Swimming can be a lonely endeavor. Just ask Brian Bensing of Towson University.
Last week was spring break for students, except for Benzing. Having qualified for three events at this week's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, the pool inside Burdick Hall spent two days early last week as coach Anthony Bruno and assistant coach Emily Petit monitored progress. So I trained alone for 90 minutes.
“I can't lie, I've always missed you,” Benzing said with a laugh on March 19. “Swimming is fun when you have teammates and the music is pumping. It's lonely when it's just you and it's a little quiet and you're just going back and forth. But sometimes it's peaceful. A little more. It helps me focus on what I’m doing.”
Concentration was not an issue for Benz. Earlier this month, the senior won her fourth consecutive Coastal Athletic Association title in the 100-yard breaststroke in 51.30 seconds, broke her own league record in the 200-meter individual medley in 1:43.13, and won a bronze medal in the 100 meters. She flew in 46.10 seconds and was named Best Swimmer of the Championships for the third time.
Benzing has the 11th fastest time in the nation in the 100-meter breaststroke. He will compete in the 100, 200 breaststroke and 200 IM as Towson's sole representative at the NCAA Championships, which will be held Wednesday through Saturday at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis.
Bruno joked about Benzing's motivation, saying, “I don't know if he's going to show up with me on Tuesday during spring break.” But the swimmers' drive is relentless, he said.
“There aren't many 21- or 22-year-olds who are disciplined enough to say what they're going to do and actually do it,” Bruno said. “He has goals, he has a vision, he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to do with it.”
Mr. Bensing grew up in Ellicott City and attended Wild Lake, participating in basketball, lacrosse, soccer and swimming until age 16, when he moved to Norway with his family. He thought he might be able to play lacrosse in college, but a swim coach in Norway encouraged him to focus on swimming.
As a freshman in the 2020-21 season, Bensing set a new school record in the 100-meter breaststroke at the CAA Championships with a time of 52.57 seconds and two more program marks in the 50-meter breaststroke (24.72 seconds) and 200-meter breaststroke (1:57.99). Established the second fastest time in the 200IM (1:47.07).
The following year, Bensing won CAA titles in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke and 200-meter IM, was named the conference's swimmer of the year, and qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter breaststroke. Received the National Honor Award.
“I never expected to develop as quickly as I did as a freshman and continue to have success throughout my career,” he said. “It’s really amazing to see such progression and success at such a high level, especially when there weren’t that many expectations.”
After his second season, coach Jake Schramm resigned and he became an assistant coach at the University of Virginia. Bruno was plucked from Fairfield, and both he and Benzing admitted they had deep conversations about whether the swimmer should enter the transfer portal.
“He could have just as easily left,” Bruno said. “But I felt like we had a really positive conversation. So I said, 'Hey, I have a really good event, and if you give me a chance, I'm sure you'll get a lot better at it. I think he trusted me to do it and I think I trusted him to stick to the process and do what we asked him to do.Hopefully, he trusted me to do it. I think I’m pretty happy about that.”
Benzing improved the 200 IM by three seconds and owns school records in the 100 IM (43.63 seconds), 200 freestroke (1:35.08), 100 IM (51.25) and 200 breaststroke (1:54.64). He said he decided to stay through his senior year to graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in sports management and a minor in business administration and to “finish what he started.”
Benzing entered the transfer portal last summer and said he heard from every Power Five program except Florida, Florida State and Texas. In the end, he chose Indiana. Indiana has won the last three Big Ten honors and also selected nine-time Olympian Mark Spitz. Benzing will play for the Hoosiers in the 2024-25 season.
Benzing's influence has been especially evident among the Tigers, whose head coach, senior members of the athletics department, and sports information director have named him Male Athlete of the Year three times. No one has ever won this award more than four times.
Mike Gasagan, senior associate athletic director for communications, described Benzing as an ambassador for the university. He said Benzing made the swimmers from Calvert Hall feel comfortable enough to talk and pose for photos, and that Benzing made the swimmers from Calvert Hall feel comfortable enough to talk and pose for photos, and that during Monday's all-staff meeting, Benzing had 10 minutes with athletic director Steve Eigenbrodt. He shared that he participated in a 1-minute question and answer session.
“It's probably difficult to speak in front of 150 coaches, staff and administrators, but Brian handled it really well,” Gasagan said. “In some ways, he's now the face of Towson Athletics because of what he's done on the national level.”
In July, Bensing completed the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:02.00 at the USA Swimming Futures Championships in Richmond, Virginia, and will be selected to represent the United States in the Olympic Games June 15-23 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Obtained the right to participate in the selection meeting. As much as she's looking forward to it, Bensing said reaching the finals in her three events at the NCAA Championships is her top priority.
“If you put too much pressure on yourself and say things like, 'I'm going to win,' I think it takes the fun out of it, and you end up being too nervous to relax.” I couldn't get any similar results. ” he said. “So if I can just go in there with the mindset of, 'This is my last game against Towson.'” So, just do everything you can to have fun, but also do what you can to come back and swim again at night. That's how I approach it. ”
