Low-Key Stelle Hits High Note

Agoura High swimmer Jason Stelle is not someone who relishes fanfare or hype.

On Saturday when he set a Southern Section 2-A Division record in the 100-yard backstroke in the 2-A finals, his day went something like this:

He got up at 8:30 a.m., traveled on a bus with his teammates to Long Beach for the Southern Section swimming championships, listened to his Walkman, dropped three seconds off his best time in the 200-yard individual medley to take second place, shattered his own Southern Section record in the 100-yard backstroke, went out for pizza and returned home to sleep.

There was no wild celebrating for Stelle.

“It’s pretty neat,” he said of the record.

One would hardly think that the high point of his day--turning in a scorching time of 50.87 seconds--was particularly special.

It was.

The time represented the first race in which Stelle--a junior--had broken the 51-second barrier and made short-lived his day-old 2-A record set in the prelims: 51.26.

Stelle said that immediately after he had finished, “I had a feeling. I didn’t hear anything (announced), but I had a feeling that maybe I had gone 50.”

The time gave Stelle the second-fastest 100 backstroke in Southern Section championship meet history.

Only Steve Barnicoat (50.68) of 4-A Mission Viejo in 1984 turned in a faster time. Naturally, Stelle leaped out of the pool and danced on the deck. Or maybe not.

“I just smiled,” he said shyly.

Stelle leaves the celebrating to others. Like Agoura Coach Mike Mulligan, who made sure he and some teammates were by Stelle’s lane to witness the run at the record.

“Hot dang, it was fantastic,” Mulligan said. “I thought he could go under 51 on Friday (at prelims) and he thought he could too. And then the tenth-of-a-second loss in the IM after he went his fastest ever--I think that got him psyched enough to really go for it in the (backstroke).”

On the starting block, Stelle remained as placid as the prerace waters, but the atmosphere poolside was awash with excitement.

“The announcer got everybody all pumped up,” Mulligan said. “He was saying, ‘We have the record-holder Jason Stelle swimming today and he’s going all out for the record.’ And when they announced him, our whole section went wild, screaming and yelling for him.

“I think I saw him break a little smile then.”

Less than 51 seconds later, it was the grin of a champion.

Then it was off for pizza and home to bed for Stelle. No sense in getting wrapped up in all this record talk.