Elite swimmers often display their skills at a young age, but Noah Yanchulis took a different lane on his way to stardom at Seton Hall. Swimming on an eighth-grade club team in Maryland, \u201cEvery single day, I didn\u2019t want to do it,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was bad. But I stuck it out. In ninth grade I really started to like it.\u201d And he started to get really good at it.<\/p>\n
Now \u2014 twice named BIG EAST Most Outstanding Male Swimmer \u2014 Yanchulis is a mainstay of the Pirates team, and has become a star in the water and a leader out of it.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until the end of his senior year in high school that his future came into focus. Yanchulis received little attention from college recruiters, but his club coach contacted Seton Hall and he visited campus. \u201cProbably two or three weeks later, I committed,\u201d he says. At one point in high school, Yanchulis wanted to go to a \u201cschool that had a football team,\u201d but he eventually fell for the smaller Seton Hall campus and enjoys \u201cthat you pretty much know everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a freshman, Yanchulis made sure BIG EAST competitors knew him. He came in first in the 200-yard freestyle at the BIG EAST Championships in 2015 and second in the 200 fly. Each year Yanchulis has gained speed in the pool and medals on the stand. In 2016 he won the 200 free and 500 free, and as a junior in 2017 he won both of those events again and added titles in the 400 free relay and the 800 free relay.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an impressive haul for a late starter, especially one who didn\u2019t have a lot of Division I schools seeking his talents. In addition to the smaller campus and proximity to New York, the chance to swim in college\u2019s top division also attracted him to Seton Hall, and in three years he\u2019s shown other schools what they missed out on. In highschool, he had seen friends back in Maryland getting attention from recruiters, and while he \u201cwasn\u2019t mad about not getting calls, it was definitely a big motivator. I knew I had something to prove.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s done that, according to head coach Derek Sapp, who has watched Yanchulis\u2019 three-year progression. Sapp remains especially impressed at the way Yanchulis battled through shoulder problems as a sophomore, and says the biggest factor in the swimmer\u2019s success is his work ethic. \u201cAnd he\u2019s definitely more confident than he was three or four years ago,\u201d Sapp says. \u201cYou could see that coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 6-foot-5, Yanchulis uses his height to great advantage, but physical skills are only part of the equation. \u201cThe biggest thing,\u201d he says, \u201cis your mindset and having a competitive edge, wanting to win more than the other person. If you can fight through the pain more than the other person, if you can keep pushing through it and they slack off \u2014 that\u2019s it right there.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a captain for the Pirates, Yanchulis also drives his teammates \u2014 Seton Hall captured its first conference title in 2017. \u201cYou\u2019re not doing it for yourself. It\u2019s not a team sport but at the same time it is, because if someone has a good swim before me, I\u2019m thinking, \u2018OK, I have to top that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Sapp says Yanchulis also inspires with his performance. The coach remembers at the 2016 BIG EAST Championships when Yanchulis won the 500 free \u201cand a lot of people just fed off of that. You\u2019re literally swimming the race by yourself, but people see that and it gets them all excited and ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
With one season remaining, Yanchulis \u2014 a double major in IT and marketing who would love a career in sports \u2014 has one big goal: to qualify for the NCAA championships, an event for the best of the best.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the most competitive event in the world,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s very intense, and it\u2019s very tough to make, but that\u2019s the goal. \u2026\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s going to be very hard, but there\u2019s so much I can improve on.\u201d And a trip to the NCAA championships would be the perfect ending to the career with the unusual beginning.<\/p>\n Written by Shawn Fury<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Elite swimmers often display their skills at a young age, but Noah Yanchulis took a different lane on his way to stardom at Seton Hall.<\/p>\n