Staying with swimming
JEFFERSON TWP — Caden Traggiai doesn’t consider himself a loner — though being alone hasn’t proven to be such a bad thing.
The Knoch senior is competing in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle events at this week’s PIAA Swimming Championships at Bucknell University. He is the only male on the Knights’ swim team.
“I have to admit, not having to worry about swimming in and practicing relays has helped me in my individual events,” Traggiai said. “We had enough guys on the team to compete in relays my first two years and it was fun working together as a team that way.
“Last year, we only had three boys on the team, so we had no relay teams. It’s the same this year, with me being the only boy. My time in the 500 free has dropped more than a minute with me having more time and energy there.”
Traggiai pointed out that the relays take place at meets “right around the 500 and it can take a lot of you.”
He owns the school record in the 500 free at 4 minutes, 50 seconds. He is a small percentage of a second off the school record in the 200 free at 1:47.04.
“My goals at states are to break our 200 record and lower the 500 record,” Traggiai said.
His goals in swimming overall will extend to college. Traggiai recently signed a letter of intent to continue his academic and swimming career at Wilmington College (Ohio), a member of the Division III Ohio Athletic Conference.
Traggiai also considered Penn State Altoona before deciding on Wilmington. He plans on majoring in Exercise Science and eventually becoming a chiropractor.
“Caden is such a dedicated swimmer,” Knoch coach Dominique Patrick said. “He is very coachable and the coach at Wilmington reminds him a lot of Corrie Jones, his longtime coach here. The transition will be perfect for him.
“Going to a small, private college with Christian fellowship suits him ... I really believe he will excel in the swimming program there.”
Wilmington’s coach is Trip Breen, who has been trere 23 seasons. He has been named OAC Coach of the Year four times while guiding the Quakers.
Wilmington has finished as high as third in the OAC only once (2014-15 season) since 2000.
“The school brought me in for a visit during a time the team had a home meet,” Traggiai said. “The team members were so welcoming. They invited me to stick around afterward, visit with them.
“I loved the atmosphere and knew that’s where I wanted to go. They don’t have a distance swimmer right now, so I feel like I can step in and be a benefit to the team right away.”
Traggiai said Jones has always been interested in her swimmers “as people and cared as much about what was going on in our lives as how we were doing in the pool. Wilmington’s coach has that exact same quality. He’s like the male version of her.”
Patrick said the similarities between coaches Jone and Breen “played a big factor in Caden’s decision to go there.”
As for his desire to become a chiropractor, Traggiai said: “I’m fascinated by that work and it’s something I want to pursue. I like helping people. That field just suits me.“
