Sophomore freestyler Joe Gage pushes and paces himself through 20 laps in the 500-yard freestyle or 40 in the 1,000-yard freestyle. He focuses on the laps ahead and tries to ignore any pain or fatigue. In a sprint, he powers through two or four laps, trying to make every stroke perfect because the minute details can often decide the race. Gage has learned to switch seamlessly from distance to sprints and has succeeded in both this season.  

Gage’s dominance in freestyle has helped lift the Bombers in their five victories so far this season. He has won at least two events in each meet so far, swimming the 1,000-yard, the 500-yard, the 200-yard, the 50-yard and a leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay. Gage’s success at a quad meet versus Hartwick College, Hamilton College and SUNY-Geneseo on Nov. 22 earned him the honor of being named Empire 8 Athlete of the Week.

Though Gage has clinched wins in multiple distances, he sees himself as a long-distance swimmer first.

“I train like a distance swimmer,” he said. “But if I’ve got to sprint, I just know how to do it, and I can get up and go.”

Gage’s training often means swimming thousands of yards in practice. Senior captain and backstroker Mike Blizniak said Gage sometimes has his own lane during practices because he can handle tougher workouts.

“When you pound out distance yardage every day like Joe, it’s easy to keep your endurance for any race,” sophomore Steve Croucher said. “As far as transitioning, it’s all in how you work your sprints and distances in practice. You really have to stay on top of every aspect of practice, and Joe does that really well.”

In long-distance events, swimmers often struggle to hold a fast pace as fatigue sets in.  Croucher said Gage is able to overcome any of those troubles.

“He doesn’t go out hard and come back easy,” Croucher said. “He holds consistently fast the whole race through. And that’s how he wins races.”

Sophomore butterflyer and freestyler Justin Gainer said Gage’s preparation in practice makes his transitions appear simple.

“It’s all mental on his part,” Gainer said. “He swims a lot in practice to get ready for any distance. The transition is merely a matter of his state of mind.”

Gage said he easily identified freestyle as his strongest stroke and learned to handle the different distances through experience.

“I started off trying everything,” Gage said. “I focused on freestyle because it’s what I was good at. I like the long distances. I used to sprint, but I found over time that there’s a lot more going on in distance, a lot more to think about.”

Now in his second year on the team, Gage said the supportive atmosphere of the team helps him get through difficult training schedules and events.

Croucher said Gage’s sense of humor often helps the team get through long practices by motivating other swimmers to work harder.

“He’s always positive,” Croucher said. “When it’s Wednesday and we’re all broken down, Joe finds a way to pick us up and push us through practice. Everyone too, not just the freestylers.”

No matter the distance he is asked to swim, Gage will help the Bombers challenge undefeated Alfred University and other top Empire 8 competitors at the Don Richards Invitational beginning Friday. Freshman Antoine Connors said Gage helps inspire the whole team, even when the swimmers are faced with tough challenges.

“Joe brings a sense of thrill and accomplishment to the team as a whole,” Connors said. “No matter how bad a mood you’re in or how terrible a swim you’ve had, watching him swim is enough to kick you back into gear.”