high schools.

“I’ve been swimming since the ninth grade, and when I started off, I wasn’t that fast, but I’ve been training twice a day, every day for the past three years,” Creter said. “I put in a lot of work and effort, and I dropped five seconds in a lot of my events.”

The factors behind the exceptional improvement in his performance this year seem clear to Creter.

“I think it really comes down to my mindset,” he said. “In the past, I have been very hard on myself with my swimming, and I think that negativity with how I approach my races kind of brought me down a lot. This year, I’ve had a new, more positive approach and it’s been translating in the pool.”

The future looks bright for this student-athlete, as he keeps his goals in mind.

“I want to swim Division I in college,” Creter said. “I’d also like to qualify for the Olympic trials someday.”

“Evan has had a tremendous year,” Athletic Director Dave Shanahan said. “Being an independent swimmer is not easy. Also, his parents have been so supportive and have made a great foundation for Evan to be successful.”

Date Added: 1/11/2024