LBCC sophomore Sullivan Moore has only been swimming competitively for 4 years, but he’s already broken five records, two of them his own, during his two-year stint at LBCC and placed 2nd at the State Championships in the Men’s 100 Yard Freestyle.
Moore, a 22-year-old Long Beach native has quickly made a name for himself in the aquatics world.
The records he have broken include the Men’s 50 and 100 yard freestyles, both previously set by Brendan Beer in 2002, and the Men’s 100 yard fly previously set in 1979. Moore broke his own 50 and 100 yard freestyle records this year as well, totaling five records set in just two years as a swimmer for LBCC.
Moore detailed how this year’s season was in jeopardy after he was involved in a car accident that left him unable to train for a month. The accident took place right before the start of his sophomore season and left him with bruised ribs, whiplash, and a concussion.
“I was really worried about how things would go because I couldn’t swim for about a month. But slowly I was able to come back and kinda get into shape before it started,” he said.
Though his journey as a swimmer has been relatively short, he’s no stranger to water sports.
Moore started off playing water polo at the age of 10 after he was invited to play by a friend, much to the hesitancy of his family.
“They thought it would be too rough of a sport because it was very physical and I was pretty young,” Moore said.
He quickly found that he enjoyed the physical aspect of the game as well as the bond he made with his teammates. Moore continued to play water polo throughout his school years on multiple teams including the United Water Polo Club where he won a 12U Junior Olympic Championship with his team.
It wasn’t until his senior year at Los Alamitos High School after the water polo season was over that he decided to join the swim team, where he fell in love with the competitiveness of the sport.
“I like racing, I like competition, I like winning. I’m sure if I wasn’t winning I wouldn’t be swimming,” Moore said.
His first year of competitive swimming was met with exceptional success. Moore placed 1st at various meets in the 50 yard freestyle, including at the Lakewood Senior Invitational, the La Mirada Metro Championships, and the Lakewood Halloween Invitational. He also placed first in the 100 yard freestyle at the South California Swimming WAG competition in Palm Springs.
A pretty impressive feat for someone who had only started competing a few months prior.
After high school graduation, Moore applied to LBCC in hopes of joining the swim team and representing the Vikings.
“In high school I knew I wasn’t gonna go to a four year because it just wasn’t feasible. My grades weren’t very good, I didn’t have a lot of money, so I was pretty happy to be coming to LBCC,” Moore said.
That summer, he visited the campus and had a meeting with assistant swim coach Bradley Adamson to discuss his future with the team.
His first year on the team was cut short after the season was canceled due to the Pandemic. Still, in that short period of time Moore was able to showcase his skill in dominating 1st place performances at the El Camino- East Los Angeles meet, the Mt. SAC Swimming and Diving Invitational, and the Cerritos-Chaffey meet.
“My first year I went into it definitely trying to break records, but this year I was more focused on doing well at State,” Moore said.
Moore’s athletic success continued to thrive this year as he broke two of his previous records set in 2020 with even better times. He competed in the South Coast Conference Swim and Dive Championships where he placed 2nd in the Men’s 50 yard freestyle.
He attributed his success to his teammates and his coaches, who encouraged him to push himself and reminded him to have fun.
“I feel like here at LBCC they really created a fun atmosphere and it’s really welcoming. Even if the coaches don’t say it they’re always trying to keep it a good happy place,” Moore said.
Moore is set to graduate soon with Degrees in both Criminal Justice and Psychology. After graduation he is considering pursuing a Ph.D. at CSU Long Beach, but his swimming aspirations are far from over.
He hopes to represent his club Lakewood Aquatics at the 2024 Olympic trials in Orlando, Florida.
Regardless of how the trials go, Moore can be sure of the fact that he solidified his place in LBCC swim history.