Thursday, June 20th, 2019
Fleagle commits to Buckeyes
By Colin Foster
Justin Fleagle is one of the best young swimmers in the nation.
Take notice, Buckeye Nation. Fleagle will soon be coming to a pool near you.
The 17-year-old from St. Marys recently gave his commitment to the Ohio State swimming program. His career prep career has included two individual national titles as a member of the Auglaize-Mercer Family YMCA Waves and a state relay championship with Celina High School. Now, Fleagle is ready to see what he can do in Columbus.
"My mom always uses the analogy that when you're a fish in a pond and you start getting bigger, you need to go to bigger ponds and go against bigger fish," said Fleagle, son of Marscia and Jeff. "It's a constant process of climbing the next level."
His pool performances thus far have been next level.
As a freshman with Celina at the OHSAA Division II State Swimming Championships, Fleagle teamed with Keaton McMurray, Mason Baker and Garrett Weininger to capture the 200-yard freestyle relay title. Fleagle, now home-schooled, has gone on to win a YMCA Long Course National crown (50 backstroke) and YMCA Short Course National title (100 backstroke).
A proven commodity in many events, Fleagle expects to focus on sprinting races at Ohio State but is open to try just about any stroke.
"They can mold me into anything, pretty much," Fleagle said. "... One thing that I won't be is a distance free styler. I'm not a distance person, but sprint freestyle for sure, and maybe in the future swim the IM, doing all strokes at the same time."
He will become the second from his family to suit up for the Ohio State swim team when he arrives in 2020. His older brother, Josh, had a successful career with the Buckeyes before taking a crack at the 2016 Olympic Trials.
"Being the youngest and seeing your brother do great things, you want to do even better," said Justin, who will be a biology major and hopes to one day find his niche in the medical field.
Fleagle announced his commitment to Ohio State on his collegeswimming.com page, writing "I have been a fan of and admired The Ohio State University swimming program since I was an 8 and under and am happy to announce my commitment to continue my swimming career there! My parents and I have always acquired great advice and support from Coach Wadley and now Coach Dorenkott. I have enjoyed meeting the team members as well as the great assistant coaches and observing the close family team environment! I am excited to find success in the coming steps of my college journey. GO BUCKS!"
And he thinks success will continue.
"My class is going to be really good coming into Ohio State," Fleagle said. "I think we could definitely win Big Tens, and the NCAAs may be a possibility. You never know."
