Jackson swimmer focuses on bigger, better outcomes

Steffan Troxel discovered competitive swimming by accident, and now he's making opponents wish it was an accident that never happened.

Troxell, a student at Jackson High School, broke his arm in first grade while running track.

"I was running and jumping over hurdles," Troxel said. "Then I hit one and kind of fell over and broke my arm, and that ended that."

Troxel's doctor advised him against basketball that season and prescribed swimming as a sort of rehab.

All Troxel needed was to get his feet wet.

"Basically I started and just never stopped," said Troxell,16.

Troxel began competing with the Jackson city swim team when he was seven, but four years later he swapped teams and became a member of the Cape Girardeau Gators swim team.

"The Gators offered a year-round program," Troxel said. "And that's what I wanted. I guess I was hooked."

The hard work and dedication is paying off for Troxel. He participated in a sectional swim meet this summer against swimmers from five other states. He placed fifth in the mile freestyle in 16 minutes, 12 seconds.

Freestyle distance is Troxel's favorite race.

"There's a lot of strategy," he said. "I'm constantly thinking about something involved in my stroke or the people around me. It passes by pretty fast. I like the aspect of the long race."

Troxel seems to be motivated by himself instead of by particular opponents.

"There's a lot of competition in the sport. It's the sport's nature," he said. "But I don't really compete against any specific people. If there's a good race with good competition going on around me, then I go for it. But I enjoy competing with myself."

The future looks exciting for Troxel, who needs to shave 20 to 30 seconds off his mile time to make the national cut and an additional 15 seconds to make the Olympic trials.

"They're both realistic. The Olympics is an outside shot, but you never know. I'm still young," he said. "I still have plenty of time to do it. Right now I'm just focusing on the Gators."

Troxel said he hopes to attend college and remain involved in swimming, maybe with a large program like Southern California or Michigan -- both well known for their swimming programs.

Noel wins weekend BassBusters event

Brad Noel of Jackson won Sunday's BassBusters fishing tournament by weighing a limit of bass and culling three fish over 16 inches. Noel targeted shallow northern bays and laydown logs. He caught his fish using Southern pro tubes in less than 3 feet of water.

Steve Ramey of Cape Girardeau was second. He caught his limit in the same area as Noel but used a Bandit 200 Series crankbait in crawfish color.

Noel won big-bass honors with a 5-pounder.

Sunday's weather was 70 degrees and sunny with southwest winds at 5 to 10 mph. The afternoon water temperature was 52 degrees.