Finding success: Meet Jackson swimmer Luke Vickers
MASSILLON, Ohio — Standing on the starting block, looking out at the water, waiting for the shotgun start, one may lock eyes with Jackson’s Luke Vickers, a senior member of the boys’ varsity swim team. There is more to this athlete than meets the initial eye test.
For example, Vickers helped the Jackson boys swim win its first district championship a year ago. He qualified for state and was named All-Ohio and All-American. Vickers also qualified for the Speedo Winter Junior National Team, is in the National Honor Society and Varsity J Club, is a student mental health champion, a lifeguard, swim lesson instructor, and coach for the Phantoms, the Polar Bears intermediate group.
Where it all began
For Vickers, it started at the age of nine, like most kids, taking swim lessons at the local YMCA, which for Jackson residents is the Paul and Carol David YMCA. “My final instructor in the last level, Rose Mogus, who is now one of my assistant coaches on the high school team, recommended me to join the David Y Phantoms swim,” wrote Vickers, the son of Jason and Katie. “I joined in the summer of 2015. From what I remember, the two things that interested me right away were the friendships that I made as well as dropping my times and seeing improvements.” Vickers indicated he was pretty slow, but he really enjoyed swimming, so he decided to stick with it for the longer winter season. That winter, he saw improvement and qualified for the YMCA Zone meet. “I have been extremely lucky to have Coach Doug Nist coaching me throughout my entire swimming career,” wrote Vickers, who has a sister, Leah. “He, along with many other coaches, has helped me to get to where I am. It certainly isn’t the easiest sport, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
High school success
Vickers found success almost immediately at the high school level, qualifying for state his freshman year. He indicated his best events are the 100 and 200 breaststroke and the 200 IM (individual medley). “I have been lucky to represent Jackson every year at the state level,” wrote Vickers, who will be swimming at Ohio State University next year on a partial scholarship. “My freshman year, I was just in one event, the 200-medley relay. Failing to qualify individually (I was two spots off) made me hungry to improve myself heading into my sophomore year. I worked very hard throughout the summer heading into my sophomore year and ultimately able to not only make it individually in the 100 breaststroke, but place in the A final at seventh. Again, I wanted more, and I was able to improve to second in the breaststroke while adding ninth place in my 200 IM and sixth and eighth in our relays during my junior season.”
That all led to helping Jackson win their first-ever district championship.
“That was such a cool moment,” wrote Vickers, who enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as doing other activities such as biking, lifting, running, and hiking. He also enjoys watching Ohio State and Pittsburgh Steelers games. “We knew we had such a slim chance going into it, and it would take all of our best efforts to get the title. After the 400 free relay, where we took the win, we found out that we had just won by two points. We had some very special moments as a team celebrating each other’s individual and team accomplishments. It was pretty neat to learn that this was our first-ever district title, and I hope that this is the first of many!”
The biggest splash came when Vickers earned All-Ohio and All-American honors last season.
“It is a very big honor to receive these awards,” wrote Vickers, who is potentially going to enter Ohio State as a business major. “As a freshman, I was lucky to be a part of a relay team which was All-Ohio, and I think this really motivated me to take that next step and more “All-Ohio” events in the future. My sophomore year was the first time becoming an All-American, which I did in my best event, the 100 breaststroke. This past year, along with my relay teammates/closest friends, we were able to become All-Americans in both the 200-medley relay and 400-free relay. This was really awesome for all of us, and we look forward to doing even better this year as we are all returning as seniors.” With a core group of seniors returning, Vickers indicated they should be a strong team. “I am lucky to be surrounded by so many great teammates each and every day. We are all extremely excited for the opportunities that lay ahead.” Vickers, who has been training with his fellow seniors since they were ten years old, are his best friends Ezra Herring, Daniel Ham, and Holden Nist. They push each other to new limits each and every day. “I feel fortunate to train with them.”
Bigger dreams and goals lay ahead for Vickers
Vickers qualified for the Speedo Winter Junior National Team meet, as well as the Summer Junior National Meet (to be held in California in August) since the summer of 2021, which led to his breakout year. This is his first year at the winter meet and he has been to the summer meet twice. The weekend of Dec. 8-10, Vickers competed at the Winter Junior Nationals. “I can say this is one of the best meets of my swimming career, if not the single best,” wrote Vickers. “I dropped times in all my events and was to place eighth in the 100 breaststroke and ninth in the 200 breaststrokes, setting new records for Lake Erie swimming. This was a huge breakthrough for me, and it gives me tons of confidence heading into the rest of my senior season.” Although he hasn’t thought much about making the Olympic team, he said it is a dream of his to qualify for USA Swimming Olympic trials, which he is within one second of the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. Therefore, he has a chance to qualify in 2024 or 2028.
Life outside the pool
It seems impossible to think he has time to do much outside of academics and swimming, yet he is involved in Jackson’s National Honor Society and Varsity J club, which is where varsity letter winners from every sport at Jackson meet and listen to speakers who exemplify leadership qualities and positive character traits in their jobs. He also is involved in Youth Leadership Academy Stark County, where he was selected to represent Jackson and collaborate with other students from across Stark County to learn and apply Leadership skills that will be beneficial throughout life. In addition, he was chosen to be Jackson’s Student Mental Health Champion. “I believe that through this, I will be able to learn more about the importance of mental health in people my age,” Vickers wrote. “I believe mental health is so important and is critical to be successful in life. I hope through this, my peers can trust me as someone to go to if they need help with anything. I try to be there as much as I can for the people in my life.”
As with most teenagers, he has job. Vickers works as a lifeguard, swim instructor, and coach at the David Y. “I love coaching and teaching swim lessons,” Vickers wrote. “We have amazing programs here at the David Y and an amazing staff that I am so lucky to be part of. I hope to inspire kids I work with and help them be the best swimmers they can be while, most importantly, having fun and building friendships.” Speaking of fun, that is Vickers’s goal this season is to have fun and take in everything from my last season. He indicated there are 29-year-old records and the 4×100 freestyle he would like to break. As a team, the goal is to repeat many of the successes the team had from last year as well as take the next step at the state level. “We believe we can place in the Top 5 at states. More importantly, we hope to build a great culture, and all work together to do amazing things both in and out of the pool.” If you are passing by the swimming pool at the Y, you may hear plenty of screaming and big splashes coming from Vickers and his teammates as they strive to continue in pursuit of their record breaking events and season!
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