THIBODAUX, La. (AP) - E.D. White Catholic swimmer Jacques Rathle has maintained a high level of success throughout his high school career.
Rathle has helped lead the Cardinals’ boys swimming team to three straight Division III state championships.
As he prepares for his senior year this fall, Rathle said he has goals to close out his prep career with another state championship, if he gets a chance to do so later this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve won three in a row,” Rathle said. “We are going for our fourth. We’ll see how that goes. Hopefully we will be able to even have a high school season.”
Rathle capped off his junior season last year with more impressive accolades, adding to his legacy as one of the most decorated high school swimmers to ever come from the Houma-Thibodaux area.
He was named Most Outstanding Swimmer in Division III for the third year in a row.
He led Cardinals to state title by winning two individual events and placing first in two relay events at state.
At state meet, he was first in 200-yard individual medley at 1:49.97 for composite meet record; he was first in the 100-yard breaststroke at 57.58 seconds; he helped E.D. White win first in the 200-yard medley relay at 1:37.33 and first in the first in the 100-yard breaststroke at 57.58 seconds.
When he is not winning races in high school competition, Rathle spends his time competing for Crawfish Aquatics team based in Thibodaux.
In March, Rathle qualified to compete in the USA Swimming Olympic Trials this summer but it was postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus. He reached an Olympic Trials qualifying time in the 400-meter individual medley race during 2020 Speedo Sectionals Championship Series event in College Station, Texas.
He achieved his first cut at age 16, which is an accomplishment that reflects on his hard work, discipline and dedication. It also placed him among the elite swimmers in the country.
Rathle said qualifying for the Olympic Trials was the biggest accomplishment of his life.
“It was real special,” Rathle said. “It was a lot of hard work to get the cut and getting it was surreal. It was awesome to qualify and represent my team at that level.”
Rathle said he has worked hard over the years to achieve all of his accomplishments, but he wouldn’t be able to do it without the support of his coaches, teammates and family.
“It’s been through a lot of hard work and my coaches, from whenever I first started to where I am now, I couldn’t have done it without all of them,” Rathle said. “I couldn’t do it without my parents or without my teammates pushing me every day. Swimming is kind of an individual sport. It’s basically by yourself, but ultimately, you can’t do it by yourself. It takes more than one person. I wouldn’t want to do any of this without my teammates, coaches and my family.”
Just like most other athletes these days, Rathle is trying his best to stay active during the coronavirus, which has shut down all of his meets this summer for the Crawfish Aquatics swimming club.
“I’ve been trying to stay motivated,” Rathle said. “Without any meets, it’s hard, but you have to think about how hard it will be when we actually get back to live meets, so I’m just looking forward to that.”
Rathle said he has learned valuable lessons from the coronavirus saga.
“You have to roll with the punches and see how everything goes,” Rathle said. “You really can’t control much at this time. You just have to try to do your best. You have to mentally prepare for whenever the next competition is.”
Although he can’t compete at live meets this summer, Rathle said he has continued to push himself to the limit every day at workouts.
Under the watchful eye of Crawfish Aquatics coach OJ Mesina, Rathle practices long hours every week, including multiple two-a-days at the Nicholls State pool in Thibodaux. He also trains at the Wellness Center of Thibodaux Regional to keep himself in shape.
He has used his free time this summer to fine tune his swimming mechanics and times.
“My coach has really been on us about doing the small things now so you’ll be ready for the fall,” Rathle said. “Hopefully we’ll start having some competitions. From there we’ll see how it goes. Nothing is really guaranteed right now, so we’re just working on getting ready for next season.”
Mesina said he has enjoyed watching Rathle’s growth as a swimmer.
“It has been fun to watch his journey, but it’s been really great to see how he just stays motivated and he’s still humble,” Mesina said. “He still wants more. He wants to keep getting better day-by-day with the help of his teammates and coaching staff.”
Mesina said Rathle has committed himself to making improvements all summer long, especially during the coronavirus situation.
“It was obviously a setback,” Mesina said. “No competition this summer was a bummer too but we’ve been working this summer to making ourselves better. Whether we have a fall season or not, we’ll still keep plugging along and we’ll still be getting ready for the next step.”
As he prepares for his final season at E.D. White, Rathle is also looking forward to his college years.
He has committed to competing at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala. over interest from several other top college swimming programs. Auburn is a major Southeastern Conference program.
Rathle said his love affair with Auburn started with a simple recruiting visit.
“Right when I got on campus, I fell in love with everything about Auburn,” Rathle said. “The coaches there are absolutely incredible. The atmosphere on the team is something I’m happy to be a part of. Whenever I was on campus, I told my sister that I’m coming here. On my visit, I knew it. It was just working through all the details and it all fell into place. I can’t wait to join the Auburn family in the fall of 2021.”
Rathle will join an Auburn men’s swimming program that has won eight national championships in its history with its last in 2009. The Auburn swimming team is led by head coach Gary Taylor.
“They have tons of national championships that they’ve won in the past, but with this new coaching staff, I believe that in a few years, Auburn will be back to the top of college swimming, and I’m really excited to be a part of that,” Rathle said. “That’s why I committed there.”
Rathle said he will be a member of a major recruiting class that will try to win more championships for Auburn.
“All the guys they’ve brought in from across the country. Our recruiting class is really going to be strong,” Rathle said. “I think it’s going to be something to look at hopefully in a few years whenever Auburn does make a comeback in swimming.”
Mesina said Rathle will be a great addition to Auburn’s swimming program.
“It’s a very good program. They have some great coaches and staff there,” Mesina said. “They are an up-and-coming team in the SEC. I think Jacques is going to be a great fit there. We’re both really excited to see what he can bring and help that team grow and be a great teammate there.”
Mesina said Rathle has a bright future with lots of potential.
“The sky is the limit. He’s still growing,” Mesina said. “He’s still evolving as a swimmer. We’re at the point where we’re is increasing his resumé. We’re getting him into other events. We’re trying to make him a really versatile, well-rounded and fast swimmer, so when he goes to Auburn University, he’ll be a real asset there, not just in the pool, but in the classroom and for his teammates.”
Here is some more information that most people don’t know about Rathle.
– He has dual-nationality. He is a citizen of the United States and France.
– His best subject is math and he plans on majoring in business and finance at Auburn.
– His most memorable moment is qualifying for Olympic trials this year. Due to the coronavirus, it was postponed until 2021.
– When asked if he had any advice he would give himself a year ago or to other aspiring athletes in his sport, Rathle said, “I would have to say that you must enjoy the training and give it all you have in training. If you expect anything big to happen at the competition, it often doesn’t. Just continue training and it appears to just come out of nowhere.”
Rathle was named the Best of Bayou Preps All-Star male swimmer of the year presented by The Courier and Daily Comet for the 2019-20 school year.
At the Best of Bayou Preps All-Star virtual sports banquet held June 18, Rathle was presented his award by former American swimmer Michael Phelps, a U.S. Olympian who holds the all-time record for Gold medals.
“It definitely gave me some chills because he is someone that I’ve been looking up to since I was really little,” Rathle said. “Just hearing him say my name was exciting. It was awesome.”
Although he looks up to many famous athletes, Rathle said the two biggest influences in his life are his parents - Frank and Angela Rathle.
“My parents are my role models,” Rathle said. “Without them, I really couldn’t be doing any of this. They’ve supported me so much.”
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