Eubanks seeks to improve
Published 10:00 pm Wednesday, August 16, 2017
- Logan Eubanks, a Nansemond River High School alumnus, is looking forward to a strong sophomore season in the pool at George Mason University this year. (Melissa Eubanks photo)
Former winter Suffolk News-Herald/Duke Automotive Male Athlete of the Year winner Logan Eubanks is all about improving in his sophomore season at George Mason University.
Eubanks is constantly looking for ways to improve. At Nansemond River High School, he was a standout swimmer who set many records and won state titles. He went on to sign with George Mason to continue his swimming career.
But after a solid freshman season swimming, Eubanks is not satisfied.
“I feel as though it went pretty well,” Eubanks said of his freshman season. “I didn’t do as well as I wanted at the end of the season, but overall I did better in all of my main events.”
Eubanks blames himself for his slight slip-up in the second half of the season. He felt that he slacked off a bit, which is why he wasn’t as prepared as he should have been. This year, he is more prepared.
During his freshman season, he recorded one individual first place, six individual second place and four individual third place finishes during the season. More times than not, Eubanks was able to have a successful meet. Freshman seasons are expected to be a mixture of ups and downs because of the adjustment. He has actually enjoyed the change, and the sophomore Patriot feels that it has brought a new excitement to swimming.
“The adjustment brought a new feel to swimming,” Eubanks said. “I felt like I was starting over from scratch.”
The training is intense at the next level. However, Eubanks trains for his best events rather than all of them. At GMU, he mostly swims the 100 and 200 backstroke and the freestyle. He is looking forward to getting back with his team for the fall.
For 2017, Eubanks doesn’t really have any statistical goals set. He just wants to be better this year than he was in 2016 while also placing better in the conference. At the 2017 Atlantic-10 Championships, he placed fourth in the 100-yard backstroke (52.63), eighth in the 200-yard backstroke (1:58.91) and ninth in the 500-yard freestyle (4:49.23). He often reflects on his high school career and remembers how successful he was. That fuels him to strive for everything he thinks he deserves on the college level.
“I feel like everything I earned in high school motivates me to have the same level of success in college,” Eubanks. “It will require a lot of hard work, which I’m willing to do.”
The Patriot’s approach to a meet is simple. He just wants to keep a positive attitude that gets him through even the toughest meets.
Academically, Eubanks continues to excel in college, too. As a Warrior, he was a three-time Scholastic All-American and graduated with honors. At George Mason, he was on the President’s List for both fall and spring semesters in his freshman year. He also received the Hyman I. Feinstein award for general chemistry.
George Mason’s 2017-2018 season gets under way in October.