Bentonville's Harlow Rewarded For Willingness To Learn

 STAFF PHOTO JASON IVESTER Hayden Harlow of Bentonville is the All-NWA Media Boys Newcomer Swimmer of the Year.
STAFF PHOTO JASON IVESTER Hayden Harlow of Bentonville is the All-NWA Media Boys Newcomer Swimmer of the Year.

BENTONVILLE -- Hayden Harlow's first season with Bentonville's boys swim team was loaded with opportunities to learn, and he took in as much as he could.

The biggest lesson Harlow might have learned came just before the North District swim meet last month. Coach Steve Duwel talked to the freshman and penciled him in to do the 200-yard freestyle, and it eventually led to a fourth-place finish during the Class 7A/6A State Swimming Championships.

BOYS SWIMMING NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Hayden Harlow

SCHOOL: Bentonville

CLASS: Freshman

HEIGHT: 5-9

NOTABLE: An all-state performer who finished fourth in the 200 freestyle and fourth in the 100 breaststroke during the Class 7A/6A State Swimming Championships. … Teamed with John Hedgecock, Drew Lemna and Jared Crosby to win the boys 200 freestyle relay and teamed with Hedgecock, Crosby and Lucas Ros to win the 400 freestyle relay.

"Coach came up to me and said he thought I would do well in it," Harlow said. "I won it in district and had the fastest time going into the state. Then I was against all these fast guys in the state meet and had my best time ever.

"I had no idea I was going to be as good as I was in that event."

Harlow also finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke, then helped Bentonville take first place in two relay events en route to a 10th consecutive state title. Those performances, as well as his willingness to learn, led to Harlow being named the Newcomer of the Year for boys swimming by NWA Media.

It didn't take Bentonville coach Nick Nersesian long to see the potential Harlow had in the pool and saw the impact the freshman could make after a little fine tuning during practice. He was pushed a little bit during the early part of the season, and it paid off as Harlow automatically qualified for the state meet in six events.

"We were watching him in the water during one of the first meets," Nersesian said. "His technique was good, but it wasn't sound. So he had to be coached.

"He started to listen and working on his technique, and you could see the development. In between the snowflakes and the meets we were able to go to, Hayden picked up the pace and you could see he was working on those fundamental skills, and he was coachable."

In the meantime, Harlow had his future on the team in mind. He credits good friends Brandon Haefner and John Hedgecock for their advice on how to be a team leader, as well as any tips they gave outside the pool.

"My plan all along was to get to know this team," Harlow said. "I wanted to know how to lead younger swimmers, and I want to be the type of the leader like the ones that I looked up to this year.

"Brandon gave me advice on how to handle myself during this interview, as well as how to be humble and how to support the team. John is a great friend, and he was really able to show me everything I need to know during meets."

Sports on 03/28/2014

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