Peters Township’s Kyle Higgins making national splash
Kyle Higgins of Peters Township works on his butterfly during a Mt. Lebanon Aqua Club practice session in preparation for nationals.
Kyle Higgins takes a break from his practice to show off the medals he won at sectionals. His performances in the 100 and 200-meter butterfly races not only netted him first places but earned him a spot in nationals set for Aug. 6-10 in Irvine, Calif.
Kyle Higgins possesses a passion for swimming.
“While it’s something I have been doing for 13 years,” said the 19-year-old McMurray resident, “I still love it. [Swimming] is tough but it is rewarding.”
Indeed, due diligence paid dividends for Higgins recently. With victories in the 100- and 200-meter butterfly races during sectionals, the Peters Township High School graduate qualified for the Phillips 66 National Championships being held Aug. 6-10 in Irvine, Calif.
Nearly 1,000 swimmers will dive into the William J. Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, including Olympic gold medalists and world-record holders such as Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, Ryan Lochte, Katie Ledecky, Nathan Adrian and Natalie Coughlin, because national titles as well as roster spots are on the line for the Pan Pacific Championships to be held Aug. 21-25 in Australia. Phelps is the premier flyer in the world.
“I’ve never swam against Michael Phelps or even met him,” said Higgins. “So it will be exciting.
“Since this is my first senior nationals, I am sure I’ll be nervous because it’s the first time I’ve been in a meet with all the big names in swimming. It’s certainly going to be exciting to be there, but I think I can keep my nerves under control. Basically, my goal is to drop time and place as high as I can place.”
With personal best times of 54.35 in the 100 and 2:00.71 in the 200, Higgins may not be in the neighborhood of Phelps, whose times of 49.82 and 1.51.51 are world records, but he proved to be the best during the Speedo Super Sectional Championships held in Christiansburg, Va. He won both of his races by more than one second.
Seeded first at the meet in the 200 fly, Higgins lowered his previous best time in his bread-and-butter event by nearly four-tenths of a second. During a Senior Circuit event at Pitt earlier this season, he broke the meet record with a 2:01 time. At Sectionals, he just missed the meet mark by .38.
“Since I had already made nationals [at Pitt], I wanted to see what I could do [at Sectionals],” explained Higgins. “I did not expect to win, but I was happy [I did]. Even though the 200 fly was [won] by over a second, it was close at the third 50 so I just attacked. I pounded it the last 50 meters.”
While he prefers the 200 to the 100 because it involves more strategy and less sprinting, Higgins adopted the same approach to his shorter race.
“I did not think I would go that time, but after the preliminaries, I expected it,” he said. “While the difference in the 100 fly and the 200 is obvious. That it’s more of a sprint than the other. Where you take the first 50 out fast and see where it goes,” Higgins continued. “Since I was ahead at that point, I went for it. The second 50 was hard because while I still had the lead, I had to make sure that I didn’t die. I stayed strong the whole way and finished strong.”
Higgins finished so strong, he shaved almost two seconds from his previous best time. He won in 54.35.
Higgins, who also earned a bronze medal in the 200-meter backstroke at Sectionals, attributes his success to the hard work he has been doing while training with the Mt. Lebanon Aqua Club this summer. From 6:30-8:30 a.m., he trains outdoors at the Mt. Lebanon Swim Center’s 50-meter facility and then attends a second practice later in the day or evening at Bethel Park High School.
In addition to the advice he receives from Tom Donati, Amanda Smith and Kevin McLaughlin, Higgins benefits from competition within the club. Of MLAC, he said the coaches have ‘pushed him’ and he is ‘swimming faster because of competition from teammates’ such as John Nappi, Drew Damich and Andrew Rich. A Mt. Lebanon product, Nappi swims for Notre Dame. A rising senior at Chartiers Valley, Damich is a two-time district and state champion. Damich claimed the bronze in the 400 IM and qualified for Junior Nationals to be held in December. Another Peters Township graduate and fellow flyer, Rich excels at Denison, where he has been a two-time national qualifier and six-time All-America winner.
“My coaches and my teammates have helped me attain success,” said Higgins. “Plus, I’ve put in a lot of hard work.”
Hard work made Higgins a success at Peters Township. He set records in the 100-yard backstroke and 500 freestyle races. A previous WPIAL runner-up, he was a Junior National qualifier, too. Higgins earned a scholarship to the University of Kentucky, where former Bethel Park standout Sarah Dunleavy is an assistant coach.
“I love it at Kentucky,” said the son of Dan and Diane Higgins. “I am happy there.”
Scholastically, Higgins majors in kinesiology with the expectation of becoming a sports physical therapist one day. Athletically, for the Wildcats, he made B cut times for NCAA Division I championships and participated in the Southeastern Conference championships.
“That meet was huge,” said Higgins, who had Top 40 finishes in three events. “Next to SECs, this meet [the senior nationals] will be the biggest meet I attend.”
Before his swimming career is complete, Higgins hopes to compete in at least one more ‘big’ meet. In addition to qualifying for NCAAs next year, Higgins has set his sights on the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. He noted that his current times are ‘on target’ to qualify for the meet, which determines the team that will compete in Rio De Janiero.
“Just being there would be amazing,” he said. “That’s my goal.”