Oswego Freshman Jordan Prophet Making Immediate Splash
OSWEGO, N.Y. - Any college freshman has adjustments to make in many different areas of their life. Some of them exceed expectations with how they deal with change.
Oswego State swimmer Jordan Prophet is one such freshman.
Prophet has already broken four school records during his brief time as a Laker and has his sights set on even greater things at the SUNYAC Championships this weekend, including an invitation to the NCAA Division III Championships.
The Brockville, Ontario native has been honing his skills since age 8 at the area YMCA and at competitions around Canada as part of the Upper Canada Swim Club, where the pools are measured in meters rather than the U.S.-system of yards. So while he and his freshmen teammates were dealing with the jump to collegiate competition, Prophet was also adjusting to a shorter swimming lane, including a wall that could sneak up on him, as well as being a student.
“I just wanted to adjust well to being a first-year university student and still do well in swimming. I wanted to do the best I could and fit in well on the team,” Prophet said.
“I’m pretty impressed,” Oswego State swimming and diving head coach Michael Holman said. “Obviously he was a pretty good recruit for us coming in, but with him being from Canada we were only able to convert his times, so I didn’t know what to expect. I was a little concerned with his turns, but as it turns out he has pretty much crushed all of his best times from a conversion standpoint.”
It did not take long for Prophet to show he has the potential to be one of the best swimmers in school history.
“I was hoping I would get some (school records) in my four years here,” Prophet said. “I wasn’t sure how close I would get because we had meters in Canada and I’ve never swam yards before so all I could go on was converted times. Meters are longer so it’s a nice change.”
“I thought he could break school records, but I was not expecting them at this point in this season and as many as he has,” Holman said. “We’ve had some pretty good swimmers come through this program.”
Prophet won the 200 individual medley (IM) by more than seven seconds in the team’s season-opening dual with RIT and finished second in the 200 and 500 freestyle events.
A month later, on December 2, 2011, Prophet broke his first school record when he won the 200 IM in 1:56.82, roughly three seconds better than the previous record set in 2006.
That was just the start of Prophet’s three-day weekend at the Fredonia Invitational. The next day he broke the two-year-old 200 backstroke record by more than two seconds with a winning time of 1:54.48.
The freshman wrapped up his weekend by winning the 400 IM by more than 24 seconds in a school-record time of 4:11.57, topping former All-American Greg Doyle’s previous record of 4:14.37 set in 2008.
“We all have different levels of talent,” Holman said. “He is a big kid. He has a good feel for the water. He is strong in the water, which is much different than being strong on land.”
Prophet broke his fourth school record on January 21 in a dual at Laker Hall with Buffalo State. Prophet swam the 100 backstroke in 53.59 seconds, bettering an 11-year-old school record of 54.02 seconds. He gives credit to his teammates for the success he has had this season.
“It’s more team-orientated here,” Prophet said while comparing the differences of this season to his days on the club team in Canada. “The atmosphere on the pool deck is way more positive, way more fun and way more enjoyable. I love it.”
The team aspect of swimming is new to Prophet and it is something that drew him to Oswego State.
“I looked at some post-secondary schools here and some in Canada, but I liked Oswego State the most,” Prophet said. “When I came for my recruit weekend, I liked the people on the swim team. They made me feel welcome.”
Helping Prophet break the school records at the Fredonia Invite was a more relaxed schedule compared to the meets he competed at in Canada.
“Back home, I would have three-day swim meets and I would swim 16 to 18 events,” Prophet said. The NCAA rules limit a swimmer to three individual events and four relays during a three-day meet.
“I’m certainly able to perform much better than I was when I was swimming more races,” Prophet said. “I like it.”
“He is a racer,” Holman said. “I think he is at his best when he has competition. He’s lost a few times too, which is good. He has the right mentality. A big part of our sport is between the ears and you can’t teach that.”
Prophet competed in the Canadian Age-Group National Championships a number of times against members of more than 40 different club teams. He hopes to draw on that experience as the teams prepares for the SUNYAC Championships.
“I’m looking forward to see what he does (at the SUNYAC Championships). I have no idea what to expect,” Holman said.
While helping the team score points, Prophet also hopes to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships.
Prophet’s school-record times in the 200 and 400 IMs as well as the 200 backstroke are very close to the “B-Cut” times for the NCAA meet. Reaching “B-cut” levels give a swimmer a strong chance of making the national meet, but Prophet would need to beat the “A-cut” time to guarantee a spot in Indianapolis, where this year’s championships are being held.
“He’s got the top times in the conference in a lot of events, but I think the 400 IM is his best race,” Holman said. “He has never really rested before so I don’t know what to expect. I think he will make cuts, but Division III has gotten so fast in the last five years that we don’t know what it will take to get in. I think he may be capable of making an A-cut.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Prophet said. “I’m hoping to better my times and get close to some national B-cuts.”
Prophet is hoping to be the first male swimmer to reach the D-III championships from Oswego since Greg Doyle was there in 2007. However, Prophet has some long-term goals as a Laker as well.
“I’m never going to stop trying,” Prophet said. “I don’t get discouraged easily so if I don’t make it I will just try harder the next year. I’m looking forward to my next three years. Now that I’ve had one year in college, I know what goals I can set that are achieveable.”
“I hope this year has shown him a lot of things,” Holman said. “He is good, but there are still things to work on and room to grow. He’s new to us so I’m still learning how to interact with him, which is a good thing. There is still room for us to grow as coach and athlete and how I can train him better.”
If Prophet does advance to the NCAA Championships, he has an idea of what it will take to do well.
“It would be challenging,” Prophet said. “It takes a lot more personal motivation.”
The SUNYAC Championship will be held at Erie Community College in Buffalo from February 8-11.
