Ithaca’s Lovette breaks NCAA record

Back in 2017, Jamie Lovette led the Ithaca boys swimming team to a Section IV title and was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Swimmer. Now, five years later, Lovette is the owner of an NCAA Division III record swimming as a senior at Williams College in Massachusetts.

Lovette broke the record not once but twice. He was swimming with his team at the NESCAC Championships on Feb. 19 and achieved a time of 1:35.94 in the 200 freestyle during the prelims of the event. That mark broke a record that had stood since 2017, but Lovette wasn’t finished. Later that same day, he shaved some time and broke his own record in the finals with a time of 1:35.52. Lovette recapped the first record-breaking performance.

“I set the record first at prelims,” Lovette said. “I was feeling very strong in the water. Underwaters were feeling great. Ultimately, I thought I was for sure going to get the best time, but I had no idea that I was going to be able to reach that mark. When I first looked up and saw the record on the scoreboard, it was mostly just disbelief. Then, it hit me.”

Breaking the record twice in one day is an outstanding accomplishment. For Lovette, he was making the strides he needed to make to keep up with the overall improvements of swimmers around the country.

“Going into it, I was just very nervous,” Lovette said. “You can see all the times from Division III, and especially this year, I think the whole country has gotten so much faster. There are some really impressive times already up, posted by other schools and other swimmers that would have won nationals a few years ago. I think seeing that definitely provides motivation.”

The rise to record-breaking success began back at Ithaca High School, according to Lovette.

“I’ve been really fortunate in that I’ve had fantastic coaches,” Lovette said. “I started off with Mike Blakely-Armitage at Ithaca High School, and that really set an awesome precedent. After high school, I joined the swim team here at Williams under coach Steven Kuster. … The incredible direction and coaching style that both of those coaches have, I think, has allowed for the possibility of success.”

However, if you told Lovette back in high school that he’d eventually set a national record, he would not believe you.

“It seems like a long time ago now,” he said. “Back then, winning sectionals felt like a huge, tremendous deal. I had no idea that at this point, a few years down the line, I’d be in this position. I’m still in a bit of shock, so I’m still figuring out how to process it.”

Lovette is one of 14 Williams swimmers heading to the national championships later this month. Among that group is freshman Carter Anderson, who won four events at the 2020 Section IV Championships for Ithaca High School. Lovette talked about sharing the pool with a former high school teammate.

“I started swimming with Carter many years ago, and we overlapped for one season in Ithaca,” Lovette said. “To swim with him again, he’s a fantastic training partner. One thing that makes me most joyous is seeing how the first-years did at our most recent meet, and Carter’s 500 and 1,000 are certainly among those. I’m a senior; I’ll be leaving next year. It makes me very happy to know that I’ll be leaving the team in excellent hands.”

Lovette has already left his mark on the record books, but he’s focused on making an impact at the final meet of his college swimming career, the NCAA Championships. Lovette has qualified for seven events there, three individuals and four relays and has a very good chance to win a national title.

“Last nationals, we qualified seven swimmers and divers, and we placed seventh,” Lovette said. “We have 14 [swimmers] currently locked in. I think we can make an incredible splash there. I think a top-three finish would definitely not be out of the realm of possibility. I’m hoping for great team success and also hopefully I’d like to maybe lock in that 200 and 500 win. We’ll have to wait and see on that.”

Ithaca’s swimming and diving program has been a dominant force in Section IV for a long time, and Lovette is a part of that reputation. He will look to add NCAA champion to his resume on March 16, when he travels with 13 teammates to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the national championships.

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