Wilbraham & Monson Academy Swim Coach Dan Moran is giving Father Time some stiff competition.
At the US Masters Swimming Spring National Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana, May 10-13, Coach Moran won three events in the 35-39 age group.
Even more amazing than being the best swimmer in the country in so many age categories, Coach Moran was remarkably close to his top times in college.
"It was special," said the 2006 Springfield College graduate, who won the 1,000-yard freestyle, 200 butterfly and 500 freestyle. "There are a group of us who have been in consistently, and it was good to see those guys. To come out on top against that kind of competition is nice. I was most proud of my 100 fly from a personal standpoint because it was right on my college time. I thought I'd have a good 200 fly because I trained for it and I had been consistently at the top of the age group. But for the 100 fly, I looked up and couldn't even fathom I went that time again, 13 years after college."
Originally, Coach Moran planned to attempt to compete at a high level at some club meets in the Fall of 2018 after hopping in some races last fall with Wenjun "Happy" Chang '18, arguably the best male swimmer in the history of the Academy.
"Happy made me swim a couple of meets in the fall, and I swam well, so I decided that I would train up and swim for next fall, the same meets I did with Happy," Coach Moran explained. "As part of a middle process, I went to the New England (Masters) Championship in March and I won 13 out of 13 individual events and got times that were close to my college best, so I decided I might as well go to Nationals because you never know what next year will bring."
Along with touching first in three events at the national meet, Coach Moran placed second in the 400 Individual Medley and third in the 100 fly.
"I just love it," said Coach Moran, who won the national 1,000 free and 200 fly in the 30-34 age group six years ago. "It's also the best long-term workout there is. I can go and train for running, and sometimes I do just to give myself a mental break. But my body doesn't feel as strong and as totally into it.
"The most amazing thing of the weekend was just being in a community of people who stay healthy and love what they do and are competitive but friendly about it. It's a supportive community and environment and I would encourage people to think long term. It's a good thing, whether you compete or not, to get in and stay moving."