Dec. 19, 2001
The demeanor of UK swimmers Roger Watkins and Joey Faltraco couldn’t be any different. But the results couldn’t be more similar. Both men are leaders in the pool and on the pool deck, and, according to the latest fastest-times list released by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America, both are also leaders in the country.
Watkins, a junior co-captain, came to UK from Pearl River, La., where he swam and played basketball in high school. However, when the 6-2 redhead realized that basketball was not going to take him through college like it did his father, who played at Mississippi State, he worked even harder at swimming.
“My sophomore basketball team went 0-31,” Watkins said. “I quickly dropped it and started concentrating on swimming, which I had been doing since I was six.”
And his work ethic has been evident ever since. Watkins, who is known as “Fatkins” around the deck because of his pure size, spends most of his time either working out in the pool or in the weight room, an impression that is not lost on his teammates or the coaching staff.
“Roger is very introspective and thinks things out a lot,” said UK Coach Gary Conelly. “He is a behind-the-scenes leader out of the pool and in the pool he swims with a lot of mental intensity.”
At the Nike Cup in mid-November, Watkins swam the 100 breaststroke in 54.85 seconds, just .01 slower than the UK record he set last year. He followed that up by touching the wall in 1:59.86 in the 200 breaststroke, breaking the UK record he set last season. On top of all that, the 100 time is currently the fastest collegiate time recorded in the country while the 200 ranks second, which means good things are yet to come.
“It tells me I have a lot coming for the second half of the season,” Watkins said.
When his eligibility expires after next season, Watkins plans on using his fifth year to work as a student coach with the Cats in hopes of a career as a swimming coach.
Faltraco had a much different route to Lexington. Out of high school the Union Mills, N.C., native went to South Carolina on a scholarship. However, differences with the coaching staff left him looking to leave the Gamecocks’ program after just one season. But the USC coaching staff would not release Faltraco from his commitment to them for a year, which meant he couldn’t transfer anywhere. Had he been released, he probably would have enrolled at another Division I program. So for the next year, Faltraco went back to his hometown and enrolled at a community college and stayed as far away from the pool as possible.
“I basically took the year off from swimming,” Faltraco said. “I didn’t do anything – I didn’t lift any weights and I got into the pool maybe twice.”
But the time off did him a lot of good. After not swimming for an entire year, “Jo-Jo,” as his UK teammates now call him, felt the urge to get back into swimming. And coming to Lexington has only enhanced his performances. The coaching staff has been very instrumental in his progress, giving him all the attention that he needs and helping him develop after being away for a year.
His Nike Cup weekend went just as well as Watkins’ as his times in the 200 backstroke (1:45.68), 100 backstroke (50.13) and 400 individual medley (3:54.10) all established UK records. The 200 backstroke is currently the fastest in the country while the 400 IM is seventh and he has not even hit his personal bests in any of the strokes. His performances did earn him the CollegeSwimming.com National Swimmer of the Week award, the first Wildcat swimmer to earn the honor.
“I never had a meet like I did at Nike Cup,” Faltraco said. “It feels great to be named the National swimmer of the week, especially when you see that 24 coaches voted for you. It was pretty cool being named UK’s first.”
When Conelly was confronted with the question as to whether these two leaders where some of the best to every compete for UK, he didn’t hesitate.
“Roger is probably the most conscientious, thought-out swimmer I have ever coached,” Conelly said. “Going into every meet, he knows all the top times in the country. He is a perfectionist. Joey is 100 percent raw talent. He can go fast whenever he wants.”
For these two swimmers, the fall was really just the beginning. With the spring season still on the horizon, their top times and their leadership should continue to prosper.
