Alec Purdy had the best finish of an Amarillo High swimmer at a state meet in almost four decades one weekend ago in Austin.
He wasn’t completely happy about it, though.
One year after taking home a bronze medal in the 100-yard butterfly, Purdy concluded his career by one-upping himself at the Class 5A state meet at the University of Texas. Purdy made the most of his final race by winning the silver medal in the 100 backstroke, swimming a 49.89 second time for second place.
Ever the perfectionist, Purdy insists he could have done better.
“It sounds shocking, but I’m more disappointed than I am happy about it,” Purdy said. “I should have been a lot better and it wasn’t the greatest meet for me. Although I got a silver medal my times weren’t the greatest and it showed.”
Purdy missed out on another medal when he finished fourth in the 100 fly with a 49.65, over a half-second out of a medal. The silver in the 100 back was the best finish by a local swimmer since AHS sprinter Doug Dickinson swept for gold medals in the 50 and 100 freestyles in 1989, long before Purdy was even born.
If Purdy is disappointed in himself, it can’t be because he underachieved at the state meet. He entered the 100 back as the No. 2 seed, but was still 2.79 seconds behind Austin Anderson’s Ben Jaggers, the top seed, going into the event.
Jaggers held his position by winning the gold, but Purdy closed the gap by finishing 1.19 seconds behind Jaggers in the finals. Purdy didn’t swim like he was going to be content with a silver.
“You’ve got to try to keep up with the guy who’s ahead of everyone,” Purdy said. “That’s the only way you’re going to be able to win. You can’t just try to beat everyone else, you’ve got to keep up with the fastest guy.”
As the top underdog to Jaggers going into the final, Purdy swam with confidence in his final high school race, and it paid off at the medal podium.
“I knew I was going to get a medal,” Purdy said. “I figured it was going to be a silver. I’m not surprised that it was that close, but (Jaggers) didn’t swim his best either and we both didn’t have great swims.”
Purdy began the day with a fourth-place finish in the 100 fly, the same event in which he won bronze as a junior. That left him with one last shot at a medal in the 100 back, which he has generally considered his best event.
What happened in the recent or distant past wasn’t a factor for Purdy when he took the starting blocks for the 100 back.
“It wasn’t really a motivator,” Purdy said. “I was in my head space and I knew what I needed to do and I’ve done this for years. I’m used to it by now, but there were some unluckly circumstances I had and it cost me a medal (in the fly). Whenever stuff like that happens you just put it behind you. You can’t let it determine your whole day.”
Purdy has learned a lot of lessons about competing over the last dozen or so years. He officially started swimming at age six for the Amarillo Swim Club, which often involved long weekend trips in developing his competitive edge.
The last few years, Purdy has been swimming for a club in the Metroplex on weekends when he wasn’t competing under the Amarillo High banner, so the state meet was likely his last time to represent Amarillo in the pool. He will start swimming at Missouri State next fall.
Purdy said he would have liked to develop more over the last few years in high school.
“Looking back since my freshman year I haven’t really improved all that much,” Purdy said. “I’m only a couple of seconds faster. I think I could have done more, but I’ve had plenty of injuries over the last few years.”
Purdy admits that he’s especially hard on himself.
“It’s both a positive and a negative,” he said. “It’s a positive because I can push myself to work harder, but it’s a negative because sometimes it will pull you down and think you’re not as good as you used to be.”
The week before the state meet, Purdy committed to Missouri State, which may have given him the peace of mind to focus on his races. He was also part of two Amarillo High relay teams which qualified for the meet.
Purdy is now focusing on what he’ll be doing at Missouri State once he gets there.
“I think while I’m there I’ll progress a lot,” Purdy said. “I’ll have weightlifting, longer practices and more yards. I need a lot more yards. Over there, there are plenty of guys who work hard and push each other.”
He might even race a time which makes him happy.