Itzkowitz shatters school record at states

Written by Mike Smith

Thursday, 04 March 2010 20:21

Knowing his coach’s plans to erect a record board in the New Rochelle High School pool, Huguenot swimmer Ben Itzkowitz did his best to make sure that when the board went up, his name would be on it.

Competing at last weekend’s state championship meet in Buffalo, Itzkowitz laid his claim to New Rochelle history, earning 4th and 6th place in the 200 and 500 free races respectively, breaking the Huguenot record in both events.

“Before my races, coach [Kip] Fierro was talking about putting up a board in the pool that just got renovated,” said Itzkowitz. “He showed me the records, and I knew what I had to do and swam accordingly.”

Itzkowitz posted a 200 time of 1:41.96 and a 500 time of 4:41.81, shattering the previous high marks which were both set by Blake Preston in 2007.

But Itzkowtiz’s times in the race were also his best of the scholastic season, and helped him to far outweigh the original seedings of 16th (in the 200) and 9th (in the 500) in Buffalo. Coming in, the Huguenot standout—who also swims for the Badger Club—was confident that he would indeed swim faster than his seed indicated.

“The seedings were based on times I put in during the high school season. During the year, for Badger, I usually swim faster because in [high school] dual meets, the aim is just to beat the person next to you, not necessarily to go a fast as you can.”

He also credits the opportunity to properly prepare for his shot at states as a big reason for his success.

“During high school season, you never know, it might be a rough day at school and then you’ve got to swim,” he said. “Even at sectionals, you’re still stressed out from schoolwork and stuff, but at states, I had two days to mentally prepare for these races, and was able to get some sleep. I was feeling pretty good and well rested.”

Now, Itzkowitz is gearing up for his next big meet, although he won’t be racing as a Huguenot. He is headed down to Texas to take part in the Austin Grand Prix, an event that pits some of the best youth swimmers in the world against one another.

“It’s really the culmination of the short course season,” he said. “It’s the meet we get prepared for, we’re all rested and looking to swim fast. It’s a fast pool and some of the fastest swimmers in the world are there and that really helps as motivation.

“It’s exciting,” he added. “And hopefully I’ll go even faster than I did at states.”

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