As the Rockhurst swim and dive season drew to a close at the St. Peter’s Rec-Plex on Nov. 15, one of the most remarkable careers in program history also came to an end.
Andrew Baklanov ended his time with the Aquahawks as a four-year varsity swimmer who helped capture three state championships. His senior campaign saw him score the third-most points in the state over the course of the season. No individual swimmer scored more than his 40 points at the state meet.
Baklanov also defended his two state titles in the events that would define his career: the 100 (yard) backstroke and the 200 individual medley (IM). Baklanov’s full trophy case is a reflection of more than a decade of hard work. He’s been swimming year-round since he was six.
“I really just started just because my parents both wanted me to go into a sport where it’s kind of less injury prone,” Baklanov said.
The preference of his parents certainly didn’t save him any work. Swim and dive has perhaps the most demanding schedule of any high school sport. But, according to Baklanov, it was necessary for his growth.
“It’s not easy to wake up at 5 a.m. for practice while all your friends are sleeping,” Baklanov said, “but that type of thing every day is just what grows and adds to the bank of perseverance.”
According to Rockhurst head coach Paul Winkeler, Baklanov’s embrace of that demanding routine is what makes him special.
“He trains like a dog and he’s at it constantly,” Winkeler said. “He wants to continue to do more, and always looks for the more that he could be doing.”
That includes not taking summers off. Appearances at events such as the Speedo Summer Championships in Irvine, Calif. are a testament not only to Baklanov’s performance, but his dedication.
The beginning of the school year marks a dramatic shift from club competition to the high school season. Part of that change is coaching. Baklanov has high praise for Winkeler, calling him “one of the greatest coaches I’ve had.”
Baklanov especially appreciates Winkeler’s emphasis on character and hard work.
“My club coach really focuses on just the individual person getting just faster,” Baklanov said. “Whenever I go to Coach Winkeler during the season, he’s always focused on me getting better–more driven outside of the pool and inside of the pool. Using the pool to grow my virtues.”
Winkeler pointed to the beginning of Baklanov’s sophomore season as a turning point. A hard summer of training helped him mature physically and emotionally.
“[Baklanov] understood that he needed to make more of a commitment to the sport if he really wanted to make the most out of his God-given talents,” Winkeler said. “He came back a lot faster, like a lot faster his sophomore year.”
Winkeler also notes that Baklanov possesses an abundance of “swim IQ.”
By the time his senior year rolled around, Baklanov was ready to lead the team. Where he went, the team literally followed. Baklanov was the Aquahawks “Bearcat,” a title given to the team’s fastest swimmer. In addition to leading the fastest training lane at practice, the times for the rest of the team’s practice laps were based on him.
“Our Bearcat is the one that, as we say, leads the fleet,” Winkeler said. “The intervals are all based off of his training.”
Out of the pool, Baklanov was also the team captain, the link between coaches and swimmers. Despite being met with more responsibility than expected, he embraced the role.
“As the season progressed, it was definitely tougher than I thought, but [I] really love the challenge and [I’m] happy that we got to where we were.”
Baklanov also credits fellow seniors and assistant captains Charlie Huber and Taumr Sutton with helping him navigate the season.
“I learned pretty quickly that the season is not something I can do by myself,” Baklanov said, “so I needed to ask and reach out to my friends for help, because that’s something I often take for granted.”
Regardless of pressure, all Baklanov did in his final Rockhurst campaign was perform. No matter how big or small the meet was, he simply never turned it off. Winkeler recalled a small school meet in Springfield as a defining moment of Baklanov’s season.
“He had a very small meet on a Friday night … with nobody else to swim against him. He broke the pool record in the 500 free. That’s not one of his events, but it’s because of who he is as a swimmer to be able to do that and break that pool record.”
The pool record Baklanov broke had stood for decades, according to Winkeler. It could very well be in place for decades to come: His mark of 4:30.22 stood as the fastest time in Missouri this season.
“He did it by himself,” Winkeler said. “He’s the closest to ever come to breaking a school record in an event that wasn’t even his.
“That’s really impressive to me.”
All told, Baklanov lost only a single individual event during the regular season. A two-tenths of a second loss to Drew Hopkins of Saint Louis University High School at the CoMo Invitational was the only blemish on an otherwise spotless individual season.
Rockhurst entered the state championship meet as the four-time defending champions, but ultimately fell to the SLUH Junior Bills by a margin of 34 points. Falling short of a fifth-straight state title didn’t diminish Baklanov’s pride in the performance of his team.
“Really, we were going in as 100-point underdogs,” he said. “Evidently, 100 points is a ton. So we went in as major underdogs and we were probably aiming for fourth or third.
“But really, the guys worked in the two days of the meet, and really jumped up to 2nd place by only 30 points.”
He further noted that a historical strength of the program has been the ability to peak at the right time.
Despite coming up a little short in the team battle, Baklanov fulfilled his own season goal at the last minute.
“I have one main individual goal for the pool this season, which is to set a new Missouri state record in any event,” Baklanov told Prep News in an interview earlier in the season.
His defense of the 200-yard IM spurred a new overall Missouri record of 1:46.69.
“I was a little bit surprised in the moment, but now looking back at this long season and all the work my teammates and I have put in, I really see where that all came from,” Baklanov said of the accomplishment.
The senior class, especially Baklanov, leave big shoes to fill. Winkeler says that Baklanov’s legacy, in particular, will be left in and out of the pool.
“What he leaves behind is helping those kids that come behind him [know] how to handle the pressure,” Winkeler said. “Andy knew that he had to perform every single [event]…That relays were coming down to him…That, going into state, [he had] to be at [his] very best, because, if not, this team will not succeed.”
While Baklanov may not return to Rockhurst next fall, the example he set will continue to permeate the Goppert Rockplex.
“Teaching kids that are going to come after him how to handle that pressure, that’s what Andy’s done,” Winkeler said.
Baklanov’s message to his returning teammates doesn’t concern titles, records or even swimming.
“Take every moment as the biggest moment,” he said, “because one day those little things will be the big things.”
When reminiscing about his last four years at the Rock, Baklanov savored the team traditions and small moments in practice, in addition to the state championships, of course.
“I didn’t believe it, coming in as a freshman, that the time really does fly by, but they were not kidding. It does fly by, and I really wish I savored every moment. And I think I did a solid job at that.”
While his Rockhurst career may be over, Baklanov won’t wait long to get back in the pool. His club season will begin shortly. Next fall, he will almost assuredly join the collegiate ranks.
“More info on that will be coming shortly, and I’m going to be committing soon,” Baklanov said.
Swimcloud.com ranks Baklanov as Kansas’s top high school recruit.
All student-athletes must move on from the Rock eventually, and Baklanov is no exception. Still, he will keep a place here, not only in the record boards, but in the memories of his teammates and Coach Winkeler.
“He’s a great kid and I’m going to miss him a lot.”
**Update: Baklanov committed to swim at Southern Methodist University.
