Q&A with Moses Lake swimming great Nick Jarman

MOSES LAKE — Nick Jarman was considered the best all-around swimmer to ever come out of Moses Lake. He was a finalist in the 200-yard freestyle and 100 breaststroke all four years and was named the Eastern Washington swimmer of the year in 1999.

The 1999 Moses Lake graduate was also the last Chiefs swimmer to qualify for the Junior Nationals-West, which he did as a junior and senior in high school. Jarman, who won 4A state championships on the 200 freestyle relay (1996) and in the 50 freestyle (1999), didn’t swim at the collegiate level, but did coach the Cougars masters swim team while earning a degree in marketing at Washington State University from 1999-2003.

The Columbia Basin Herald caught up with Jarman, 38, in a telephone interview from Palm Springs, Calif., where he is a real estate agent with Matrix Real Estate & Pelago Palm Springs and asked him to weigh in on Zach Washburn, who will become the youngest swimmer from Moses Lake to ever compete in the Speedo Winter Junior Nationals-West at Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center Dec. 5-8 in Austin, Texas.

CBH: Zach Washburn qualified at the Senior Zones in Clovis, Calif., in the 50-yard freestyle (24.10 seconds) and 100 freestyle (53.18). What’s your opinion of a 15 year old swimming those times?

Jarman: “Clovis is a long course and a 24.10 (50 freestyle) is very fast. When I won state my senior year in high school I swam a 21.38, so for him to be at the Junior National level at his age in incredible. I didn’t qualify for state in all eight events until my senior year, so for him to do it as a freshman, being that versatile, is really something special.”

CBH: Is there a huge difference between the 50 and the 100 freestyle at the elite level?

Jarman: “Not really, it’s all a dead-out sprint. The 50 free is all out and going, going, going, going as fast as you can until you hit the other end of the pool. The 100 is a sprint with a few more turns. You just have to lay it on the line and trust your training.”

CBH: “You were a junior when you first qualified for Junior Nationals. What can Washburn expect, swimming in his first national meet as a 15-year-old?

Jarman: “It’s absolutely more challenging going against older, stronger, more experienced swimmers at that level. He’ll be going up against older swimmers at the top of their game. So doing what he’s doing at his age is pretty spectacular.”

CBH: How much of swimming is mental? Every swimmer at the national level has met the qualifying standard, but what separates good from great in an elite field?

Jarman: “My first Junior National meet, I just barely met the time standard in two events, the 100 and 200 breaststroke. So to compete at that level was a little overwhelming, I thought. My second time around, I qualified in four events, so I kind of knew what I was in for in competing against an incredible amount of talent.

“There is a lot of mental games going on when you get to that level. (Moses Lake swim coach) Tony (St. Onge) is the best coach I’ve ever had. He trained us to block out any pressure from other swimmers, your family, or whatever. He taught us to block all that out and focus on your race, and I’m sure he’s done that with Zach.”

Washburn holds Moses Lake school records in the 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly, and is a member of the school record 4x400 relay. In December, he take his first run at the junior national elite field at Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center Dec. 5-8 in Austin, Texas.

Rodney Harwood is a sports writer for the Columbia Basin Herald and can be reached at rharwood@columbiabasinherald.com