Swick aims to defend 4A title

Nick Christensen

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2003 | 10:17 a.m.

Patrick Swick was tired of losing.

As a high school freshman, he grew weary of being defeated when running the mile against his friends. And, he was too competitive to participate in team sports like baseball and soccer without getting mad at his teammates when they achieved anything but success.

"I wanted to do an individual sport," Swick said after a brief warm-up in Chaparral High School's volleyball gym, forced inside because of Wednesday's smoky conditions in the Las Vegas Valley. "And I kept losing in mile runs, that made me mad. I joined the (cross-country) team to get better."

Now, local runners have a hard time beating Swick at the mile. Or two. Or three. Swick went undefeated this season in NIAA meets, struggling only in events in Huntington Beach and Palo Alto, Calif. The defending 4A individual champion is focused on defending his title, but has been working on his same training regimen in preparation for the meet.

Swick's title defense begins with Friday morning's southern regional meet, at Boulder City's Veterans Memorial Park.

He spent most of the summer building his endurance and stamina, running mile after mile at the beginning of the season. Later, he worked on improving his speed, and before every meet, he'd take it easy to relax and refresh his muscles.

As for his head, preparing for Friday's regional?

"I'm kind of nervous," Swick said. "I try not to think about the races, I just relax, and when the day comes, I run until there's nothing left."

When Swick won his title last year, he didn't think he had much to begin with.

"I thought I was going to be bad,"he said. "It was windy, I wasn't ready, but I was able to fly."

Chaparral track coach Avis Allen said Swick hasn't let his success go to his head.

"His attitude hasn't changed," she said. "You wouldn't even know (he's the champion). He's very focused on doing it again."

Allen said Swick's coachability is one of many things that make him special.

"He's a leader. He's always ready to get out and practice hard. Every time he's out there, he runs hard. When he gets out to practice, he does his best."

Allen admires Swick's focus and determination as well.

"He set out on a mission, and he accomplished it," Allen said.