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Brothers on cusp of Olympic swimming trials

Jack and Henrik Pohlmann will compete in swimming classic.

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By Marc F. Pendleton, Staff Writer Updated 11:12 PM Friday, January 13, 2012

BEAVERCREEK — When they were youths, brothers Jack and Henrik Pohlmann were good for igniting a rowdy household. That wasn’t so good for their mother, especially when she was pregnant with their sister, Ana Marie.

“She would always take us to the pool just to keep us occupied so we wouldn’t be bugging her,” Henrik recalled.

“She asked if we wanted to join the swim team. We said, sure, and sure enough, that was it.”

The Beavercreek High School students have progressed from that unlikely beginning to being on the cusp of qualifying for next summer’s U.S. Olympic swimming trials.

The Pohlmanns will join a deep and talented field in this weekend’s 29th Annual Southwest Classic at various locations. The meet is essentially a postseason preview that draws the Southwest District’s best. Prelims are at seven different locations.

Long and lean, the Pohlmann brothers immediately took to swimming. Jack, a senior, specializes in the breaststroke. He missed qualifying for the trials in the 100-yard sprint by just 0.2 seconds.

At 6-feet-4, he has a wide wingspan and powers through the water. It doesn’t hurt that he has size 15 feet, “my flippers,” he said.

President of the school’s National Honor Society, he’ll swim at Princeton University next season. He scored a 33 on his ACT exam.

Henrik, a 6-foot sophomore, specializes in the backstroke. Like Jack, he has posted some of the area’s best times in his many events.

Each confers with the other about their favorite stroke, which is the other’s weakest.

“They complement each other,” Beavercreek coach Charlie Sliemers said.

“You wish that there were another couple brothers about the same age. They’d make a whole relay.”

Like all elite high school swimmers, the Pohlmanns swim year-round with a club team, the Dayton Raiders. They train most days, are in the Wright State University pool by 5 a.m. and three days a week they train twice daily.

They also try to sleep by 9:30 p.m. and savor an annual two-week break from the Raiders. “It’s a bit out there,” said Jack.

But that kind of excessive training has set them apart.

“(Beavercreek teammates) consider us crazy almost,” said Henrik, who hopes to swim at longtime NCAA power Stanford.

Unlike years past, elite swimmers are joining their high school teams earlier. The Pohlmanns started competing with the Beavers in mid-December. They practice with their teammates just once weekly.

“We’re allowed to swim and train with our club team and still compete for our high school, which is pretty much the best possible way that we could do anything,” said Jack.

The Pohlmanns aren’t the only Creek standouts. Senior Colin Kanzari joins them on the Dayton Raiders and has already qualified for the Olympic Trials. He’s accepted an appointment to West Point and will swim for Army.

Senior John Howe has narrowed his offers to the Coast Guard Academy, Evansville and Vanderbilt. Senior Laura Holty is considering Arizona State, Clarion (Pa.) and the Florida Institute of Technology. Junior Stephen Listerman has offers from Kentucky and Denison.

The Pohlmanns’ younger brother Josef also is a budding swimmer. Ana Marie, whose birth initiated Jack and Henrik’s introduction to the sport, is the youngest sibling.

“Ana is the smart one,” Jack said. “She’s not swimming.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2381 or mpendleton@DaytonDailyNews.com.

SOUTHWEST CLASSIC

When: Today and Sunday

Swim prelims: 8 a.m. today, Beavercreek and Countryside YMCAs, Miami University, Mason, Milford and Trotwood-Madison high schools and Washington Twp. Rec Center.

Dive prelims: 1 p.m. today, Miami University, Mason Community Center, Milford and Trotwood-Madison.

Dive finals: 9 a.m. Sunday, University of Cincinnati.

Swim finals: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Keating Natatorium, St. Xavier High School.

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