Something Clark Montgomery once said really stood out to Webster Groves boys swimming and diving coach Evyn Spencer.
鈥淗e told me that he gets behind the blocks and when he hears that first whistle to step up, his brain turns off and he just thinks the word 鈥榮wim.鈥 So, whether it is a dual meet at Webster University that we're hosting, or state, or the CoMo Invite, that kid just wants to race, and that's how he is every single race I've ever watched him do in high school, from the smallest of pools to the big one at the (St. Peters) Rec-Plex,鈥 Spencer said. 鈥淭hat's pretty rare. Even when I was a swimmer myself, I don't remember any teammate saying that or the swimmers I've coached before, anything. I never had a kid say that they just get behind the block, turn it off and go. It's the perfect way to encapsulate who Clark is because you can see from the moment he steps on the block until he touches that touchpad, that's the only thing on his mind.鈥
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It鈥檚 that kind of approach that has made Montgomery one of the area鈥檚 top swimmers.
Montgomery has made state appearances in each of his first three seasons with the Statesmen and has earned a pair of individual medals the last two. That includes matching runner-up finishes in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle finals at last fall鈥檚 Class 1 state meet.
鈥淕etting second is always the worst, in my opinion, because you're so close yet so far,鈥 he said. 鈥淪o hopefully this year, I can get it done, and I think I can put together a good season.鈥
Montgomery also helped fuel Webster to a third-place effort in the 200 free relay and a fourth-place finish in the 400 free relay.
鈥淐lark is the energy that keeps everybody excited, happy and looking forward to the next race, amped up and ready to go,鈥 Spencer said. 鈥淪o, whether it is his medals, his place, his points, his times, that's all been so great for the program, but even better is just the personality that he has brought and the life that he has injected into it.鈥
Montgomery plans to definitely swim the 200 free at state again this year, although the other event is still up in the air. If he does end up swimming both the 100 and 200 frees, he will have two big obstacles out of the way as both defending Class 1 100 free champ Brody Blatt (Colorado Mesa) and 200 free champ Whitaker Steward (Tennessee) are in college now.
鈥淭hey were really good competition so I could kind of see what I actually had to do to win,鈥 Montgomery said. 鈥淚 think that really helped me out.鈥
Spencer is excited to see what Montgomery can do now that he is in his senior season.
鈥淟ast year, he definitely had his sights set on winning one or two of those races, knowing that he was going up against the powerhouses of Whitaker Steward and Brody Blatt, two phenomenal swimmers. He was pretty hungry for it, and he thought he had a chance and he went after it best he could,鈥 Spencer said. 鈥淚 think this year we can go ahead and use the word starving. He's ready. I mean, he's ready to take the top of that podium, whether it's his individuals or even some of our relays, which are pretty stacked.鈥
Montgomery came close to medaling his freshman year with two finishes just outside the top eight. Then, came a pair of top-four finishes as a sophomore before last year鈥檚 two second-place showings.
He feels it鈥檚 his technique that has shown the most improvement over the course of the past four years.
鈥淚 never did much work with it,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 wouldn't say I joined swim late, but I definitely wasn't fully into swim. I played other sports like soccer and basketball growing up, so I kind of had other priorities than swim. And then kind of going into eighth grade, I was like, 鈥楢ll right, I kind of want to focus on this.鈥 鈥
From his humble beginnings in swimming just a few short years ago to now being one of the best in the state, Montgomery is on the cusp of stepping up the sport鈥檚 next level.
鈥淚 am wanting to swim in college. I do not know where yet, but I'm looking at like the mid-major level, so I'm excited to see where that brings me,鈥 he said. 鈥淚've talked to a couple coaches. I'm trying to get it done by the end of this high school season, hopefully.鈥
Spencer thinks Montgomery will be a natural fit at the collegiate level.
鈥淚 got to talk to a couple college coaches this summer about him that are pretty jazzed about him,鈥 Spencer said. 鈥淗e's pretty easy to sell, honestly. It's pretty easy to sell this kid personality-wise and speed-wise and everything.鈥
Before he leaves Webster with what he hopes will be an individual championship or two, Montgomery also has something he鈥檇 like to accomplish team-wise.
The Statesmen have 11 top-four finishes in program history but none since 1971. In Montgomery鈥檚 three seasons thus far, Webster has just missed out on a claiming a team trophy (top four) with finishes of sixth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
鈥淥ur goal is to get on our banner, which is final four, and Webster hasn't done that in a long time,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 feel like this year is the best chance we have to actually do it because we have two new freshmen that could contribute at state and we're going to have three good relays. So, I'm excited to kind of just see if we can actually do it because I've gotten fifth place but never fourth.鈥
