Letdown drives Nixa's Brinck

Niklas Brinck stepped down from the medal podium and offered a handshake to the newly crowned state champion. He walked away, trying to keep his face from betraying his true feelings as strangers offered hugs and well-wishes.

Nixa senior Niklas Brinck says he comes to this year's state meet with "something to prove."

Brinck, now a senior at Nixa High School, had just finished a fraction of a second from a state championship, placing second on a technicality in the 100-yard backstroke at last year's state meet.

When the wall timer didn't register Brinck's touch at the conclusion of a race that ended in a photo finish, Rockhurst's Jonathon Benson was ruled the winner -- following more than an hour of deliberation -- by virtue of hand-timed results.

Had the scenario played out a year or two before, Brinck admits, he may have "blown up" over the ruling. But Brinck kept his emotions in check until he took a seat back in Nixa's team area, out of the spotlight.

"I got up on the medal stand," said Brinck, who will make a return appearance at the state meet in St. Peters today and Saturday, "and I figured the best way to handle it would be the more mature, professional manner."

It's an approach that has carried through to Brinck's senior season.

Driven by the dual motivations of past disappointment and future aspirations, Brinck has tackled his final year of high school swimming with a new level of focus.

"Each year he's matured a little bit," Nixa coach Jason Hite said. "And he knows, 'My stroke is not where it needs to be right now,' or 'I've got to work on my speed work' or 'My legs aren't strong enough.' He knows specifically what he needs to focus on."

Part of that is the college competition looming on the horizon. Brinck signed a letter of intent Wednesday to swim at the University of Minnesota, which he chose over the likes of Missouri, Louisville and Drury. Brinck, who will specialize in the sprints for the Golden Gophers, said the sudden immediacy of a college career has helped drive him this season.

"Getting calls from all those places, you realize, 'Shoot, in order to actually prove myself beforehand, before I even decide where I want to go, I need to work hard up to that point,'" Brinck said. "It really changes the mind-set."

Equally influential in shaping Brinck's attitude was the manner in which last season ended. He won the 100 freestyle at state, but the near-miss in the 100 backstroke -- Brinck lost by .04 seconds -- left him feeling unsatisfied.

"Oh, it's driven me," Brinck said. "I definitely feel like this year at state in the 100 backstroke, I have something to prove."

So far this season, he hasn't been defeated in either the 100 back or 100 free. Oftentimes it hasn't even been close.

So, he has altered his objectives. For instance, when he was seeded 10 seconds ahead of the No. 2 seed in the 200 individual medley last month at a meet in Webb City, Brinck set his sights on breaking the pool record.

"It's a race against the clock," Brinck said. "It's not a race against everyone else in that kind of situation. It's a race against yourself."

That's not to say Brinck is focused only on himself.

"He's helped me out with my turns because my turns were slowing me down," Nixa sophomore Carl Nicklin said. "So at Webb City, I listened to him and I cut down a good second."

Said Hite: "He doesn't think he's above and beyond anybody else. He brings those other guys along, too, and really tries to help them."

This season, Brinck himself hasn't required much outside help or inspiration. The memory of standing on that podium a year ago and the desire to stand one spot higher has provided motivation enough.

"My attitude toward that race is probably going to be one of the more driven attitudes I've had toward any race I've ever swam," Brinck said. "I mean, I've had driven attitudes toward a lot of races, but this one, because the fact of what happened last year, I feel like I have something to prove -- that it should have been my race."