While he was a state champion swimmer as a boy, Jefferson High School junior Lance Scallon has been like a fish out of water since then.

But he’s back in the swim again as a key first-year member of the J-Hawk team.

Coach Ryan York is happy to have him, even though he knows the swim team wasn’t Scallon’s first choice.  Scallon came out this winter only because knee surgery last summer kept him off the varsity football and basketball teams.  Lean and well-muscled at close to 6-foot-4, he’s already, he’s made a big splash.

In the first dual meet of the season last Tuesday against Waterloo East, Scallon won the 100-yard backstroke and 100 freestyle events and swam on the winning 200 medley and 200 free relays.

At Saturday’s J-Hawk Relays, he put his team in the lead in the first leg of the 400 medley relay and swam strong races in the 300 backstroke and 400 free relays.

Jefferson didn’t fare too well in its own meet, finishing last out of six teams as Dubuque Senior swam away from the rest.

But Scallon did well, dropping a full three seconds off his backstroke time from the first meet and a full second off his freestyle time.

York is hoping that his new swimmer is the missing link needed for Jefferson to qualify for the high school championships in at least two relay events.  But then he knew what he was he was getting when Scallon told him he wanted to join the team.

“He’s a pretty talented kid,” York said.

As a coach for the Stoney Point YMCA team six years ago, York watched the 11-year-old win the state 50 butterfly.  Swimming for the Y team, Scallon later set city records in the 50 backstroke.  He swam for the Taft eighth grade team, then gave up the sport to concentrate on football and basketball.

“Football’s my favorite, no question,” said Scallon. “And I like basketball and swimming equally, but you can’t do both in high school.”

He played on the Jeff sophomore basketball team as a freshman and played on the varsity football team in 2010 as a sophomore.  He was the first-string punter and starting free safety and a backup at quarterback.

In the third game of last year’s basketball season, however, he dislocated his kneecap. He continued to start on the sophomore team but was hampered all year.  He also competed the last two springs as a high jumper and middle distance runner on the J-Hawk track team.

When he reinjured his left knee last June playing pick-up basketball, surgery was required. Rehabilitation meant six months with no contact sports, meaning no football and basketball this year.

So he rediscovered his prowess in the pool, now with much longer legs and arms.

“That definitely helps me,” Scallon says of his still-growing physique. “But I’ve been working really hard in practice the last four or five weeks, morning and afternoon and on Saturday morning.”

Although he says his still somewhat gimpy knee hasn’t bothered his stroke, it does hurt a little when he dives off the block and kicks off on turns.

York says the fact that he’s adept in the freestyle, backstroke and butterfly makes him a valuable contributor, both in individual events and in the relays.

“He’s lean and muscular and has good flexibility,” said the fifth-year J-Hawk coach. “And he fits in real well with the other boys.

“We needed another strong sprinter, and Lance might be the piece we need.  I’ve told him that if he wants to swim, the door is always open.”

J-HAWK RELAYS

Teams - 1. Dubuque Senior 112, 2. Iowa City West 74, 3. CR Kennedy 2, 4. Dubuque Hempstead 60, 5. Linn-Mar 52, 6. CR Jefferson 34

400 medley relay-Dubuque Senior (Mitch Gill, Connor Huff, Josh Gill, Alex Duster) 3:57.63
600 free relay-Dubuque Senior (Buddy Franson, Mitch Schroeder, Ben Colin) 5:52.79
200 free relay-Dubuque Senior (Duster, Martin, Franson, James Daughters) 1:35.22
300 backstroke relay-Kennedy (Austin Schwantz, John Richardson, Dylan Casey) 3:08.14
300 IM relay- Iowa City West (Logan Guerra, Carson Miller, Kaisen Yao) 2:57.75*
300 breaststroke relay-Dubuque Senior (J.Gill, M.Gill, Huff) 3:13.06*
300 butterfly relay-Dubuque Senior (Justin Yvan, Drake Stierman, J.Gill) 3:03.33
400 free relay-Dubuque Senior (Colin, Franson, Schroeder, no name) 3:31.90
200 medley relay-Iowa City West (Anthony Lehnertz, Mason Weibel, Ross McCurdy, Nathan Druivenga) 1:43.57*

*Meet  Record