Spencer Hazen, Maumelle

Spencer Hazen has been a member of the Maumelle swim team since its inception, a fact that is a source of pride for the recent graduate.

"That's something I'm very proud of," Hazen said. "I'm glad I was able to be a part of the team and get the ball rolling. I'm hoping it sticks around for a while. I'm glad I was part of its foundation because it's not a sport a whole lot of people are going to get behind."

Hazen was a two-year state champion in both the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter breaststroke. He set a personal goal by swimming the 50-meter event in less than 22 seconds and his best in the 100-meter breaststroke was 58.7 seconds.

"Both events are my favorites," said Hazen, who said he usually spent 15 hours or more practicing in the pool every week. "High school rules allow you to swim in only two events in a meet, so it was a no-brainer for me that those two were the ones I would swim."

This fall, Hazen will attend the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville where he will major in biology. He eventually wants to enter medical school and become an anesthesiologist.

"That's a decision that I recently made," Hazen said. "It was a struggle to decide but I really enjoyed anatomy courses and it really stuck out to me. I'm the kind that I know I can do anything I put my mind to it and anesthesiology seems to be the right thing for me."

Hazen will not be swimming for the Razorbacks. He said some college coaches were interested in him joining their team, but there were no major college offers.

"If I wanted to swim somewhere it would have been at a Division II school," Hazen said. "And that's not the type of environment that I was searching for. The University of Arkansas is where I want to be."

Hazen said his favorite classes were anatomy and calculus.

"I was naturally good at math, so it was obviously one of my favorites," Hazen said.

Sports on 07/16/2017