By: Adam Turer, prepsports@enquirer.com
Brendan Meyer of Covington Catholic swims the butterfly at the Scott Eagle Classic swimming meet Jan. 9.(Photo: James Weber/The Community Recorder
Brendan Meyer couldn't have scripted it any better. The Covington Catholic swimmer's final high school meet was a dream come true, as he notched four gold medals and led his team to a second-place finish at the state championships.
Meyer won the 200 and 500 freestyle races and led the Colonels to victories in the 200 and 400 free relays. Sweeping all four events in his final state meet was the latest in a long line of achievements for the University of Arizona commit.
"I was very confident going into the weekend. My preparation was to win all four events," said Meyer. "I wanted to go out on top and represent my school."
His final events as a CovCath swimmer were bittersweet, but mostly just sweet.
"It was cool, but sad at the same time," said Meyer. "I knew it was going to be the last time I was going to be swimming with my buddies. I've been swimming with some of these guys since we were 6 years old."
The highlight of his weekend was sharing the gold medal with his teammates, particularly fellow senior Josh Smith. The 400 free relay was Smith's first state championship.
"It was really neat to see him achieve his goal in his last race," said Meyer. "That was the best feeling in the world."
With several underclassmen and a first-year head coach, Meyer took on more of a leadership role this season. He sees himself in some of the Colonels undersized freshmen. He spent a lot of time this season imparting wisdom and encouragement.
"I know our freshmen can do big things in the future," said Meyer. "I wanted to leave an impact on the school."
After winning the first three events he competed in, Meyer and his teammates were determined to finish strong. Although he was part of the championship 400 free relay team for the second year in a row, Meyer was the only holdover from last year's relay squad.
"We swam that last relay off of pure adrenaline," he said. "My teammates stepped up big time, which really helped me."
Following the state meet, Meyer competed in the NCSA Junior National Championships in Orlando. He won the 400 free and 200 butterfly at that event. He will head to California for a meet at the end of April as he continues to prepare for this summer's Olympic trials in Omaha.
While he is done representing Covington Catholic in the pool, he will continue to represent his Northern Kentucky Clippers club team this summer. Meyer is looking forward to seeing how he stacks up against the top swimmers from across the country with an Olympic berth at stake.
"Trying to compete with the best swimmers in the world is going to be awesome."