Albright College Athletics

Hello swim fans, and welcome to "Keeping Up With Chris" here on AlbrightAthletics.com. This unique column will give fans the opportunity to find out what junior swimmer Chris Sheerer; will be doing as he prepares to compete at the NCAA Division III National Swim Meet in Minnesota. Every day Chris will be updating his column to give you the fan a more indepth look at what will be going on all next week.

Also making special appearances next week will be Head Swim Coach John Stuhltrager and Assistant Swim Coach Cindy Barner.  They will also add their thoughts and ideas as they help Chris prepare for biggest meet of his life. Cindy will also be playing photographer, and will be sending us countless photos to show us what is going on both in and out of the water.

For people that may not know, Chris became the first male in the history of the men's swim program to qualify for the national meet last week. At this year's Middle Atlantic Conference Championship meet, Chris earned a program first four NCAA "B" cuts. A multiple record holder at Albright, Chris was also named the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship meet David B. Eavenson Award recipient for the second consecutive year. The David B. Eavenson Award is given to the MVP of the conference championship meet. 

SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2010

It is nice to say that my season is officially over! Going to NCAA’s this year gave me a lot of insight into what swimming on the highest level is all about. John and I are optimistic about what holds in store for next year, especially with our strong recruiting class that we will be joining us in the fall.

This meet was definitely a learning experience for me. I am confident that next year will be an even better year for me, especially knowing that I can improve in all my races that I swam this past weekend. This spring will be crucial for me in terms of strength training and endurance. I realize that my race fundamentals can get a lot better, particularly my turns and underwater breakouts.

Getting back to PA this afternoon was quite a relief after being out in Minnesota for almost a week. The weather out there was starting to get quite chilly, so it was nice to arrive in Philadelphia with temperatures in the 70’s!

Besides the weight training that I will be doing this spring, I am excited to start biking and running and getting ready for a triathlon that I will be doing at the end of May. John has been throwing around some trash talk about how he is going to beat some of us swimmers that are entered, but we’ll see about that!

Thank you to everyone who has followed me this week and has wished me luck at this competition. All of your comments are greatly appreciated. Hopefully next year we can get more Albright swimmers to NCAA’s!

Cheers,
Chris

FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2010

Today I swam the 100 backstroke and placed 26th overall. I was somewhat disappointed with the outcome, but I am still honored to be here and compete with the nation’s best. Tomorrow I still have the 200 backstroke, and I would like to go out with a good swim before I leave on Sunday.

This afternoon I took a nice long nap and watched several of the opening rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament. I also got to talk to several of my friends back home. This evening we went over to the aquatic center to watch finals, and we witnessed more national records go down.

For dinner tonight we headed to a place on campus known as Dinkytown, which is about a mile north of the aquatic center. We ate at a restaurant called Loring Pasta Company, and the food was delicious! It is an old building that is decorated inside with a Minnesota-like interior.

The weather has been pretty nice here, although today it was a lot colder. John of course wore shorts the whole day, even as we walked to dinner this evening. I hope everyone is doing well back home. I can’t wait to see everyone when I get back, especially Leecy! Lauren Onusko, I have several stories to tell you that you will appreciate. Allie Fies….ooooooooooohhhhh!!! That’s all I have to say. And Zach, get ready to start biking and running when I get back….we need to beat coach John at the triathlon this spring! Shout-out to all the other Albright swimmers….I miss you guys!!! See everyone soon!

Cheers,
Chris


THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010

Today was my day off from competition. I woke up a little after 9, swam a long warm-up over at the aquatic center, and then had lunch at Noodles &Company. For those of you who have never heard of this restaurant, the food is incredible! There are all different types of noodles you can choose from such as Asian style, Mediterranean style, and American style. Each of us tried something different, and we will be definitely heading back there again before we leave.

In the afternoon, my parents and I went to see the Mall of America, which is located a couple miles south of the university. We took the metro train from the Metro Dome and got a nice scenic tour of downtown Minneapolis in the process.

The Mall of America is gigantic! When we walked inside, there was an entire aquarium underneath the building as big as Baltimore’s aquarium. We got some pictures in front of the entrance, and then we headed for the center of the mall. The center of the mall consists of an entire amusement park with a variety of rides ranging from roller coasters, a log flume, a Ferris wheel, to other smaller types of rides. We were amazed with how many rides this place had! The mall consists of four floors, each with hundreds of stores and restaurants on each floor. There were also two IMAX theaters inside the mall.

Tonight for dinner we headed downtown to a local BBQ restaurant called Brasa. John was raging about this place for over a month after he saw it featured on the Food Network. The food there was awesome! It is a local BBQ in which all of the meat products and other food items are all local to the Minnesota region.

We got back to the hotel fairly early tonight, so I took a nice long shower and then watched the NCAA basketball tournament. Tomorrow I will be up early. I have the 100 backstroke tomorrow morning, which is most likely my best event to place in the top 16. I’ll get a good night’s sleep tonight, and I’ll be ready to go! I hope everyone has been enjoying this blog as much as I have been writing it! Take care, and Happy Birthday mom! (It’s my mother Linda’s birthday today?)

Cheers,
Chris


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010

Today I swam the 200 IM and placed 32nd overall. This year’s field was extremely fast as it took a 1:52 to place in the top 16. I was overall happy with my swim. Although I did not go a best time, I felt really good in the water and felt that swimming this event today was a good tune up for my 100 back on Friday.

It was pretty humbling to compete with the fastest swimmers in the country. I got to witness two national records go down today. A guy swimmer from Kenyon College went a 19.75 in the 50 free to set the NCAA record, and then a girl from Williams College broke the NCAA record in finals this evening, going a 4:45. The atmosphere on deck is really exciting. The fans are loud and the team cheering is nuts!

Tonight after watching finals, John, Cindy, my parents, and a swimmer from Misercordia University and his coach went to dinner together. It was fun having a relaxing evening and catching up on stories with everyone. And I would also like everyone to be aware that John wore jeans tonight! This is a HUGE deal, considering you only ever see John in his famous shorts!

Tomorrow I have a day off from swimming, but I am still going to swim in the morning to stay loose. My parents and I are planning on checking out the Mall of America tomorrow afternoon, and then I’ll probably relax the rest of the day and get ready for my swim on Friday. Thanks to everyone who has been following the meet and wishing me luck. It means a lot to me! Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Cheers,
Chris

TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2010 

We’ve finally arrived in Minnesota today! John and I left for the airport at 4:30 this morning for our 8 A.M. flight out of Philadelphia. Getting through the airport was not bad this morning…the security checkpoint was a little crowded but other than that we had no additional problems. When we boarded the plane, Coach Cindy and I were laughing because we noticed that John was sitting next to this really weird guy who was wearing a long black trench coat with a cowboy hat, was missing teeth and reeked of body odor and smoke! When we got off the plane, John looked like he was going to pass out after having had to sit next to that man for the 3 hour flight! We arrived in Minneapolis a little after 10 A.M. local time, proceeded to claim Cindy’s bag, and then grabbed a cab and headed for downtown Minneapolis.

Minneapolis is an awesome city! The University of Minnesota is in the heart of downtown, and the Mississippi River runs through the campus. We are staying at the Days Hotel, which is about 2 blocks away from the University Aquatic Center. Out of my hotel room you can see the Metro Dome where the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins play, as well as the University Minnesota Medical Center, the place where the artificial heart was invented by Dr. Robert Jarvis, who is chief of cardiothoracic surgery and also appears on the Lipitor commercial.

John, Cindy, and I registered around noon today where we picked up our credentials as well as the array of free goodies complementary of the NCAA! This year’s gifts were a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones with the NCAA logo on it, a cell phone holder, a poster, and an ID keychain holder. After registering, we ate at Applebee’s for lunch, and then we headed over to the aquatic center for practice.

The University Aquatic Center is spectacular to say the least! It by far has to be one of the fastest pools in the entire country! When we walked in, John, Cindy, and my mouths all dropped simultaneously as we stared in awe at the pool! At the end of the pool is a brand new video scoreboard, and the pool is equipped with the Colorado Timing System blocks that record a swimmer’s reaction time on the start. I felt really good warming-up today….I think tomorrow I should have a really fast swim!

This evening John, Cindy, and I attended the NCAA banquet at the Radisson Hotel, which was a welcome dinner for all the participating student athletes. This year’s keynote speaker was an Olympic swimmer who won gold back in the 84 and 88 Olympic Games in the 100 backstroke (I felt a little personal connection with her since my event is backstroke as well). Her speech was really inspiring. She let us with the message that qualifying for the NCAA championships is a major accomplishment and is a stepping stone for going to the next level not only in swimming but in life as well.

Tomorrow morning we will have breakfast at 7:30 A.M., and then we’ll head over to the pool shortly after for warm-ups. Preliminaries begin at 10 A.M. Central Time, and live video and real-time results can be viewed at www.ncaa.com. I will be swimming the 200 individual medley tomorrow (Wednesday). Please stay tuned for my next blog tomorrow night. Let’s go Lions!

Cheers,
Chris

MONDAY, MARCH 15TH

Today is the first of my blogs here on Albright’s website. Thank you to everyone who has wished me luck so far! I appreciate all of your comments! Today I completed my final practice before I leave for Minnesota tomorrow. For the past week and a half, I have been dropping my yardage and getting a lot more rest. 

I have also been focusing on the fundamental components of my races, such as my turns and finishes. And for Tim Pierce, Zach McElheny, and Sean Spellacy, note that I have especially been critiquing the JJ finish and the Alyce butterfly! (inside joke) I feel really good in the water and am confident that I can swim lifetime bests in all my races this weekend. 

Last night I finished packing all my gear; my mother kept nagging me to get all my stuff together, so this one’s for you mom! Tomorrow Coach John and I will be leaving early in the morning for Philadelphia Airport. Our flight is scheduled to leave at 8 A.M., and we will arrive in Minneapolis at 10 A.M. 

If you are following the results of the meet, please note that Minneapolis is one hour behind and is on Central Time. Tonight I am going to finish getting last minute things together, and then I’ll probably just lie around and rest for tomorrow morning. I will be blogging again tomorrow once I arrive in Minnesota. Let’s go Lions!

Cheers,
Chris









Disclaimer:  This column is the personal expressions of the author and do not in any way constitute official Albright College content.