The echoed cheering tuned in and out as his ears alternated in the water. With a glimpse between strokes, Alex Koutris recognized his leading position. He kicked harder and swam faster until he reached the end, and the audience erupted. His excited teammates playfully slapped and shoved him as everyone dressed in red and blue cheered for his accomplishment. He had broken the school record.
Revere High School (RHS) junior Alex Koutris broke the boys swim 100 freestyle school record with a time of 47.26 during the Suburban League Championship Meet held at the University of Akron on January 3. He surpassed the previous record of 47.27 set by Alec Johnson in 2017.
Koutris did not go into the race with the goal of breaking the record. He felt nervous and was focused on just trying to win.
“I was in the water and it was about 75 yards in the race. And I just looked up and [I thought], I think I can break it. So I just went for it,” Koutris said.
When Koutris was six years old, he first learned to swim in Revere’s home pool (the AGMC Wellness Center). Breaking the record fulfilled the goal he set many years prior.
“I looked up at the record board, and I said I wanted to put my name up there ten years ago,” he said.
Koutris gives credit to both his brother and teammate Zach Koutris and the Varsity swim coach Annie Lochridge for getting him to this point in his swimming career.
“[My brother and I] started swimming almost at the same time. . . . He pushes me every day in practice, and the coaches know what they’re doing, especially [coach Lochridge],” Koutris said.
Zach Koutris was right behind the block when his brother swam his record-breaking race, and he admires what it took for his brother to get there. He was “ecstatic” to see his brother’s achievement, but not surprised.
“The amount of work he’s put in over the past couple of years is just tremendous, and he’s always been pretty close over the last year, year and a half. . . . The willpower and the determination he had to push through and finally get it after a while showed his dedication. . . . I knew it was going to go down at some point,” Zach Koutris said.
Koutris’s record marked the first school record broken under Lochridge’s coaching, a milestone she believes could trigger more records to follow, making the moment especially significant for the program. Witnessing the race from the coach’s perspective, Koutris’s manner during the race stood out to her the most.
“He was calm, collected, focused and very confident. He knew what he needed to do, and he was able to control the pressure to make it work in his favor to have a fantastic race,” Lochridge said.
Though she is proud of his accomplishment, Lochridge understands what else comes with breaking a record aside from the excitement.
“My goals for him are to continue to work hard, have fun and balance the pressure and confidence. Breaking a school record can be a lot of pressure, so learning how to manage it and not let it control you [is important]. I also expect him to continue working hard and enjoying swimming. That’s the most important thing. A happy swimmer is a fast swimmer,” Lochridge said.
Breaking the record as a junior gives Koutris the additional motivation heading into the remainder of his high school career to continue to work to achieve his other goals. Though one record break is an accomplishment in itself, Koutris will not stop with the one.
“It’s nice knowing I still have another year and can break a few more [records] that are up there, . . . break the 100 free probably a few more times, the 50 and the 100 fly,” Koutris said.
With the season still in progress, Koutris hopes to continue to build on a performance that has already secured his name on the record board and in RHS swimming history, just as he envisioned years ago.
On January 17, Koutris broke another school record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.45.
