SAN ANTONIO – This time last year, Jackson Stallworth was still preparing for college. The Clark standout had just finished his high school swimming career on the podium at Bill Walker pool with a bronze medal performance in the 100 yard Butterfly at the UIL Class 6A State Swimming and Diving Championships.
Thirteen months later, Stallworth returned to the Alamo City after a year of training at Arizona State University and swam against some of the nation’s best athletes in the TYR Pro Swim Series at Northside Swim Center.
“It was kind of a last minute decision,” Stallworth said. “I saw that the meet was at this pool, and I really wanted to come home and swim. I get to stay up at my house, sleep in my own bed and swim. My times haven’t been anything amazing, but to come back to my home atmosphere and see my friends has been pretty cool.”
Stallworth swam three events and three different strokes at his old home pool. He even got a chance to swim in the exhibition C-Final of the 100 yard Backstroke on Friday night. But while his friends and family were there to cheer him on, Stallworth was under the watchful eye of the Sun Devils coaching staff, including legendary head coach Bob Bowman. Since helping swimming icon Michael Phelps shatter the limits of Olympic immortality, Bowman has taken the Arizona State swimming program to new heights. San Antonio got a front row seat to the fruits of his labor.
After claiming two titles and leading the Sun Devils to a sixth place finish at the Men’s NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships last week, burgeoning superstar Leon Marchand dominated the Northside pool and won both the 400 meter Individual Medley and 200 meter Breaststroke titles. Two-time Olympic bronze medalist Hali Flickinger has also been swimming for Bowman at Sun Devil Aquatics and touched first in both the women’s 400 IM and 200 meter Butterfly.
Clearly, Stallworth has found an elite training environment that fosters growth. That doesn’t mean the change in intensity has been easy to navigate.
“It was definitely a really hard adjustment,” Stallworth explained. “The training has been so much harder than anything I’ve ever done, but I’m surrounded by so many fast people, so it’s definitely been a great learning experience. Next step is to just keep training through long course season, try and make the travel team and go from there.”
Soon enough, Jackson will be joined by his brother Lane, who is currently preparing for his own jump to Arizona State. As a senior at Clark this year, Lane finished his high school career with a podium finish in the one-meter diving competition at the UIL Class 6A State Swimming and Diving Championships this past February. The only difference? Lane’s medal is silver. Jackson was thrilled for Lane, even if his medal color was a bit shinier.
“He didn’t win, so he doesn’t have that much on me,” Jackson said. “But he was so close to getting first! It’s pretty cool to have two brothers in two different sports podium at state, so that was pretty exciting.”