Staying busy helped Luke Newcomb become Brighton’s first boys state swim champ

Brighton junior Luke Newcomb is the Livingston County boys Swimmer of the Year after winning the state breaststroke championship.

BRIGHTON — Luke Newcomb earned the right to relax and savor the reward for all the hours he spent training in the pool during the winter.

But that’s not how he’s wired.

So, two weeks after becoming the first Brighton boy to win a state swimming championship, Newcomb was in Austin, Texas swimming 11 races in six events over four days at Speedo Sectionals.

His best finish was seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke, the event he won at the MHSAA Division 1 finals at Calvin University.

Down time began the week he returned from Texas and lasted only one week.

Newcomb, who is Livingston County’s boys Swimmer of the Year, estimates he spends 95% of a calendar year training and racing as a swimmer.

“We get a week off between seasons and normally two or three weeks off during the summer, and that’s about it,” he said.

Newcomb isn’t at risk of burning out any time soon. In fact, he seems to thrive having a packed schedule.

Brighton’s Luke Newcomb began specializing in breaststroke from an early age.

“I like it,” he said. “Whenever I do have time off, I feel unproductive. I just always want to be swimming, It’s a good thing to have a drive for swim and the extra passion for it.”

Even during high school swimming season, Newcomb stays busy in the time he’s not in the pool. An accomplished trumpet player, Newcomb competes as a musician during the winter. He missed a dual meet against Pinckney in February because of a music competition.

“In the fall, we have marching band, so that’s hard to match with my fall swim, which is club,” Newcomb said. “In the winter, I practice for individual private brass ensemble, which we compete for in the summer. It’s a constant balance trying to mix everything, especially with school, too.”

As a swimmer, Newcomb came into the Brighton program with a strong reputation from his time with Club Wolverine in Ann Arbor.

His fourth-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke in the 2021 state meet was the second-best by a Livingston County freshman. He moved up to second in that event as a sophomore behind Saline senior Joshua Brunty, setting himself up to make history as a junior.

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“That was on my mind the entire season,” Newcomb said. “I was the second the year before. The senior who won graduated. I knew I had some competition, but if I could just out-touch him at the second last, that’s all I needed.”

Newcomb won the breaststroke by 0.48 seconds over Detroit Catholic Central junior Luke Mychalowych, lowering his own school record to 55.34 seconds. He dropped that time to 55.30 in Texas, though it won’t count for Brighton’s records.

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Newcomb began specializing in breaststroke when he started swimming competitively.

“It’s what I picked up on as a kid,” he said. “That was my stroke. It never changed throughout the years, like other kids. I just kept it as my No. 1 and you’ve got to just keep working at it.

“It’s kind of funky compared to the free, back and fly. All those others, you’re consistent with your speed and stroke. Breaststroke, it’s more segmented throughout the stroke and kick. I like being the one who masters a different type of stroke.”

Newcomb is also proficient in the other strokes, using all four at some point to make all-state in all of his swims this season. He placed third as the breaststroke specialist in the 200 medley relay, eighth in the 200 individual medley and fifth in the 400 freestyle relay.

His performances helped Brighton place third as a team, the highest finish ever by a Livingston County boys team.

“It was definitely a very competitive team this year,” Newcomb said. “That’s really what held up the culture that we needed. Everyone wanted to achieve something great this year. We knew we had the people, the power, the training to do it. We all took a step forward this year at the state meet. It was great to be part of the team.”

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brighton’s Luke Newcomb, is Livingston County Swimmer of the Year