Bee Swimmer of the Year: Sierra’s Tolman sets lifetime best at state

Scott Tolman stomped around the soccer field, chasing a World Cup dream when “Goldzilla” attacked Beijing.

Michael Phelps’ monster performance at the 2008 Summer Games resulted in a record eight gold medals and sent shockwaves back across the Pacific. They rattled and bounced one boy right out of the game of soccer, dropping him into the nearest pool with visions of becoming America’s next swim star – not its soccer savior.

“He’s the best swimmer ever. I looked at my dad and told him I don’t want to do soccer anymore,” Tolman said. “He asked why, and I told him I want to do swimming.”

Tolman traded his cleats for a Speedo and launched a decorated swim career that reached a new summit this spring.

Now a junior at Sierra High School, Tolman was one of two Stanislaus District swimmers to qualify for the first CIF State Swimming and Diving Championships at the Clovis Olympic Swim Center last month.

The Bee’s Swimmer of the Year won his consolation final in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing ninth overall with a lifetime best and school record in his signature event.

Tolman also set school marks in all four freestyle distances – the 50 (21.28, set on Day 1 at state), 100 (48.17), 200 (1:47.93) and 500 (4:51) – and two relays (200 medley, 1:39.03, and 400 free, 3:15.16).

And still, the driven 16-year-old, often lost in oversized headphones between races, isn’t satisfied with all he’s accomplished. He’s too consumed by what he hasn’t done.

“It shows me that I can accomplish a lot of things, but that I can also do better,” Tolman said of his weekend at state. “Every single day I compare myself to someone else. I think to myself, ‘What are they doing? What can I do to be better than him?’ Most of my push comes from my (Ripon Aquatics) teammates. They’re right there. They push me. We work hard together.”

Tolman was joined at state by club teammate and longtime friend Ty Wells, a promising freshman at Ripon. The two are coached by Erik Zador.

Tolman and Wells arrived in Clovis three weeks into their taper and convinced they had maxed out at the Sac-Joaquin Section Championships the week earlier. To make matters worse, Tolman had the flu.

Zador tempered his star pupils’ expectations. State, he said, would be a learning experience, not a proving ground.

“I wanted to make it to state, but my coach told me that we’re going for the experience. We tapered for sections. He said, ‘If you go to state, go for the fun of it. Go for the experience and enjoy it,’” Tolman recalled. “That’s what me and Ty did. We liked the competitiveness, but we really enjoyed the experience.”

Modest much?

The truth is, a switch flips when Tolman stands atop the block, goggles pulled down over his eyes, body settled into a crouch like a loaded spring. His vision narrows and adrenaline overrides any alerts his body might be sending.

Sick? Suck it up.

Tired? Rest later.

Tolman may have staggered into the consolation final, but he answered the call with yet another school record. His time of 56.08 was nearly six-tenths of a second faster than his qualifying swim and would have earned him a fifth-place medal in the “A” final. Only the top five swimmers in the “A” final earn medals.

“When I go on the block, I go to race. I do my thing. I just race,” Tolman said. “At sections, I struggled. But when I got to state, I said I’m doing this for fun. I’m just going to race and do what I’ve been doing for a very long time.”

In a strange twist of fate, Tolman will get the chance to share a pool with his idol.

At the Davis Post High School Meet at UC Davis, one day after sections, Tolman recorded the 38th-fastest time (2:00.31) ever by an American 15- to 16-year-old boy in the 200 breaststroke.

That mark qualified Tolman for this weekend’s Santa Clara Grand Prix, an Arena Pro Swim Series event. Phelps and a host of Olympic champions are scheduled to compete.

Tolman would love the chance to thank “Goldzilla,” the man responsible for launching his swim career.

“He’s the one that got me swimming,” Tolman said. “It would be pretty cool to just talk to him a little bit. It would be a really cool experience. That would be a great day.”

This story was originally published June 16, 2015 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Bee Swimmer of the Year: Sierra’s Tolman sets lifetime best at state."