Greeley Swimmer Nicholson Breaks Section 1 Record

Michael Nicholson may not have reached his ultimate goal of winning a state championship, but he earned a great consolation prize — a Section 1 record.

The Horace Greeley senior swam the 200-yard individual medley in 1 minute, 53.39 seconds at last weekend's state championship meet, breaking a mark previous set by Tate Blahnik of Suffern 15 years ago.

"I had my eye on it the last couple of years and it feels really great to get it," Nicholson said. "In prelims I swam pretty fast (1:53.75). I knew the record was just a couple tenths off so I was really going for it in finals."

Nicholson actually led Long Island's Matthew DeBlasio but was passed in the end and finished second by .15 seconds.

Still, the Bucknell-bound senior broke a record that stood in Section 1 since 1995.

"It's really a huge honor just because our section has been one of the fastest out there for so long," Nicholson said.

"Tate was a phenomenal swimmer, and for Michael to be able to break that record 15 years later is a tremendous accomplishment," Greeley coach Meg Kaplan said. "He's had that time on his mind for the past two years. It's something he certainly set out to break."

Nicholson, who also finished seventh in the 100 yard breaststroke at states, joined the Middies Swim Team in White Plains at 6, and swam there until switching to Tarrytown-based Empire Swimming with his coach three years ago.

He's well-balanced overall, and while freestyle is his weakest stroke, he worked hard on it and was included in the 400 freestyle relay team from Greeley that also finished second at states and swam an automatic All-America time.

Nicholson was part of a strong group of seniors that finished its career with a 37-1 dual-meet record. Though the Quakers lost the Section 1 championship to Tappan Zee this year, they still went undefeated again in the regular season, and Nicholson capped his career with a Section 1 record in his final meet.

"Going into freshman year, my first year at states, I never though I could make in on the podium," Nicholson said. "I really wanted to finish first but I'm very happy with the way things turned out even though I finished second."