MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The boys’ state meet didn’t have many Morgantown-area winners. In fact, there was just one: Frankie McCutchan who secured the 500 freestyle state title at 4:41.84.
“It’s always exciting to win and it boosts your morale and sense of confidence,” McCutchan said. “I was, in the 500 free, focused on race strategy, and my goals for my splits and overall goal. When I was swimming, I was making sure I was executing everything I had to do to achieve that.”
The junior also nearly won the 200 free, losing by slim margins – less than a second – to Huntington’s Henry Sheils. Rather than be upset about the loss, he sees Sheils as top-tier competition who pushed him to better himself.
“It’s a good thing to have competition. You’re never going to push yourself if you don’t have anyone to race,” McCutchan said. “It was a significant time drop for me. I feel like Henry helped me achieve that time drop. If I had no one to race it would have been harder to push myself. Having competition is always a great thing, and in my opinion, is a positive part of the sport.”
McCutchan’s time in the 500 free was a personal record, too, something he was notably excited about. As a USA Swimming time, his previous 500 free PR was 4:43, giving him a 2-second drop. For final times, he didn’t need that PR – though the cherry on top of his title – since he defeated runner-up, Buckhannon-Upshur’s Preston Bennett, by nine seconds.
“I got that at a meet right before Christmas, so it’s a good draw for a short period of time,” he said.
Truthfully, this season hasn’t been great for University, but not for their times in the pool. Instead, because of the delayed winter season, many had to step away from swim. McCutchan has been a bright spot, though. In the Hawks’ season debut at Mylan Park, he snapped the school record in the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.88 (it was 1:09, set in the 1998-99 season) and continued to have good times throughout the year.
“It’s a happy thing,” he said of ending the season on a high note. “I’ve been swimming club and practicing since last June, and with COVID shutdowns with the high school, it’s been a long, anti-climatic season. So to get to the end of the season is a very positive thing.”
McCutchan next competes in his club’s state championship meet. He looks to finish strong, and although swim is a year-round sport he’ll never stop thinking of new goals to achieve.
Morgantown’s Preston Householder was the only other local swimmer to finish top 3 in an event, coincidentally the 500 free — third place with a time of 5:13.70.
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