Full circle: Bower reflects on swimming career full of enrichment

For any student-athlete, the opportunity to get to continue an athletic career at the collegiate level is rare.

However, the opportunity to finish one's career in the same place that he or she started it -- and have the same coach that he or she started said athletic journey with as a collegiate upperclassman -- is as rare as it gets.

With the work that Evan Bower has put in, however, it's clear that the talented freestyle and fly swimmer has earned such an opportunity.

A three-year member of the Shawnee State men's swimming program who will graduate with a bachelor's degree in mathematical sciences in the spring semester and is well on track to graduate with high honors in doing so, Bower's work in the classroom has been dovetailed by a swimming career that has seen the swimmer blossom from a casual upstart into a NAIA National Qualifying swimmer, which Bower accomplished in the 100 butterfly this past November.

So it's easy to see how Bower would be pleased with his progress, as well as that of his teammates.

"I'm definitely very happy with where the team is at and where I'm at," Bower said. "The team has definitely grown a lot, as far as teammates getting closer. The program is getting better and certainly isn't stepping back any. I really do enjoy swimming here at Shawnee State. I'm thrilled with my own performances this season."

A lane opens

Bower's introduction to competitive swimming -- and his overall story in the sport in general -- can simply be described as fate.

Initially desiring to play team sports, such as soccer, while growing up inside the Northwest Local School District, Bower had an foot issue that was later diagnosed as a growth plate injury. This diagnosis unfortunately prevented Bower from going after the sport that he loved most at the time.

"It was late in elementary school," Bower said. "I had a problem with my foot. The growth plate was out of whack, so I couldn't play soccer. I didn't want to play anything."

Trying to turn to another sport or activity, Bower felt as if he had no options at the time -- until swimming was suggested.

"Somebody said to me, 'Why don't you just go swim?' I decided to do that, and that's how everything began for me from a swimming standpoint."

That's when Bower got involved with Spartan Swim Club -- which was started and run by Tricia Boggs.

In that club, Bower not only met or swam with several names that are familiar to many on the Shawnee State campus or competed for SSU athletically -- Emily Boggs, Eric Green, Reagan Lewis, Hanna Tackett, Josie Tackett and Orville Tackett -- but also grew as a swimmer.

"I said, 'I really like this,'" Bower said, recalling his conviction upon finding his new passion. "I just stuck with it."

Pouncing on window of opportunity

By the time that Bower got to high school, the talented athlete began representing Northwest at that stage -- and began showing the potential that ultimately led to his collegiate opportunity in the sport.

"Northwest definitely taught me how to work hard and achieve goals by helping set a template for the mindset that I would need later in my career," Bower said. "They provided me with the skillset that I have needed to succeed. More or less, coming from the Northwest area, I felt attached to the rural culture, the Appalachian culture. Being from the northwest portion of Scioto County and a rural area, we always felt like we were the underdogs and looked over, especially with swimming, because we had a very small team. However, it helped me academically and athletically, especially with the opportunities I received with College Credit Plus (CCP)."

Performances like what Bower was able to accomplish at the 2022 Southeast Sectional Meet, where the then-high school senior posted personal bests in the 50 and 100 yard freestyles as well as the 50 and 100 yard backstrokes, and the 2022 OHSAA Division I Central District Championships, where Bower posted personal bests again in the 50 and 100 yard backstrokes in a stacked field where Bower and Northwest went up against schools that had sizeable advantages in either swimmers or total enrollment, ultimately led to Bower receiving attention to continue his swimming career beyond Northwest from Gerald Cadogan.

Having already known Bower through their time competing against one another with Bower swimming for Northwest and Cadogan coaching the Portsmouth High School swimming program, Gerald offered Evan an opportunity -- to join forces as one.

Considering that Bower was a CCP student who was looking to continue his studies at Shawnee State and continue swimming with his pals from Northwest as well as those from back in his Spartan Swim Club days, the decision was an easy call.

"I wanted to come here anyway, as I was looking to go the pre-med route initially," Bower said. "Gerald said, 'Well, do you want to swim for me, too?' I said, 'Sure!'"

And just like that, the recruiting process was over in relatively quick fashion.

Blossoming like a butterfly

Since beginning his freshman year of collegiate swimming, Bower has quickly developed.

This is evident in his swimming prowess -- which has seen Bower knock over 2.5 seconds off of his 100 yard butterfly time from February's Mid-South Conference Championships en route to an NAIA Provisional time of 52.39 in the 100 and over 4.2 seconds off of his 200 yard freestyle time from February to post a 1:48.56 in that event.

"One thing that I have always loved about swimming is the fact that you are competing against yourself," Bower said. "That's what I like. It wasn't like team sports, where your main objective was to beat the other team. Swimming was different because you're looking to better yourself, and beat your own times. I've always liked it, but I've really grown to like it since last season. Our previous coach, (Kenzie) Pennington, really helped. Honestly, I never felt competitive in a sport in a good way, but last year, I felt really competitive. That's carried over to this season. I'm really liking it now. I'm not sure if it's because I'm approaching the end of it."

The 1:48.56 in the 200 yard freestyle time, in particular, surprised Bower.

"I didn't expect that," Bower said. "I got out of the pool, and I thought that the guys were messing with me. When I realized that was true, I said, 'Oh, okay!'" It's been a good year to conclude matters for me, that's for sure."

Along with Boggs, Cadogan and Pennington, Bower also credits fellow teammates Jose Enrique Rosado Lara and Evan Siberell, in particular, for their constructive words and helpful advice after each race that Bower competes in.

"They're always great," Bower said of his teammates. "I'm great friends with Enrique Rosado Lara and Evan Siberell, and they always give me great feedback as far as what I need to do and what was bad during my race. I always go and talk to them right after the race, and they give me great feedback. Everybody on the team gives everybody good feedback. Everybody watches out for each other."

Academically, Bower has never been short of spot-on.

On track to graduate a full year ahead of schedule, Bower has earned straight As in all but two of his courses -- and holds a near-spotless 3.97 GPA as a result. Bower has never posted below a B+ in any of his courses to date, all while majoring in mathematical sciences to boot.

"I've always wanted to succeed in the classroom," Bower said. "It's always been something that satisfies me. I like it. I enjoy studying. I enjoy mathematical sciences, and it's greatly satisfying to grow in that area. It's satisfying, because with math, you're presented with a problem, and you have to figure it out. Academics are just something that I've always held in a high regard -- making sure that I'm academically successful. I understand what that looks like, so I want to have that set in stone as I'm going out and applying for jobs. I want to work for what I earn."

Personally, Bower has also grown. While lengthy road trips with class assignments or projects always looming at some point can be dreadful for any collegiate athlete, Bower has embraced the opportunities that collegiate swimming has provided him in terms of traveling to various areas, as well as the opportunities to compete against swimmers from around the United States as well as the world.

"In high school, we didn't travel outside of the area as much," Bower said. "We mainly competed here at the Warsaw Aquatic Center. Now, you're not only competing at the Warsaw Aquatic Center but various places, and it's more competition to go up against naturally when doing that because you're broadening your horizons."

Bower's also, as the academic senior puts it, putting his eggs in multiple baskets. In addition to attending the Shawnee State Athletics Career Fair that was held back in September, Bower has also attended multiple career fairs on campus and has applied for multiple jobs in various disciplines.

He's even gone as far as to look into getting commissioned as an officer in the Air Force -- a brave commitment but unsurprising given Bower's traits and penchant for waiting and desiring more.

"My Dad (Lee) has always told me not to put all of my eggs into one basket," Bower said. "I've went to the job fairs on campus here, and met a lot of good people. I've got my hands in a variety of different areas."

To say that Bower's academic and athletic career at Shawnee State has been rewarding would be an understatement. But it's also been fate all along. With the very coach that helped set the foundation for his success back as his coach as a college senior in Tricia Boggs, and swimming at the very pool that has become akin to a second home for Bower, his experiences have been fruitful beyond the simple successes that are evident in the times.

"It really has come around full circle," Bower said. "Sometimes, I make jokes on deck and say that it's the Spartan Swim Club all over again, because there's a couple of other people involved. It's nice to have another familiar coach help me, and she knows where I've been as far as swimming is concerned. She hasn't seen me as much during my college years, but she definitely knows what my strong suits are from previous strokes, and what I'm better at. It just means a lot to swim at the Warsaw Aquatic Center in general. I've really grown to this pool. There's definitely been a lot of memories made for me. I've swam here my entire life -- basically my entire swimming career. I've met a lot of people and had a lot of good meets."

As his swimming career winds down, Bower simply wants those around him to know how much they have meant to his development as a swimmer -- and as a person.

"The No. 1 thing that I want to take away from my experiences, both as a swimmer and as a student, are all of the great people that I met," Bower said. "They mean a lot to me. I've met great teammates, fellow students and professors who I have become friends with, and they are just like me in terms of simply wanting to fit in and be a part of a special group that is tight-knit. The qualities that I've learned and the dedication that I've picked up in the pool wouldn't be possible without them."