Up-and-Comers: Clayton Treharne Making an Early Impact
Twelve-year-old Clayton Treharne of the Linn-Mar Swim Team in Marion, Iowa, has put together some stellar performances in 2023.
After being recognized as one of five Outstanding Swimmers of the Year for the short course season, Clayton continued his success in long course, claiming the high-point trophy at the Iowa State Long Course Championships, July 20-23, with seven gold medals (200-400 free, 50-100-200 back, 200 fly and 200 IM) and a bronze (50 fly).
A week-and-a-half later, Treharne traveled 300-plus miles to Lenexa, Kan., for the Central Zone 14 and Under Championships, Aug. 3-6. He put together five A-final swims with two second-place finishes in the 100-200 meter back (1:06.66, 2:23.32), two thirds in the 50 back and 200 IM (30.91, 2:31.58) and a sixth-place performance in the 200 free (2:16.30). His 100 back time and his prelim swim in the 50 back (30.53) were Iowa state records for 11-12 boys.
He knows the jump next year to the 13-14 age group will be a big one, and Clayton—along with help from his coach, Jackson Allmon—is ready to put in the work and get to the next level.
WHAT IS THE BEST THING YOU DO IN SWIMMING?
Well, my best stroke is backstroke. However, I am also really proud of how far my 200 IM has come, so now I would say that is also one of my best. I worked hard in my off season to improve my breaststroke so that my IM times would improve, and I was able to win the state long course title and take second at Zones this year in the 200 IM.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TOUGHEST WORKOUTS/SETS YOU’VE DONE?
My coach (Jackson Allmon) created a set called the 2:01 set. It’s 100s free in a meters pool. At the start of the set, we left on the :25 on the pace clock and tried to make it back by “the top” (:00). As long as we made it back within a minute and 35 seconds, we could continue the set. The second time, we left on the :26 and had to make it back by the top to beat a time of 1:34. We continued to do as many 100s as possible until we would fail to make it back by the top. I was able to make it to 26 100s and made it to the 1:09 interval.
Another tough workout we’ve done is one in which we started off with a 600 free as fast as we could. Our coaches would keep track of our 500 split within the 600. The next time we would do a 500, but our time had to be faster than the previous 500 split in the 600. And in this 500, our coaches would record our 400 time. We would continue this until we had to do a 100 with a 50 split. We do a lot of tough workouts, but those kind of stuck in my head.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT SWIMMING?
The relationships…I love my teammates, and I love making friends from other teams. I have an amazing friend group at LMST. They are so supportive, and I know these are friendships I will carry with me throughout high school and, hopefully, adulthood. I also love my coaches at LMST. They are the best—always helping me improve, offering constructive feedback. My coaches are very supportive. The relationships, bonds and life lessons this sport teaches you is by far my favorite thing.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE UPCOMING YEAR?
I am most looking forward to seeing how I do at the state short course championships in February, given my birthday is the weekend prior. The jump from the 11-12 age group to 13-14 feels like a big one. I am definitely a bit intimidated. Therefore, Coach Jackson and I are setting some pretty lofty goals for the season.
I am also very much looking forward to another year on Team Iowa All Stars. I have made some good friends with people from other teams, and I learn a lot from them. I think the talent we have in this state is just amazing, and I get so pumped up to get to swim with the top swimmers in our state on the All-Stars team. It’s a lot of fun, and I am creating some great friendships!
WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOOK UP TO IN SWIMMING…AND WHY?
I really look up to the older boys on the Linn-Mar Team: Ian Steffan, Mason Turner and Hudson Huberg…and, of course, one of our Linn-Mar grads who is currently a swimmer at Purdue and a family friend, Cooper Callahan. I watch them at practice, their work ethic. I follow them on Meet Mobile and am always cheering for their success. I literally can’t wait until I can perform at the level that they are. Sometimes my coach will put me in the same lane as one of them at practice, and I’ll expend every last drop of my energy, trying to outswim them. Haven’t done it yet…but one of these days!
I think it is really great the way they encourage me and the younger swimmers. They’re always willing to give us tips and tell us we are doing a good job. Recently, a couple of the older swimmers gave me their swim caps. It is kind of a ritual we have here at LMST—a way for the older swimmers to pass on the legacy to the up-and-coming kids and keep the program momentum going.
Both Hudson Huberg and Ian Steffan gave me their caps. It was exciting and motivating to me. In August of this year, I broke the IASI 100 11-12 boys backstroke record. The previous record holder was senior Mason Turner. So, I am hoping that that earns me the handing down of his cap!
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES?
I love to hang out with my friends. I have a great group of swimming friends, and I have a great group of friends in my neighborhood who we have all known since we were 3 years old. We ride bikes together, go to movies, swim in my pool, hang out at the coffee shop across from our high school, go to Cedar Rapids Kernels games…and I like to go support my other friends’ sports like baseball and football.
I also like spending time with my family. We do family movie nights, and I love board games. I am super-competitive, but so is my mom, so family game night can get pretty intense at our house. I also love to play with my dog, Piper. She is a 75-pound labrador retriever who thinks she is a lap dog and sleeps with me every night.