Zach Valenzuela in a class of his own by Sean Farrell of The Record
Zach Valenzuela paid close attention as one of the greatest swimmers to come from Bergen County got to work.
Wayne Valley’s senior was on a mission that led him about 100 miles from home to a team practice at Drexel University.
He came to watch his role model. He came to figure out how to do what no one could last season. He came to beat Jason Arthur.
“After he was done watching practice, he was asking what my times were during the set,” said Arthur, a Drexel freshman and state champion while at Teaneck. “So that when he got home, he could try to match or beat me.”
The similarities between Arthur and Valenzuela are striking. The man who left North Jersey as its top boys swimmer and the teenager looking to step into that role share more than just their versatility, their maturity or their decisions to swim for Drexel.
Valenzuela, like his mentor, is undoubtedly shaped by being the son of immigrants.
“When you talk about success stories, I don’t think any success story is as good as my parents,” Valenzuela said. “They’ve come from almost nothing.”
Meliza Garrido and Bernie Valenzuela met in high school in the Philippines and moved to the United States as young adults. They left almost everyone they knew behind. They wanted their children to have a different experience from their own.
“Manila makes Paterson look like the Hamptons,” said Valenzuela, who competes in the Passaic County Swimming Championships on Saturday.
His parents came to Hackensack before eventually relocating to Wayne to raise a family. They put their fluency in English and medical degrees to use, with Meliza working as a nurse practitioner and Bernie as a nurse case manager. Zach plans on majoring in biology at Drexel, and following a similar career path when his swimming days are over.
“They’ve given me everything I could ever have in my life or ever want,” Valenzuela said. “Doing well in the pool or doing well in school and trying the best in everything that I do is my way of giving back to them.”
Valenzuela is a rare specimen in the water. Explosive off the starting block. Smooth in the water. Quick to the wall.
He’s won every individual race this season. Most haven’t been close.
“You can pick up things in his stroke work and his technique,” said junior Evan Custance, the defending Passaic County champion in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles. “It’s also the mental side – how he’s stable and how he approaches his races.”
The Indians (5-2) will go for their first Passaic County title since 2012, and may have their strongest team in years.
But Valenzuela realizes that his own success might not be enough for Wayne Valley. It wasn’t last season when he set four meet records for the runners-up. For the Indians to prevent a Passaic Tech three-peat, the team’s younger members will likely need to rise to the occasion.
So Valenzuela has worked 1-on-1 with junior Quinn Corcoran to polish the finer details. He helped sophomore Kevin Schneeloch take six seconds off his breast stroke time. The Indians have benefited by having a student of the game with an uncanny ability to explain it.
“It’s a natural role for him,” Wayne Valley boys swimming coach Joanne Ciriello said. “He’s comfortable. Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you can teach it. He seems to be very good at that.”
“He’s a really influential person,” freshman Albert Westpfal said. “He’ll help you and serve as a good role model, and not only as a swimmer.”
As Valenzuela’s high school career winds down before heading south to Philadelphia, he’s trying to become the veteran leader that Arthur once was for him.
For his school, his team and his family.
“I like to think that these [younger] guys look up to me,” said Valenzuela, who owns five team records. “I like to think that what I say to them makes a difference. I like to think that me being at these meets and doing what I do in the pool rubs off on them.”