Making Strides

STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES 
Jacob Carroll, of Rogers High, is part of the Mounties’ 400 free relay team that has already posted a state swim meet qualifying time.

STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Jacob Carroll, of Rogers High, is part of the Mounties’ 400 free relay team that has already posted a state swim meet qualifying time.

Monday, February 17, 2014

— It was late fall when Rogers High swimmer Jacob Carroll finally got off the couch and into the pool.

But he had a good reason to take it easy over the summer and into the fall. Carroll, who also plays for the Mounties’ soccer team, suffered a devastating knee injury late last spring and had ACL surgery as soon as school let out for the summer.

That meant no swim training until November for the Mounties senior.

“I was out for six months, and didn’t start until the beginning of November,” Carroll said. “I did a little bit of jogging, but I was pretty much laying around most of the time.”

To make up for lost time, he stayed in the pool longer at practice and he even swam with the Rogers Heritage swim team when the War Eagles had the pool.

“It was tough getting back in shape, for sure,” Carroll said. “I knew I would have to work a lot harder this year. It was difficult, but it was also rewarding. It was Mounties practice at 
5:30 a.m. and Heritage practice at 6:30 a.m.”

Rogers swim coach Rob Bray said Carroll has made huge strides since getting back in the pool.

“He is a two-sport athlete that is working real hard,” Bray said. “He really couldn’t do a lot in the pool until the end of November. He is playing catchup right now. I know it can be frustrating for him, but he is a winner and a good kid to have around.”

All of that extra work is starting to pay off for the Mounties swimmer. Carroll is part of the Mounties’ 400 free relay team that has already posted a state swim meet qualifying time. But he really has his sights set on also qualifying for the 100 fly.

Carroll has been close to the state qualifying mark on several occasions but has come up short each time. He gets one more chance at the conference meet this Thursday.

The top two finishers in each event advance to state. He can also advance by making the qualifying time without being in the top two in the 100 fly.

“There is a little bit of pressure, especially since it is my senior year,” he said. “I got the time they had last year, but they dropped it two seconds this year. It was a 1:01 last year, but 
this year it is a :59. Every meet, I have been coming up with a 1:01. It has been aggravating.

“I’m going to have to really push it at conference.”

Qualifying for the relay, however, has taken a bit of the pressure off Carroll.

“I was very excited when we qualified in the 400 because we had a strong race that day,” Carroll said. “The week before, we thought we had made it. But coach Bray told us they had changed the (qualifying) time. So we just said, ‘We can get this.’ We only swam relays at that meet and we finally got it.”

When swim season ends, he will turn his fulltime attention to soccer. Now, he attends swim practice in the morning and soccer practice in the afternoon. He is a defender for the Mounties soccer team.

“It’s more of a challenge in soccer because at times my legs and arms are just worn out,” Carroll said. “