Swimming: England emerges as top cat for Wildcats

The Cat in the Hat does not like green eggs and ham, but he's taken to swimming quite well.

This particular cat is Taryn England, a senior at Springdale Har-Ber who occasionally dresses up as the Dr. Seuss character while entertaining children at the Jones Center for Families. England is also a swimmer who's qualified in two events for the state meet in Little Rock Feb. 27-28.

"It's pretty fun dressing up as the Cat in the Hat, mainly because the kids don't know it's me," said England, who is mostly quiet and reserved. "I'm like this mystery guy to them and I get to dance around and do crazy things I wouldn't normally do as Taryn."

England has also been showing out in the pool, where he is a rarity among his teammates and competitors. He had no experience as a competitive swimmer when he tried out for the Har-Ber team in the 10th grade and he doesn't belong to a club team, where athletes receive nearly year-round training.

England hadn't even considered competitive swimming until he was encouraged by an aunt during a family gathering near Mountain Home before his sophomore year.

"We were having a little family competition at the Old Dawt Mill and I was pretty much beating everybody," England said. "My aunt, Kim, who swam at Hendrix College, told me I had really good form and that I had the build for swimming. She planted the seed in my head, but I still wasn't sure until about a week or two before school started that I actually decided to go out for the team."

England, understandably, was well behind the other swimmers in technique and knowledge of the sport, but he was near the front of the class with his work ethic.

"Taryn is usually the first one in the water and he rarely misses a practice," Springdale Har-Ber coach Samantha Couch said. "He will ask for workouts to do on the weekend or strength and conditioning workouts to add in as well. Taryn is a great example of what diligence and commitment can get you."

England was close to making a qualifying time for the state meet last year, but he did not make the cut. That changed earlier this season when he made a qualifying time (1:58.89) in the 200-yard freestyle during a dual meet with Springdale High. He then qualified for the 500 freestyle (5:30.37) during the Har-Ber Invitational last week at the Jones Center.

"Each year, it's gotten easier for me from when I first started," said England, who played football in the eighth and nine grade at Central Junior High in Springdale. "When I was told I qualified for state in the 200, I was like 'really?' I was exhausted but it was a great feeling to know I had accomplished my goal."

Regardless of how England does at the state meet, he said he hopes to remain a competitive swimmer beyond high school.

"I've started to look around at a college or two to see if I could swim there," England said. "If not, then I'll probably join a swim club. Swimming is a part of my life now and I owe a lot to my family for supporting me in this."

Sports on 02/15/2015