Men's swimming led by All-Americans

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The swimmer’s life is rife with practice. And if practice makes perfect, then seniors Alex Grissom and Blake Lehmann may very well be close to that mark. They basically live in the pool, and their resumes can prove it. 

They are three-time All Americans, having made it to the national tournament since they arrived as first-years in the fall of 2012. Now, in the midst of their final season, Grissom and Lehmann are team captains. 

They can’t take their minds off the NCAA Division III championship, even though it won’t take place until mid-March, over four months from now. Enduring the long wait has never been a problem for these two, however. 

Tiger origins

Lehmann grew up in Champaign, Illinois and Grissom in Franklin, Indiana, just under two and a half hours apart. Both of them have been swimming since they were five years old.

They both cited their parents when they explained how they developed their work ethic. In their eyes, if you were going to do something, you might as well do it well. 

By the time Lehmann was a sophomore at Champaign Central High School, he was already a huge team asset, having made it to the state tournament his freshman year. After his own freshman year, Grissom decided he would stop playing football and running track to focus on swimming. He came up to his coach with specific goals he wanted to accomplish. 

Neither have looked back since.

Excellence takes time

Performing at a high level, in any sport, takes time and dedication. But for swimming, “time” and “dedication” take on a whole new meaning, especially when two-a-days last all season.

Starting in September and ending in March (for those swimmers who make it to nationals), the season comprises roughly 27 weeks. According to Grissom and Lehmann, 16 hours of any given week are spent practicing.

When you do the math, it’s easy to understand why the program is so successful. In one season, Grissom and Lehmann spend 432 hours of their lives in the pool—only for practice. That adds up to 18 entire days, filled only with swimming. 

Extrapolate these numbers to Grissom and Lehmann’s careers. Assuming they swam for an average of 400 hours per year for every year they swam, Grissom and Lehmann would then have spent 6,800 hours, or just about 283 days, dedicated exclusively to practice. 

Enduring the pain and fatigue

“I think the biggest thing is you have to be willing to give up the time for it,” said Grissom of getting through the long season. “You have to be willing to sacrifice some things other people are doing.”

Lehmann has figured out his own recipe for endurance; he calls it “the three Ps.”

“You’ve got to have patience,” began Lehmann. You’ve got to have some passion for the sport. Finally, you’ve got to have some persistence.” 

Lehmann likened the swimmer lifestyle to a roller coaster, punctuated by highs and lows throughout. 

Both agree that the hardest part of the season is the beginning, a time in which everyone is sore. 

“As you progress through the season,” explained Grissom, “the soreness goes away because your body is used to it, but you’re in a constant state of being tired and exhausted.”

Completing homework and staying focused in class can be difficult, but they have made it this far. The rigorous season can help these students athletes in some ways, mainly because they are required to use their time efficiently by necessity. 

Grissom views the season as a sort of never ending cycle, one filled with pain but justified by the eventual pay-off from a great performance.

“At the end of the season,” he said, “you pop off a great time, and then you’re like ‘All right that was worth it.’”

“It really is the greatest feeling when you go a time that you didn’t think you could go,” added Lehmann. 

Eyes on the prize

As team captains, Grissom and Lehmann have to do more than just lead by example. The season drags on, and team morale can alter week to week.

“Negative energy spreads like wildfire,” Lehmann said.

To combat this negativity, Grissom will do what he can to keep things light, whether by telling jokes or encouraging teammates who might be struggling in one way or another. 

“We’ve had to be a little more vigilant of the team’s mindset,” Grissom said. We realize that you do have to try to keep it fun.”

Meets are usually the best time to have fun. The swimmers can finally compete against someone who they haven’t been practicing with all season. At the end of the day, it all boils down to a raw competition, an all-out race through water. 

To calibrate themselves before meets, Grissom and Lehmann go through various routines. Every night before they leave for a meet, Lehmann will go to Wendy’s and always gets the same thing: a spicy chicken sandwich and a double stack. 

At a meet, he’ll go through a normal warm-up, but the real difference maker for him is the music. 

“My go-tos are usually Montana of 300, Future and Drake,” he said. 

“Right before I go to bed, I lay down and close my eyes and think about all of my races,” said Grissom. “I go through every single race I’m going to swim the next day. I think about every single turn, start--every part of that race.”

Like Lehmann, Grissom has his own musical outlet.

“I listen to the same song right before my 200 freestyle, which is [Nelly’s] ’Airforce Ones.’”

Whatever works for them clearly works for the DePauw swimming program. Grissom and Lehmann are natural leaders, and this is their final go-round as competitive swimmers. 

“In a swim season, every single yard you put it in is for your race at a particular meet,” said Lehmann. “For some people it’s conference, for some people it’s nationals.”

It could be said every yard, every hour and every day Grissom and Lehmann have put it is leading up for the 2016 national championship. Their legacy is almost fully formed, but they’ll have to get to Greensboro, North Carolina first. 

“There’s always some level I want to get to,” Lehmann said. “I love the idea of improving, and so I’m going to do anything I can do to do that.”