Law Lykins has etched his name into the annals of Gilmer High history.
Lykins graduated from GHS in May, and in the coming months, he will become one of a handful of alumni swimmers who has competed in the college ranks.
Lykins set three Gilmer records and will continue his educational and swimming pursuits at the University of Wisconsin — Oshkosh. He was in contact with seven schools toward the end of the recruitment process and also received scholarship offers from Edinboro University (Pa.) and Colorado College.
“I like the town there a lot better, and the campus there is a lot bigger than the other two places. They seem to have a pretty good student life, too,” Lykins said of Oshkosh.
The size of the school (10,743 students) and the team atmosphere also factored into his decision, and he made the trip to visit Oshkosh in February. Lykins received a taste of a Wisconsin winter and met the coaches and some future teammates.
“We visited the campus, and the school was closed the first day we were there because of a snowstorm,” Lykins said. “We saw the classrooms, athletic facilities, student body facilities and met with the head of the business department.”
Lykins noted that granddad Larry Sr. and dad Larry Jr. helped guide him along his swimming journey.
“They both swam in college and basically helped me with a bunch of stuff with my stroke,” he said. “My dad was my coach and got me into swimming when I was younger, and my grandpa has always wanted me to swim club ever since I started swimming again (as a sophomore at GHS).”
Lykins began swimming locally with the summer youth team. After a few summers, he took a break and tried his hand at basketball. While he opted to play on the court, an injury during his freshman season brought him back to the pool.
“I tore my meniscus and kind of got scared to play basketball after that,” he said. “It was really hard getting back into swimming, and I remember my first lap being really terrible. I thought I was dying. It was awful.”
Swimming locally has not been easy for the Bobcats and Lady Cats. The county pool has been closed for years, and GHS swimmers have made the best of a difficult situation. The program has practiced at a local private pool, and time has often been shared with residents. It’s a shorter, noncompetitive pool and does not offer basic necessities such as diving blocks, lane lines and backstroke flags.
Lykins made his GHSA state meet debut as a junior in the 50-yard freestyle. Unlike most sports, swimmers compete in combined classifications. Rather than only facing swimmers from Class 3A, Gilmer also squared off against Class 2A and A schools to close out the season.
Lykins saved his best performances for the 2022-23 state meet where he totaled 26 team points and set three GHS records as a senior. Along with Ian Berry, Cheyne Smith and Jacob Kucera, they finished fifth in the 200-yard free relay in 1:33.96. Lykins, Berry, Kucera and Larz Fowler posted a time of 3:35.41 in the 400-yard free relay for eighth.
Individually, Lykins placed 10th in the 200 free at 1:52.19. He narrowly missed setting a fourth school record in the 100-yard butterfly in 56.45, which was established by David Brown (55.39) in 2016.
“It was pretty cool, especially our relay team,” Lykins said of the meet. “In the beginning, I didn’t think our 400 team was going to make it to state at all, but we ended up making it and finished eighth.”
Aside from basketball and swimming, Lykins also played plenty of tennis. He played at Clear Creek Middle School and at GHS through his junior season. He chose to put down his racket when he joined a club swim team last summer and began competing year-round.
He travels to Canton for club practices and swims for the Stingrays. Lykins made the plunge after deciding collegiate swimming was an endeavor worth pursuing.
“My dad thought it was a good idea, and said I should do it if I want to swim in college,” he said of joining the club. “I didn’t even know if I wanted to swim in college then, but even if I didn’t, it would be helpful either way.”
Lykins swam the short-course season from summer months through spring. After a week off, he was back in the pool by mid-March for the long-course portion of the schedule.
“It’s really helped me and taught me a lot about swimming that I didn’t know,” he said of his time with the Stingrays. “I also learned how to meet new friends. They’ve all known each other down there because they have been swimming together forever. They’ve taught me a lot about my stroke and helped me be more of a mentally strong swimmer.”
At Oshkosh, Lykins will continue to swim freestyle and butterfly and possibly backstroke. In the classroom, he plans to pursue a degree in information systems with a minor in economics.
“Freestyle and butterfly are good with me, except the 200 fly, which is terrible,” Lykins said with a laugh. “They have a bunch of incoming freshmen, around 10. I think I’ll be able to drop a bunch of time once I’m up there.”
Oshkosh competes in the NCAA’s Division III as members of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Titans’ upcoming season is set to begin in October.