At this weekend’s Eastern Interscholastic Swimming & Diving Championships, being held on the campus of LaSalle University in Philadelphia, Germantown’s Arthur Frayler very nearly broke the National Independent High School Record.
In fact, so close was he that the public address announcer at the meet said that he did. His 4:17.96 would have been the National Record a month ago, though that was before DC-Area Good Counsel’s Jack Conger broke the mark in 4:17.51.
The meet program hadn’t quite caught up yet, and still listed Will Freeman’s 4:19.32 as the record. Frayler does, however, have the 2nd-fastest independent (private) school time in history.
Still, the future Florida Gator was able to break the Meet Record held by the late Fran Crippen. The scene couldn’t have been more fitting as Crippen, a former Germantown swimmer, as well as a Philadelphia native. Frayler, refusing to get caught up in his own accomplishment, immediately looked to the sky and pointed upward towards his former training partner and mentor.
The announcer actually said that he broke the National Prep School Record, which is correct as far as I know.
Geoff – Good-Counsel calls itself a “college perparatory academy,” so I think it counts as a prep school too, in addition to an “independent school”. Never heard of prep school records being kept, though…