Heading into the Idaho Class 5A state swim meet in Boise earlier this month, Noah Crossler of Moscow was determined to overcome a personal jinx by winning a prize that had eluded him two years running.
The junior would not only break his jinx, but shatter a state record and win the votes to be crowned the Tribune’s Prep Athlete of the Week in the process.
Crossler had been seeded first at State in the 100-yard butterfly both his freshman and sophomore years, but settled for third and second, respectively, in the actual meets. This time around, he left no room for an upset.
Crossler clocked a winning time of 51.64 seconds, leading the field by more than three seconds and surpassing the previous meet record of 52.16 set by Jacob Ballard of Sandpoint in 2018.
“You should have heard the excitement in the building when he started to break away from the other swimmers in that race,” Moscow coach Shelly Ruspakka said. “All of the training he’s put in this year, and the last eight years, came down to this moment.”
Crossler also claimed a 100 backstroke victory with a time of 54.98 as he capped off an undefeated season.
“He had a goal at the beginning to go undefeated, and he accomplished that — and not all of those races were easy for him,” Ruspakka said.
Crossler took up swimming around age 8 at the suggestion of a family friend. It was not long before he was competing as a member of Vandal Aquatic club and established a year-round commitment.
In the aftermath of his historic state showing, Crossler is setting right back to training with a focus on refining his form to a level that could bring more state records and have Division I college recruitment offers flowing next year.
