Moyar Locked In for Memorial Day Olympic Trial Qualifying Meet
5/25/2016 3:17:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Memorial Day Meet Information | Live Results
Part II of our summer series featuring the Lehigh swimming and diving program and the lead up to the Olympic Trials
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – One late afternoon in mid-May, the Lehigh University campus is quiet. Classes have finished for the spring semester and final exams are winding down. The normally bustling Taylor Gym is quiet and all but deserted, except for the activity going on inside Jacobs Pool. It is there that Jacob Moyar is wrapping up his final workout before heading home to Centreville, Virginia for a few days before returning to Lehigh to finish up training on his own for one last crack at qualifying for next month's U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
With two previous OT qualifying meets in recent months behind him, Moyar is confident that the third time will be the charm. He will compete this weekend in both the 200 meter butterfly and 400m individual medley at the Berkley Aquatic Club's Memorial Day Meet in Piscataway, N.J.
"I believe that if I didn't have recent experience swimming this race, I'd have a very slim chance of getting the time standard," Moyar said. "Every time I have failed to reach my goal time, it has helped me hone my race strategy to one that best suits this style of swimming. Any swimmer can tell you that racing at a meet feels very different from anything done in practice. Being used to this feeling and being able to use it to my advantage will be key to my race this coming weekend."
His previous experiences have been quite extensive. He has made the 'C' consolation final in the 200 meter butterfly each of the past two years at the AT&T U.S. Winter National Championships. At this year's nationals, he finished 17th overall in prelims with a time of 2:02.86, which was short of the 2:01.99 time needed to qualify for the Olympic Trials, but was good enough to qualify him for the 'C' final late that evening. In the consolation final, Moyar bested his time from earlier in the day, touching the wall in fifth place in 2:02.57. The competition was certainly fierce too. Â Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympic swimmer in history and current world record holder in the event, was crowned the 200m fly national champion after taking top spot in the 'A' final.
Moyar later got the opportunity to qualify at a time trial event at the U.S. Naval Academy following this year's Patriot League Championships. Despite falling short of the OT qualifying mark once again, the experience of getting to swim the event in a long course meters (LCM) pool was another solid step toward hitting the 2:01.99 target.
"In my opinion, the stroke that is the hardest to transition to LCM is the butterfly because it's so dependent on underwater kick off of the walls," Moyar said. "When switching from SCY (short course yards) to LCM, your opportunities to do that underwater kick are literally cut in half, but the distance of the race remains about the same. It's difficult to practice this lack of 'wall opportunities' when training in a pool that has them. Thankfully (Lehigh head coach Rob Herb) has been able to help me work around this by doing resistance training, using equipment that slows me down to simulate a similar amount of time swimming per lap without a wall opportunity."
The past experiences have also allowed for a number of other changes to be made to his training program.
"My routine has changed drastically," Moyar explained. "Rob has really pushed me to my limits in the last couple of months, pushing me way beyond my comfort zone with difficult sets and intervals. Whether I succeed or fail, this training has given me confidence in my swimming abilities that I have never had before."
His confidence and drive to compete at such a high level is something not lost on his head coach.
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"The main change comes from Jacob's confidence," Herb said. "He's been training for the last several months and at a level that's higher than even our normal seasonal expectations. He's handling this extra work by training faster.
Â
"Jacob has always been a strong competitor and tough trainer," Herb added. "He approaches his races with strategy and mindfulness. This past winter, he scored in the Top 25 at U.S. Nationals...that experience has given him the confidence to know that he can do the race. This spring he's coupled that with some of the most intense training he's ever done. His confidence is at the highest level possible going into this meet -- so is mine. I think that he's prepared to make the cut and, quite frankly, I think he's prepared for more than that."
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The Berkley Aquatic Club's Memorial Day Meet will take place this Saturday-Sunday, May 28-29 at the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center on the Busch Campus of Rutgers University. Moyar will not be the only Patriot League representative, as Lafayette's Greg Grewal will also be competing. Meet information and live results are available.
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Moyar will be looking to join three of his teammates - Jamal Willis, Justin White and Kaitlyn Ruffing - who have already qualified for the Olympic Trials. Collectively, the trio are the first OT qualifiers from Lehigh in at least the past 40 years. The Olympic Trials will take place from June 6 - July 3 at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
Check back to Lehighsports.com on Sunday for a complete recap of Moyar's performance at this weekend's meet.
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Part II of our summer series featuring the Lehigh swimming and diving program and the lead up to the Olympic Trials
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – One late afternoon in mid-May, the Lehigh University campus is quiet. Classes have finished for the spring semester and final exams are winding down. The normally bustling Taylor Gym is quiet and all but deserted, except for the activity going on inside Jacobs Pool. It is there that Jacob Moyar is wrapping up his final workout before heading home to Centreville, Virginia for a few days before returning to Lehigh to finish up training on his own for one last crack at qualifying for next month's U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
With two previous OT qualifying meets in recent months behind him, Moyar is confident that the third time will be the charm. He will compete this weekend in both the 200 meter butterfly and 400m individual medley at the Berkley Aquatic Club's Memorial Day Meet in Piscataway, N.J.
"I believe that if I didn't have recent experience swimming this race, I'd have a very slim chance of getting the time standard," Moyar said. "Every time I have failed to reach my goal time, it has helped me hone my race strategy to one that best suits this style of swimming. Any swimmer can tell you that racing at a meet feels very different from anything done in practice. Being used to this feeling and being able to use it to my advantage will be key to my race this coming weekend."
His previous experiences have been quite extensive. He has made the 'C' consolation final in the 200 meter butterfly each of the past two years at the AT&T U.S. Winter National Championships. At this year's nationals, he finished 17th overall in prelims with a time of 2:02.86, which was short of the 2:01.99 time needed to qualify for the Olympic Trials, but was good enough to qualify him for the 'C' final late that evening. In the consolation final, Moyar bested his time from earlier in the day, touching the wall in fifth place in 2:02.57. The competition was certainly fierce too. Â Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympic swimmer in history and current world record holder in the event, was crowned the 200m fly national champion after taking top spot in the 'A' final.
Moyar later got the opportunity to qualify at a time trial event at the U.S. Naval Academy following this year's Patriot League Championships. Despite falling short of the OT qualifying mark once again, the experience of getting to swim the event in a long course meters (LCM) pool was another solid step toward hitting the 2:01.99 target.
"In my opinion, the stroke that is the hardest to transition to LCM is the butterfly because it's so dependent on underwater kick off of the walls," Moyar said. "When switching from SCY (short course yards) to LCM, your opportunities to do that underwater kick are literally cut in half, but the distance of the race remains about the same. It's difficult to practice this lack of 'wall opportunities' when training in a pool that has them. Thankfully (Lehigh head coach Rob Herb) has been able to help me work around this by doing resistance training, using equipment that slows me down to simulate a similar amount of time swimming per lap without a wall opportunity."
The past experiences have also allowed for a number of other changes to be made to his training program.
"My routine has changed drastically," Moyar explained. "Rob has really pushed me to my limits in the last couple of months, pushing me way beyond my comfort zone with difficult sets and intervals. Whether I succeed or fail, this training has given me confidence in my swimming abilities that I have never had before."
His confidence and drive to compete at such a high level is something not lost on his head coach.
Â
"The main change comes from Jacob's confidence," Herb said. "He's been training for the last several months and at a level that's higher than even our normal seasonal expectations. He's handling this extra work by training faster.
Â
"Jacob has always been a strong competitor and tough trainer," Herb added. "He approaches his races with strategy and mindfulness. This past winter, he scored in the Top 25 at U.S. Nationals...that experience has given him the confidence to know that he can do the race. This spring he's coupled that with some of the most intense training he's ever done. His confidence is at the highest level possible going into this meet -- so is mine. I think that he's prepared to make the cut and, quite frankly, I think he's prepared for more than that."
Â
The Berkley Aquatic Club's Memorial Day Meet will take place this Saturday-Sunday, May 28-29 at the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center on the Busch Campus of Rutgers University. Moyar will not be the only Patriot League representative, as Lafayette's Greg Grewal will also be competing. Meet information and live results are available.
Â
Moyar will be looking to join three of his teammates - Jamal Willis, Justin White and Kaitlyn Ruffing - who have already qualified for the Olympic Trials. Collectively, the trio are the first OT qualifiers from Lehigh in at least the past 40 years. The Olympic Trials will take place from June 6 - July 3 at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
Check back to Lehighsports.com on Sunday for a complete recap of Moyar's performance at this weekend's meet.
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Players Mentioned
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