Childs, Fremd aiming high

Exactly what will Sam Childs do for an encore?

No one knows yet, of course, but at Fremd, they sure like to think about it.

Last year, as a junior, Childs saved his best for last. Far from a sure thing to even qualify for the state meet, he put everything into his sectional effort to ensure he'd at least advance.

And that he did - with ease, thanks to some stunning time drops. Childs, fully rested and head shaved, made it in both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle as well as two relays.

Typically, swimmers who peak at the qualifying meet aren't able to carry that level of excellence through to the state weekend.

But Sam Childs is anything but typical. And, atypically, he went nearly as fast at the state meet as at sectional. Childs finished 12th in both the 100 free and 200 free, turning heads - including his own - in the process.

Sam, did you go faster than you expected?

"Far, far faster," Childs said.

No one appreciated it more than his coach, Nicole LaBeau, who has a special appreciation for what Childs has done. She was his primary coach as an assistant when Childs was a freshman, and she's had a front-row seat for every yard of his development.

"If he's behind at the end of a race," said LaBeau, "he'll just put his head down (and not breathe) for the last five strokes if he has to. That's just the type of swimmer he is."

A co-captain with Mike Freeman this season, Childs perfectly fits with the attitude LaBeau is trying to foster.

"One of the big things we try to maintain is 'team first,'" said LaBeau.

And it's clear Fremd is a team to be reckoned with on the state level this year. In addition to Childs, the Vikings have Varun Shivakumar, who qualified for state in two individual races and took ninth in the 100 backstroke last season. They also feature terrific freestyle depth with seniors Sean Carroo and Alex Mikolajewski, juniors Anthony Palcheck and Sean Gonzales and sophomore distance standout Jeff Freund. Add to that accomplished divers Evan Ruggiero and Brandon Trostrud and it's plain to see that this could be a very special season for Fremd.

Though Fremd qualified all three of its relays to the state meet last season, none ended up scoring points. That figures to change drastically this year.

Is this a team that could finish in the top 10? Perhaps even have a shot at a trophy?

"If we put the team first," said LaBeau, "then we'll be a success."

Echoing that stance is Childs. Though he has a chance to erase the team records in both the 100 and 200 freestyles this season, the likelihood is he'll compete on three relays in an effort to win team points at the state meet, leaving him just one individual race. And that's just fine with him.

"If things go the way we think they can," he said, "we'll score lots of points - mondo points."

And that's an encore that would leave the Fremd faithful cheering.