Excelled in water polo and swimming for the Dukes.
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
Heading into high school, recently graduated York senior Alex Marlott had tempered expectations on his dual athletic career in the pool.
“I wasn’t expecting to join the water-polo team and I didn’t expect my swimming career to go like it did,” he said.
Marlott reflected on his progress in both sports in the wake of being named York’s senior male athlete of the year.
“It’s a great award to receive,” he said. “I definitely was not expecting it. The past winners usually were in the bigger sports such as football, basketball and baseball. It’s great that a swimming and water polo player received it. It’s a great honor to win the award.”
Marlott has been a swimmer the majority of his life. Water polo did not enter the equation until high school.
“I’ve been swimming for 13 years and have been loyal to the sport,” he said. “I saw how rough water polo can be and coming into high school I was a really small guy. I was just over five feet tall. I was not built for it in any way, but the swimming guys convinced me to join water polo. I’m glad I tried it and I’m glad they convinced me to do it.”
Marlott said water polo in the beginning was a work in progress for him. “My freshman year I definitely struggled,” he said. “I was so small and I was getting roughed up by older guys in the pool. But I started using my speed to my advantage in games and that helped me my freshman year when I was still so short. I continued to use my skills and my speed and that helped me improve my style and get to where I’m at today.”
Marlott likes plenty about the sport of water polo. “I really just like the dynamic of it,” he said. “It’s a pretty awesome sport that requires such athleticism and practice to play. It’s a fast-paced sport. I like the feeling you have with your teammates. That’s important to me. Yes, you are on a team in swimming, but it’s more of an individual sport. With water polo, you have a team to rely on. Every challenge helps get the team closer. It’s a fun sport to play.”
Marlott said the sport also is challenging from an endurance standpoint. “I think there is definitely a part of it that people don’t see under water,” he said. “You are out there treading water for an hour and going back and forth. If you are in that hole-set position right in front of the goalie, you have to get just the right grab and hold. It’s a tough sport and it’s fun at the same time. A lot of people notice the punching and kicking that goes on, but that happens a lot less than people think in games.”
Marlott is taking his wares out west to Occidental College in Los Angeles. “It’s a very small (NCAA) Division III school,” he explained. “I plan on swimming and playing water polo in college. It will be awesome to do both because I love both sports so much.”
Marlott said he’s thinking about studying something physics related or possibly pursuing an engineering degree.
“And they have a 3/2 and a 4/2 program through Caltech where you could get a master’s degree of your choice,” he said. “I’m thinking maybe nuclear engineering or something of the sort.”
Marlott, who made the boy’s state swimming finals his senior year in the backstroke and helped break the school record in the medley relay, is proud of how he improved himself academically at York through the years. “My freshman and sophomore years academically were similar to my water-polo experience at York,” he said. “It was a bit of a struggle. I made a lot of progress my junior and senior years and got a grade-point average I’m happy with in the 4.0 area. I was very happy with how I finished. I took a lot of AP and honors classes. I wanted to challenge myself. Academics come first. That’s your future. You go to school to be a student and not an athlete. You go to school to learn and gain interest in your future.”
Marlott also is thankful for his time at York. “There were a lot of good times there,” he said. “Being an athlete you tend to develop a group of guys or girls that become your friends and teammates and it’s an incredible network of people you can rely on. The coaches at York were great. They help you with things at school and at home. York is a great school to go to. I really enjoyed my experience there.”
