Villanova athlete pools talents to compete in Big East swimming, track championships

THIS IS GOING to be quite a week for Villanova junior Bill Sepich. What is believed to be an unprecedented week. Not so much for what he might or might not accomplish as an athlete. But rather for being there. Or better yet, for making it there. Not once, but twice.

Starting Wednesday, the South Jersey native will swim for the Wildcats at the Big East championships, which are being held at East Meadow, N.Y., on Long Island. His speciality is the 100-yard backstroke, but he'll also take part in at least two relays.

Then late Friday afternoon he'll hop over to the upper west side of Manhattan, about 30 miles away, where the following day he's running the 1,000 meters for the track and field team in the Big East indoor meet.

Conference officials have told the school they don't know of anyone else who has ever done such a double.

"In some conferences they don't have qualifying times, or [the standards] are a lot easier [to reach]," Sepich said. "Ours are pretty hard."

He qualified in swimming relatively early in the season. The running end of it took a little longer.

"That was a relief, because it meant all the hard work I've put in over the past few years had finally paid off," he said. "At the same time, if I'd just made it in one of them, I wouldn't have anything to feel bad about. So I was trying not to put too much pressure on myself.

"But it's going to be awesome. There's a reason it's happening. To have both on the same weekend, in the same state, I figure it must be some kind of fate. It all just kind of fell into place."

Sepich grew up in the pool. His father Bill is the renowned coach of the Hurricanes Swim Team at the Burlington County YMCA in Mount Laurel. When Sepich got to Delran High, he began running as well. And became good enough at it to get recruited. But after injuring his ankle as a senior, he wound up on the Main Line as a walk-on.

"It was tough at first," recalled Sepich, a biology major who is enrolled in a joint program with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he'll eventually spend another 3 years as a graduate student getting his doctorate in physical therapy. "I wasn't used to running as much [as a full-time track athlete]. It got a little frustrating. [In high school] I was in the routine of swimming all the time, and probably running 20 miles a week, which isn't a lot. You have to get adjusted. And that takes time.

"Plus, I have really flat feet, which creates problems. It throws everything out of line, puts pressure on your knees. So I started doing workouts in the pool, to keep my legs a lot fresher. It kept me in better shape. I guess I've revolutionized training."

He did so at the suggestion of track coach Marcus O'Sullivan, a former Wildcat great, and with the encouragement of swim coach Rick Simpson, a friend of O'Sullivan's. Nobody knew if it was going to work, or to what extent. But they were all willing to give it a shot. And here he is.

"I just get more out of being in the pool," Sepich said. "It's not for everybody, obviously. With the way I train, it just seems to make things a little less stressful. I basically have classes all day, plus a couple at night, and labs. You do what you do."

O'Sullivan still isn't sure about the whys or hows. But he can't argue with the results.

"It's kind of amazing, when you really think about it," he said. "I knew he had a swimming background. So we came up with a plan you could understand, to increase his cardiovascular without putting too much pounding on his legs. And Rick saw him and thought he was decent enough to join [his team, too]. We just wanted what was best for [Sepich]. He looks kind of flighty at times, but he has his stuff together.

"Then Rick comes up to me right before Christmas and says, 'Guess what, he just qualified for Big East.' And I'm like, 'Oh my God.' I'm really happy, but now the pressure's on me. I want to get him qualified as well. And lo and behold, he got fitter and fitter. The first 1,000 he ran was pretty ugly. But we put it behind us. The next time, he was 10 seconds faster. I thought, 'At least he's gaining on it.' Then, the next time out, he goes 7 seconds better and makes it. Unreal."

Added Simpson: "The most remarkable part for me is, there's no faking it, in either sport. You have to put the time in, and do it simultaneously. There's no getting around that. I think you have to be a special kid, to juggle that and school.

"He'll have to incorporate

warmup runs, between [swimming] events, to get ready for Saturday. His schedule has to be almost down to the minute. That takes a lot of discipline . . . To have such balance in your life, and have it lead to success. The fact that he's such a pleasure to be around just makes it that much more satisfying to watch."

Sepich isn't winning Olympic gold. Or maybe even Big East bronze. But he has won the respect and admiration of those he works with on a daily basis. And in his own little corner of the world, maybe that's enough.

"Everybody's been so supportive," he said. "I'm just trying to do the best I can, help the team, have some fun. I'm doing what I want to do. How many people can say that?

"I think some people had their doubts. I've just been lucky that there hasn't been too many conflicts. God must be with me. I know it sounds like a big deal, but to me it's just normal, something I've been doing for so long."

Perhaps so. Doesn't mean others can't look at him and be inspired.

"Sometimes, you learn more from the challenges," O'Sullivan said. "When you work with high-end athletes, it's entirely different. What he's done is remind us as a coach why we should be here. We all need that. A lot of times we get carried away with the big NCAAs. But there's more to it.

"When he qualified, I was sitting next to [former Penn State track coach] Harry Groves. Billy came running over to hug me. It was pretty emotional. So Harry looks at me and says, 'You don't see that too often.' "

Exactly. *