Swimming
Favorite athlete: Ryan Lochte
Favorite team: United State National water Polo Team
Favorite memory competing in sports: Going to PIAA State Swimming Championships last year.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: I was swimming the 100 backstroke in a dual meet, but when I started, my feet slipped, and I fell right into the water rather than jumping up and out.
Music on iPod: Alternative, classic rock
Future plans: I’m studying and swimming at Cornell University next year, and I plan to major in physics.
One goal before turning 30: Get a college degree and a graduate degree in something that will help me make a difference in the world.
One thing people don’t know about me: I’ve played the cello for eight years.
Pennridge senior David Zurmuhl didn’t start swimming until he was in junior high. Some folks would call him a natural.
Despite his late start in the sport, he’s a four-year district championship qualifier and a two-time state qualifier. His specialties are the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle, and he’ll be swimming for Cornell next winter.
“My sister started swimming a little before I did, and I thought it might be fun,” Zurmuhl said.
It sure seems to be working out.
“David’s a great kid,” Pennridge coach Ryan Griffiths said. “He’s worked really hard and come a long way over the past four years. He keeps improving. He’s one of those stories where he started later, but his ability and awareness about his body and the mental aspects have helped him succeed.
“He’s worked hard for everything he’s accomplished, and I’d love to see him cap off his career here with a great run at states.”
As a sophomore, Zurmuhl qualified for the state championships in the 50 free. Last year he did it in both the 50 and 100, and finished in the top 16 in both. He’s a second-year team captain who has consistently placed in the top 10 at districts as well as at the Suburban One League Continental Championships.
“It just came naturally to me,” Zurmuhl said of being in the pool. “I really like the water. I have a pretty good feel for the water, and I like the sport itself. I like racing and having a clear objective and being able to meet your goals. It’s a sport where you can instantly measure your performance.”
Zurmuhl, who is a member of the National Honor Society, has high hopes for himself this season.
“I want to do as well as I possibly can and I want to make finals at states,” he said. “I’d like to do that, but I don’t want to psych myself out about my goal times. I just focus on doing well and working hard every day.”
Zurmuhl, who also plays the cello, swims for a Central Bucks club team in addition to competing for Pennridge, so swimming is basically a year-round pursuit.
“His work ethic is bar-none, with his dry-land training and in the water and all the offseason stuff he does,” Griffiths said. “He’s very coachable. He’s open to constructive criticism on things that might need to change or that can get better. He’s able to give you feedback on what he’s feeling, how things are going. He puts a lot of effort and thought into his training.
“And he always seems to show up and perform well in the biggest meets, the biggest moments,” the coach said.
Griffiths also has been impressed with Zurmuhl as he relates to his teammates.
“He’s very even tempered and won’t get overly excited, whether it’s a good day or a bad day,” he said. “He expects other people to work as hard as he does. He’s usually our anchor in relays. He leads by example and lets his actions speak, but he can also be vocal. He tries to get the best out of the other swimmers, and in a positive way, he rides the younger kids.
“But not only does he get the job done in the pool, he gets it done first in the classroom.”
Zurmuhl, who earned a black belt in karate before embarking on his swimming career, went on recruiting trips to Brown and Johns Hopkins before deciding on Cornell. He plans to major in physics and then pursue a graduate degree, possibly in engineering.
“I take my academics pretty seriously,” he said. “I take hard classes. I like science. Physics interests me, and it’s an easier class for me compared to some of the other ones. It’s kind of complicated, but I’d take it any day over an English class or something. You get to read articles about breakthrough discoveries.
“Cornell has a beautiful campus, and the coaches and team members were all awesome,” he added. “It’s one of the best schools for physics, so that’s a plus, and I like a more rural area as opposed to an urban campus.
“And the food was really good.”
Zurmuhl, who said he could probably still break out some karate moves “if I had to,” has enjoyed his time with the Pennridge program.
“As far as my coaches and teammates, they’ve all been really great,” he said. “I want to thank them for all they’ve done. They’ve been fun to hang out with and spend the last four years with.
“I’d like to think that I might leave some sort of legacy, possibly, at Pennridge. Hopefully we’ll have more people who follow and swim at high levels. I think we have a lot of people who can do that. I think the program is in a good place.”
Yes it is, and Zurmuhl has been a big reason why.
