Walker Snowden came to Oswego State from his hometown of Tallahassee, Florida for the opportunity to continue swimming and pursue a degree in meteorology. He has made the most of both of those opportunities in his almost three years as a Laker.
Snowden had a school-record performance at the SUNYAC Championships Feb. 19 through 22 in Buffalo, becoming the first swimmer in the history of Oswego State to earn six All-Conference performances at the meet. His top performance came in the 100-yard freestyle, where Snowden won with a time of 45.66. It was the only gold medal that Oswego State won for the men’s team at the meet. The 100-yard freestyle is an event that Snowden wants to earn a trip to nationals for next year.
“Obviously, I want to drop time, and represent our school at nationals,” Snowden said. “So, being able to make a national cut time would be amazing. [I’m] not too far from it this year, especially in the 100 [yard] free. Only a couple tenths [of a second] away. The invite time was about four tenths faster than my 100 free, so I definitely think I can drop that.”
The 100-yard freestyle was not the only event where Snowden was performing his best the few days at the SUNYAC Championships, as he posted a personal best time nine of the 11 times that he took the pool. He posted a third-and fourth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard fly finals respectively, as well at the championship meet.
Head coach Mike Holman was impressed with Snowden’s performance at the meet and wants him to just focus on swimming.
“He wanted to break records,” Holman said. “The records in the events he swims were all pretty strong records. I was trying to get him more focused on just swimming, not about trying to break records or anything like that.”
Snowden has great enthusiasm for not just swimming, but for most things in his life. He wants to be the guy who the team can turn to for a smile and energy when they need a jolt of it. The swim team has a lot of early practices before classes, having the swimmers wake up well before the sun rises. Add the bitter mornings in Oswego and it is a recipe for lethargic practices. Snowden does not use any of this as an excuse, he is bringing his energy to practice no matter what time it is.
“Those morning practices,” Snowden said. “Those early morning waking up at 5:30. You know just having a smile on your face with some pre-workout or something that will get you through it. Just knowing you have class the rest of the day. Just know that in the mornings you can expect me to get your energy from.”
Holman sees a progression in Snowden from the day he stepped into the program. Snowden learned from previous teammates, and it is now his turn to be the leader of this team. His times not only lead the team but his work ethic and enthusiasm also help him be a leader.
“I don’t think he came in here with the work ethic he has now,” Holman said. “But there were kids that had that, and I think he learned from that and stepped into that role. You know last year and even more so this year.”
Snowden is spectacular in the pool. But just like many of the other Div. III athletes here at Oswego State, he came to the school for academics as well. The big draw for him was the ability to pursue a degree in meteorology. He is no stranger to the student media organizations at Oswego State. He worked as a reporter in the past and currently as a meteorologist for the student run television station, WTOP-10. Finding the right fit for Snowden made his decision to move over 1,250 miles from home an easier one. He even turned down Div. I and Div. II scholarship offers from other schools.
“I knew that out of high school I didn’t want to be done with swimming,” Snowden said. “I knew I wanted it to be a part of my future and I knew I wanted to be a meteorology major. So, I really was just trying to find the key place for both.”
The perfect storm was available for Snowden here at Oswego State. He has bright expectations for both meteorology and swimming moving forward into his senior year this fall.
“I’m focusing on the broadcasting side,” Snowden said. “I’ve been [at WTOP-10] for three semesters now. I used to be a reporter for them as well. I have some internship opportunities that I’m waiting to hear back from with WABC and WNBC, so I’m hopeful for that. But I think that is the route I want to take, so I can see myself in the future being a broadcaster.”
He ironically used to be called “mental” by Holman due to his overthinking and letting his mind get in the way of his swimming ability as an underclassman. Snowden credits a book from his mom that allowed him to overcome this setback and has allowed him to control not only the physical aspect of the pool but also the mental aspect. His greatest motivation coming from a Muhammad Ali quote.
“Actually [I came across] a great quote by Muhammad Ali,” Snowden said. “You have to have the mindset that you are the best, so he used to say ‘there are only two greats in the world, that is Great Britain and me.’ That’s what he used to say. So, I kind of had that mindset. If you have that mindset that you can win, you are going to let your body do what it has to do.”
Graphic by Patrick Higgins | The Oswegonian
