{"id":502790,"date":"2022-04-16T06:01:09","date_gmt":"2022-04-16T13:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=502790"},"modified":"2022-04-16T06:01:09","modified_gmt":"2022-04-16T13:01:09","slug":"shaine-casas-surging-toward-crucial-rebound-trials-in-greensboro-will-swim-backstrokes-100-butterfly-200-im","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/shaine-casas-surging-toward-crucial-rebound-trials-in-greensboro-will-swim-backstrokes-100-butterfly-200-im\/","title":{"rendered":"Shaine Casas Surging Toward Crucial Rebound Trials in Greensboro; Will Swim Backstrokes, 100 Butterfly, 200 IM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shaine Casas Surging Toward Crucial Rebound Trials in Greensboro; Will Swim Backstrokes, 100 Butterfly, 200 IM <\/strong><\/p>\n

For two years, Shaine Casas<\/strong> could do no wrong in the pool. He broke onto the national scene during the summer of 2019 when he captured national titles in both backstroke events, and he continued his surge through his sophomore and junior seasons of college swimming at Texas A&M. The 2020 NCAA Championships were cancelled because of COVID-19, but Casas was the top-performing swimmer at the 2021 national meet as he won national titles in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke and the 200 IM while leading the Aggies to an impressive 10th-place finish.<\/p>\n

The next step, it seemed, was qualifying for his first Olympic team, and Casas was a popular pick to qualify for Tokyo behind defending Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy<\/strong> in the backstroke events. But at the cruel and unforgiving meet that is Olympic Trials, Casas just missed. He placed third in the 100 backstroke, less than three tenths behind surprising runnerup Hunter Armstrong<\/strong>, and he fell to sixth in the 200 back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that meet definitely slapped me in the face,\u201d Casas said of his Olympic Trials experience. When discussing what went wrong for him in Omaha, Casas admitted that he had become overconfident, and he refused to place the blame for what he considered poor performances on anyone besides himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really thought I was on top of the world,\u201d Casas said. \u201cAt NCAAs, I didn\u2019t really take it seriously and still performed well enough, and I was like, \u2018You know what? I\u2019m fine. I\u2019ve got this. I\u2019ve been swimming well.\u2019 And I think that was my fault. Trials was my fault. As much as people might not agree and think the coach messed it up, it was my fault. I didn\u2019t take it seriously enough. I wasn\u2019t committed enough or disciplined enough. Even though I really wanted to be an Olympian, my swims reflected my discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

That performance shook Casas, and it left him unsure of how to proceed in his swimming career. He realized that he needed to make a change, and he decided that he was no longer interested in college swimming. He decided he would depart Texas A&M, where he had thrived under coaches Jay Holmes<\/strong> and Jason<\/strong> Calanog<\/strong>, and move north to train at the University of Texas under legendary coach Eddie Reese<\/strong> and assistant coach Wyatt<\/strong> Collins<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Casas ended up staying in College Station through December, but when he finally did move to Austin<\/a>, he admitted that it was tough to depart a place where \u201cI was extremely comfortable, and I knew everything.\u201d He viewed this transition as necessary for him to reach his full potential in swimming.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have to become uncomfortable, even if It\u2019s just for a little bit, just for the betterment of themselves,\u201d he said. \u201cAs much as I would have liked for it to work out there, it didn\u2019t, and that\u2019s tough but if you want to do something, and you really want it, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get to where you want to be, and I\u2019m willing to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\"CASAS

Shaine Casas (middle) after capturing the short course world title in the men\u2019s 100 backstroke — Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli \/ Deepbluemedia \/ Insidefoto<\/p><\/div>\n

In the months after Olympic Trials, Casas was unsure where he would compete next, but around October, he was offered a spot representing the U.S. in the backstroke events at the Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi. Casas had not ramped up his training yet following Trials, but once he got the invitation, he said, \u201cIt\u2019s go time.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a chance afforded because swimmers ahead of Casas in the qualifying order, including Murphy, had declined spots at the meet. Casas was making his first appearance at an elite-level international meet, but he immediately thrived. In his first event, the 100 back, Casas blasted out to an early lead and then held off Russia\u2019s Kliment<\/strong> Kolesnikov<\/strong>, the Olympic silver medalist in the event, to win the world title<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the competition, Casas added a silver medal in the 200 back, a race where he hoped to add a second individual gold but \u201cI wasn\u2019t ready for that\u201d as Polish veteran Radoslaw<\/strong> Kawecki<\/strong> surpassed him at the end. Casas also added four relay medals.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it was a little bit of redemption,\u201d Casas said of his performance. \u201cI feel like after missing the (Olympic) team, I just went under the radar, and people probably forgot, like, \u2018Oh, like what happened to Shaine?\u2019 I\u2019m still here. I won. I was not satisfied with how I swam at the meet. I still feel like I can do more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casas was still training at Texas A&M leading up to Short Course Worlds, but after he returned to the U.S., he officially made the move to train with the Longhorns. On living in Austin, Casas said, \u201cI am out here in the city. This is definitely not what I\u2019m used to.\u201d But otherwise, he has adopted well. He has enjoyed training under the Texas men\u2019s coaches and in the small but focused pro training group that currently includes Will<\/strong> Licon<\/strong>, Maxime Rooney<\/strong> and Charlie Swanson<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took me a little bit to get the physical part,\u201d Casas said. \u201cIt was tough. I was tired all the time, and I was finding myself napping all day. Sometimes I\u2019d miss lunch, and have to just like eat really fast before practice. But I finally got used to it, and it\u2019s great. My place is set up I have a nice living room. I live in a nice place. People are friendly. It\u2019s just I think a really good adjustment for me, and I really don\u2019t think it could be going any better than it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casas has seen strong early returns from his time training in Austin. At the first TYR Pro Swim Series meet of the year, Casas defeated a strong field in the 100 freestyle that included Olympians Ryan<\/strong> Held<\/strong>, Caeleb<\/strong> Dressel<\/strong> and Zach<\/strong> Apple<\/strong>. At the most recent stop in Westmont, Casas scored four victories. His times in the 100 butterfly (51.09)<\/a> and 200 IM (1:56.70)<\/a> rank first in the United States in 2022, and both would have been fast enough to qualify for the Olympic team last year. His times in both backstroke events rank second in the country to Murphy.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old will compete at the U.S. World Championship Trials<\/a> later this month in Greensboro, N.C., but he will not compete in the 100 freestyle on the meet\u2019s first day, despite the six potential relay berths available. His event lineup in Greensboro will include:<\/p>\n