BENTONVILLE -- When Brandon Haefner suffered a broken arm last year, he couldn't see any good in the injury, especially when it turned him into a one-armed swimmer during the state championships.
The Bentonville senior now believes the injury has become a blessing in disguise.
At A Glance
Brandon Haefner
School: Bentonville
Class: Senior
Height: 6-1
Notable: Has finished no worse than third in any individual event this season, including a pair of first-place finishes in the 100-yard backstroke and the 200 individual medley. … Has already hit automatic state qualifying times for six events and has missed out on a seventh by less than two-tenths of a second.
Haefner has come back stronger than before, and it showed earlier this month when he won the 200-yard individual medley in 2 minutes, 3.52 seconds at the Siloam Springs Invitational. That time was a personal-best for Haefner, 2 seconds off his previous mark, and well ahead of the automatic state qualifying time of 2:15.54.
"That's a big deal because typically you don't drop that much time off when you're 18 like I am now," Haefner said. "I think it helped me out a lot because I've gained more weight -- most of it is muscle, but not all of it.
"I've become more powerful, and I think I needed that break. I've been swimming for 15 years now, and once you get that break, you're ready to go."
Haefner suffered the injury during a game of basketball at the Benton County Boys & Girls Club, when he was pushed while trying to hit a layup. He tried to protect his face as he fell, but he broke his lower arm near his wrist and suffered a concussion.
While the arm was in a hard cast, he worked on his underwater dolphin kicks as his mother held his arm. It wasn't fully healed when he tried to swim again, and he would have the injured arm so heavily taped that he admitted his fingers would turn purple from the circulation being cut off.
He could only move his arm so much, which basically caused him to use only one arm while swimming. As a result, he finished 10th in the 100 backstroke -- his best event -- during the state meet in Little Rock.
"He really had to rehab hard just to get back into the water," Bentonville coach Nick Nersesian said. "He finished his race, and he was not where he wanted to be. He was just glad to help out and contribute to the state championship.
"It had to hurt. You watch him out there swimming and think 'this kid is enduring some pain to be helping his team out. What an awesome effort.'"
Haefner has returned to the water with redemption on his mind and a sense of urgency, especially since this is his final season at Bentonville. He has already set four personal-bests this season and had finished no worse than third in any individual event, including a first-place finish in the 100 backstroke during the Springdale Invitational in November.
He will have plenty of events to choose from when the state meet rolls around next month in Little Rock. In addition to the 200 IM, he's already met automatic qualifying times in the 100 breaststroke, the 100 backstroke, the 200 freestyle, the 100 freestyle and the 100 butterfly.
"I know that I just have a month left, and I'm ready to go all out," Haefner said. "It's helped me out a lot knowing whatever I can do in the water now, it will help me out in the end. It's crazy to see the difference in the times.
"Not only have I cut two seconds off on my 200 IM, but I've also cut a second off my time in the 50 free, and I'm not a sprinter. The backstroke is still a little harder and I'm still not back to my full speed just yet. Hopefully I can get my best high school time when it comes to state this year."
Nersesian said he saw a preview of what Haefner could do because he also was a member of Bentonville's tennis team. There was a marked difference in the senior this year, and that has also carried out to the pool.
Most of it had to do with a leadership role. Haefner has made it a point to instruct his younger teammates, much like what happened to him when he was younger.
"I got to see the drive that Brandon has," Nersesian said. "It came out, and he really worked hard in tennis. Then he took the lessons that he learned there, and moved them into the swim program.
"He has goals and things he wants to accomplish. He swam amazingly well in our last meet. He has an inner drive to him that I haven't seen in a while, and I scratch my head and ask myself where is this coming from."
Henry Apple can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @NWAHenry
Sports on 01/25/2015