Seymour senior Trevor Layne swam a career-best time at the Floyd Central Sectional to win the 100-yard breaststroke for the second year in a row.

But that time wasn’t good enough, and he knew it.

If the Owls’ most consistent swimmer was going to achieve his goals of setting the school record in the event and finish on the state podium, he was going to have to be even better than his career best.

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So he went out and did it.

First at the IHSAA state finals preliminary round, falling just short of making the championship heat, and then again in the consolation final.

His Saturday state time of 56.78 seconds would have netted him a seventh-place finish if the swim finals were built more like the track championships. But as he alluded to after the final swim of his high school career, “It doesn’t work like that.”

Still, Layne’s constant and consistent improvement is what makes him The Tribune’s Boys Swimmer of the Year.

Layne’s time keeps him at third all-time on the Seymour boys swimming records, just 0.11 seconds off of Olympian Pat Calhoun.

Just being in the same breath as Calhoun and Kameron Chastain means a lot to Layne.

“It means I’m on the same level as Kam Chastain and Pat Calhoun, two guys that went to, at least, the Olympic trials, so it’s a big deal to me that I’m on the same level as those guys and can continue the legacy,” Layne said.

However, if you go back just three years when Layne first started swimming, a 56.78 100 breaststroke, let alone a swim under a minute, seemed possible.

Layne jokes he didn’t even know how to swim properly when he first came out for the team his sophomore season.

But Seymour swim coach Dave Boggs recognized the natural athleticism Layne had and knew he could get to a state level with some work.

“His first meet was, I think, a 1:22 or a 1:25, and he really had a big drop as he learned,” Boggs said. “He kept getting faster and just came out of nowhere. He’s a natural athlete and a natural breaststroker.”

With just three years of significant training, it’s a wonder what Layne could have accomplished if he started his swimming career earlier.

“I always wondered if I had started earlier,” Layne said. “I didn’t even know how to swim my sophomore year.”

When asked to sum up his three-year career, Layne was short and to the point, much like his time in the pool.

“It was short,” he said, “but it was good for the time that I had.”