Maryland-bound Mears Finishes # 1 In State
Potomac Falls senior Andy Mears has been making waves since he began swimming competitively at the age of six. Since then, he has continued to improve each year, claiming the Group AA state championship in the 100 freestyle last year, and this year landing a scholarship at the University of Maryland, which has one of the top swim and dive programs in the country.
Mears chose Maryland from a number of other schools who heavily recruited him since the beginning of his junior year. Among them were Kentucky, Ohio State, Duke, Georgia Tech and Tennessee. Mears also took official visits to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington as well as Virginia Tech.
"I chose Maryland because it has the best combination of education and athletics and also because I like the campus and the coaches," said Mears, who will swim under head coach Dave Durden at College Park. "The coaches are really good, most were Olympic swimmers. [Durden] came from Auburn and is one of the best freestyle coaches in the country."
The transition from high school to college will not be an easy one, Mears said. "[Swimming at the college level] will be more competitive and intense and more of a team sport and team atmosphere," he said. "And we'll have a meet every weekend."
Work ethic, however, shouldn't be a problem. Mears wakes up early two to three times a week to attend Velocity Sorts training before school. Every day after school, he swims for his club team, Curl Burke Swim Club under coach John Flanagan. After he returns home from Curl Burke, Mears prepares to swim for Potomac Falls about three times a week, equaling about 25 hours a week in the pool.
"Andy's dedication and focus in swimming - waking up every morning - are the reasons he's done so well and is as far as he is," says Potomac Falls coach Holly Ward.
Mears has set difficult but attainable goals for himself in his final prep season. "I would like to get two more state titles and drop off time so I can become competitive in the ACC as a freshman," he said.
"I would like to see Andy end his high school career in his individual events in states because I know that would mean a great deal to him," Ward said. "He gives a lot of the swimmers someone on the team to look up to."
"He is a role model to everyone on the team. He's not only really talented, but he's dedicated and has the respect of all of his team mates."
Mears said he looks to his mother, Lisa, and father, Gary, as well as his two younger siblings Willie and Kayti, for support. "My mom is the one who signed me up for swimming lessons when I was six," he said. "I didn't really like it until I was 12 or 13, but I'm glad she made me stick with it."
For the longest time [my mother or father] would wake up at 4 a.m. to drive me before I could drive. And my siblings come to my meets and support me."
Added Mears' brother Willie, a junior at the school: "I don't even see Andy when he goes to swim because he's already left and swam for three hours before I've woken up.
"He works so hard at it and has such a desire to get in the water."
Update:
Mears won the 200 meter freestyle state championship this past month and was named Gameday's Verizon Athlete of the Month. Congratulations to Andy on a great high school career!
