From sitting to a state championship

Having to sit for his junior year of high school swimming, that really made what Post Falls High senior Jon Archer accomplished a little sweeter.

For the first time, he can call himself a state champion.

And no, he doesn’t regret it.

ARCHER COMPETED for Coeur d’Alene High as a freshman and sophomore, then had to sit out as a junior due to transfer rules.

“I’ve always lived in Post Falls, but it was becoming too difficult to get to Coeur d’Alene for school,” Archer said. “I just decided to stay at Post Falls to make it a little easier.”

After finishing fourth as a freshman and second as a sophomore, Archer broke through in the 100-yard backstroke, winning in 51.64 seconds.

“Being out for a year, it definitely made me want it a lot more,” Archer said. “I wanted to go out really strong, and it made me push harder to get that too. I’ve always loved the backstroke. It’s always been my favorite event. It has always been my fastest event, and the one I feel the best in the water in. When I woke up on Saturday, I was just in the right state of mind. I had a positive mindset and thinking about how I could win and come out on top.”

Archer was second in the 200 individual medley and swam a leg of the school’s seventh-place 400 freestyle relay team.

“It was a lot more fun competing with Post Falls this year,” Archer said. “I’ve known most of the kids on the team since I was 6 years old, so it made it a lot more fun to compete with them.”

And have them cheering in the final moments of his individual win in the 100 backstroke.

“Just to have everyone screaming, it was a good feeling,” Archer said. “Between the kids from Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls, there was a lot of people there.”

Archer was part of the Viking boys’ 2014 team title, the second of back-to-back titles.

ALTHOUGH HE didn’t compete in high school last year, Archer still swam for the Coeur d’Alene Area Swim Team.

“We’ve got so many big meets that we compete in with CAST,” Archer said. “Having a year away from high school didn’t really affect me too much because I stayed with that program.”

According to the Idaho High School Activities Association, 1,156 swimmers competed in the sport this fall, the first year the association sponsored the state meet.

“There’s a lot of swimmers that compete in the sport,” said Archer, who played baseball and basketball until he was 12, when he stopped to focus on swimming. “Even with that large number, Idaho still has the fewest number of kids that compete in swimming.”

Archer intends to continue swimming after graduation.

“I’m planning on going to a two-year school and transferring to a Division I school,” Archer said. “Right now, we’ve got (club) junior nationals in Iowa next month and that’s what I’m concentrating on.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.