FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
(article posted by Lauren Brightmore, Student Sports Information Assistant)
Jan. 17, 2011 -
The waters of North Central College have been disturbed. But by what? Something dreamed up by Spielberg? No— it's freshman swimmer Jake Nurczyk. A member of the College's men's swimming and diving team, Nurczyk flys through the water with speed and determination.
Majoring in actuarial science and accounting, Nurczyk has taken full advantage of the academic and athletic opportunities on campus. In fact, over December term, the men and women's swim team traveled to Costa Rica to compete against the Costa Rican club team, the Asociación Brumosa de Natación. While abroad. Nurczyk earned four first place finishes in the 50-meter butterfly (33.47), 100-meter butterfly (1:11.16), 100-yard freestyle (1:01.57), and 200-yard individual medley (2:47.37).
Since his return, Nurczyk continues to navigate through the waters among fierce competition. This past weekend, Nurczyk placed 10th in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.53. On campus, Nurczyk is a member of the Student Accounting Society (SAS) and does service work off campus at his church. Nurczyk is in the right lane to success.
Get to Know Jake Nurczyk
Q: What was it like to travel to Costa Rica and compete against the Asociación Brumosa de Natación?
A: When we got there, the people were very welcoming and at the swim meet, the Costa Rican swimmers were some of the nicest people. The Asociación Brumosa de Natación had lots of members our age and a few younger swimmers too. Their coach spoke English fluently, and the swimmers told us their favorite things to do in Costa Rica. When it came to where they like to eat though, most said their favorite place was Taco Bell believe it or not. Their favorite thing on the menu? The Supreme Chalupa.
Q: How did the team fund the trip to Costa Rica?
A: The swim team goes on a training trip every year, but it's every three or four years when we actually get to leave the country. We had a bunch of money building up from donors and previous alum, and that is what we used towards the trip.
Q: Had you ever been out of the country before?
A: No, this was my first time.
Q: What kinds of activities did the team do while down in Costa Rica?
A: For majority of the trip, we stayed in Guapiles, Costa Rica where the meet was held. We had practice twice a day, every day—that's a given. We also went into the town and bought souvenirs. We ate out around the town too. One night we walked into this place and thought it looked a lot like a Chinese Restaurant. Turned out it was some sort of Costa Rican Chinese food place. The food was really good though. We went on little trips as well, traveling to Puerto Viejo, which is on the beach. In Puerto Viejo we did some open water swimming, going out a half-mile into the ocean. It was somewhat scary at first because, you know, sharks, but it was also really amazing. There was all this coral a foot beneath you on the ocean floor.
Q: Do you speak Spanish?
A: Yes, I'd like to say I'm fairly fluent in Spanish.
Q: What was it like to win four events at the meet in Guapiles?
A: It was a great feeling because I also won the100-yard freestyle against the Costa Rican Olympian. He was walking around like he was hot stuff, not talking to any of his teammates, brushing them all off. Then we got up on the block, I raced him, and I beat him. Immediately after the race, Coach Mark Broucek said to me, “Don't let it get to your head.” I haven't.
Q: In a sport that is defined by times, what does it take to improve from meet to meet?
A: Time is really emphasized in swimming. You've got to move your arms faster, kick your legs harder, work on your breathing patterns, and improve your flip turns. Overall, you just have to have a stronger and faster stroke. Improvement in swimming is just a culmination of all that.
Q: When did you first become interested in swimming?
A: Probably 8th grade, and that's really late considering most kids start when they are five or six years old. I started swimming with the Delta Aquatic Swim Club based out of Oswego East High School. I also went to Plainfield North High school and was part of the co-op team. All four of the Plainfield high schools were on the team. So practice for varsity consisted of about 45 kids and just three lanes at the YMCA.
Q: What is your favorite event to swim?
A: I love the 50-yard butterfly and the 200-yard medley relay.
Q: Do you ever really have an idea of where you are in a race?
A: It depends on what stroke you're using. In backstroke, you have no idea where you're at until you do a flip turn. When you do a flip turn, you can look to your side and see if there is another person is flipping at the same time though you're not supposed to. With freestyle, butterfly, and breaststroke you can see your place by looking to the side when you breathe.
Q: With such a young and small team, how do the guys keep their focus when competing against much bigger teams?
A: We have to race ourselves pretty much. We try to improve on our own times. Northwestern University and Lewis University were at our last meet hosted by Carthage College. The meet helped our team in the fact that it was a fast pool, at least 7 ft deep all the way around.
Q: Do you prefer home meets or away meets?
A: Our pool is on the warm side, and I like colder pools which we see more frequently at away meets. At the same time though, I really look forward to North Central home meets because a lot of my family comes to watch me swim.
Q: As a first-year student, what are some of the challenges to being a student and an athlete?
A: It's kind of hard, especially on Wednesdays for me. I am a commuter student, so I have to wake up at 4:50 AM to make it to swim practice at 6 AM. School at North Central is definitely academically challenging, but I love it here.
Q: What activities are you in involved with on campus?
A: I'm a member of the Student Accounting Society (SAS). I also help out at my church, assisting with service projects. I would like to become involved with the study abroad program at North Central. I want to study abroad at the University of Leicester or the University of Essex in the UK my junior year. I've been told by the people in the study abroad program that those schools have really good actuarial science and math programs.
Q: What do you intend on doing with your actuarial science and accounting degree?
A: I want to be an actuary, a risk assessor that decides the risks when loaning a person money. We have a family friend that is an actuary and loves the job, setting their own hours and working from home. It doesn't hurt that actuaries make $140,000 a year either.
Q: Has the adjustment from high school to college sports been dramatic for you?
A: Not really, though I notice that in high school the team's focus was on sprinting long distance sets, whereas in college swimming I see more emphasis put on technique work.
Q: Do you find that swimmers are generally able to consume more food than people in other sports, like how Michael Phelps has thousands of calories per meal?
A: That is definitely. In K-man (Kaufman Dining Hall), I normally get like 7 plates of food. Breakfast is my favorite meal there, and I get three plates of French toast alone.
Q: What are some of your goals for the season?
A: I really want to come close to the varsity 100-yard butterfly record (51 seconds). I want be close to that time. Besides the record, I just want to be an all around better swimmer, especially because in high school I didn't really swim freestyle.
Q: What have your coaches said to you, that has made you a better swimmer?
A: They always, always tell us that when we do our flip turns, even at practice, we go 100% underwater no matter what. Meaning that whenever you do a flip turn, you give 100% off the wall, so that in the race you reprogram your mind to go faster under water. You won't have to think about going hard underwater at a meet.
Q: What is one thing you would like people to know about the College's swim team?
A: I guess that we just like to have a lot of fun.
