QUINTIN JAMES
Staff Writer
(Courtesy of Adam Clouthier)
Going into SUNYACs, senior Adam Clouthier knew this was his last chance to leave a mark for Fredonia in SUNYACs. After great times in his first two years, Clouthier finished with times that were rather disappointing by his standards this past year.
Last week, however, he ended his collegiate career with a bang, setting a school and conference record in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke races. He qualified first in the 100 meter with a time of 56.70 seconds, which barely set a record, then followed it up with a time of 56.31. That time was a NCAA Division III B-Cut qualifier.
His record preliminary time bested the late Jack Jakubek of Cortland in 2014, who was a friend of Clouthier and someone whom he strived to learn from. He said that Jakubek owned the 100-meter breaststroke and beating his record was a great feeling.
The next day, Clouthier broke another school and conference record, this time in the 200-meter breaststroke. His time of 2:04.06 bested previous conference record of Potsdam’s Alexander Taylor, who scored a 2:05.48 in 2013. Clouthier beat that record in preliminaries and bested his own school record of 2:09.77, which was set in 2015.
Speaking with Clouthier, he wasn’t focused on breaking the conference record but admits that was the goal for the race.
“That was kind of the overall goal. It wasn’t the main goal, but I got close to the conference record my sophomore year, so I wanted to beat it,” Clouthier said. He added that he did not expect to break the 100-meter record at first.
Clouthier said he didn’t change his routine much in preparation for the race.
“It was pretty much the same routine for me. One thing I changed was warming up closer to my races,” he said. “It helps your body adjust to the race, and my problem before was I wasn’t warmed up enough before races.”
After breaking the record, Clouthier said he was surprised he broke the record in preliminaries.
“I didn’t expect it at all. The 100-meter race was surprising when I saw I was seeded No. 1. I changed my race strategy a bit and stopped overthinking and started relying on my technique,” he said.
After preliminaries, Clouthier said he was nervous but was relaxed and ready to go for the nightcap of the race. He also mentioned that he likes to swim at night, which also helped him swim faster in the 100- and 200-meter race.
After strong times in his first two years at SUNYACs, Clouthier had a down year last year. He admitted that it was a humbling experience for him.
“It was tough. I worried about if I peaked my sophomore year. I told my coaches to be [patient] because I had a few slow starts but the times didn’t reflect the work I put in,” he said.
Clouthier added that he usually does better the closer SUNYACs are, and he knew he would be ready for SUNYACs.
Clouthier plans to continue swimming after college. He wants to stay active, and he wanted to leave his mark at Fredonia. He says he hopes this motivates other swimmers on the team to beat his record in the future.