Sean and Ryan Tate have equaled instant success for Creighton Prep swimming and diving

Tom Beck's theory of throwing a few youngsters into the mix, with plenty of veterans, has carried his Creighton Prep (Omaha) boys swimming and diving program to greatness over the last eight seasons.

For nearly a decade now, the Junior Jays have loaded the bus, hit the road, and come home with the champion's hardware following Nebraska's state swimming and diving meet.

Beck may lose a ton of state meet points following the 2014-15 season, but the Junior Jays look to be a solid favorite to win their ninth straight Class A state swimming and diving championship this winter.

"We definitely have a lot of depth," senior Sean Tate said of this year's squad. "It's always cool when you see freshmen getting it, starting to pick things up. We work them hard. We push them. We're all real competitive, and they are a part of that."



Tate and his twin brother, Ryan, came into Beck's program with a deep archive of success on the club circuit, and that prosperity has spiraled throughout their high school careers.

Collectively between Sean and Ryan, Creighton Prep has accumulated 24 state meet medals, 196 individual and 284 state meet relay points over the past three seasons. The Tates are the proud owners of five individual and nine state relay championships.

While they have competed together in the 200-yard medley relay, the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay, Sean and Ryan compete in different individual events for Beck. Ryan has earned Creighton Prep medals in the 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard intermediate. Sean, meanwhile, has swept the 50- and 100-yard freestyle championships the past two seasons, and he earned a medal in both as a freshman.

A year ago, both future D-1 swimmers were part of state meet record-setting relays. Beck's 200-yard freestyle relay replaced its own state meet record time of 1:23.45, set in 2013, with an even better mark of 1:22.31. Then, the 400-yard freestyle relay came to the wall in a state meet record 3:02.23 in what Sean called a ‘feel good swim.'

"They're actually quite a bit different," Beck said of the twins. "Ryan is more laid back. More easy going. Things slide off of his shoulders a little easier. He's not a big 'in your face' kind of guy. Sean is one of our leaders. If guys get off track at practice and they aren't paying attention, Sean will be the first to get them back on track.

"Ryan is so smooth in the water. He has a smooth and powerful stroke. It's getting harder to tell them apart. But, if you put them in the pool, you notice it right away. They each have their own style. Both were talented, and very competitive as kids. They compete against each other. You could tell at a young age, they would be something special."

Part of winning state championships is working hard and putting in the long hours, and the Tates have gone above and beyond in doing both. Ryan, an avid piano player, and Sean discussed Beck's rugged regimen of holding both morning and afternoon workouts, in the pool and on dry land.



"It's a challenge to wake up early in the morning and then turn around and do it all over again after school," Ryan said. "But it's definitely worth it. It's showing up in our results."

As Sean sees it, swimmers spend about 70 percent of their time being unsatisfied with their performance. The other 30 percent of the time, he said, is what swimming is for.

"When you hit that time, there is no way to describe it," Sean said. "That's all that's going through your head for the next few days."

Sean and Ryan came by their talents honestly. Their mother Bernadette swam in high school before heading to the University of California, Davis. They also have a younger sister, Olivia that competes for the girls swimming and diving team at Marian (Omaha) as a freshman.

With such indistinguishable looks, Sean admitted that he and Ryan had discussed swimming in each others' events just to see if anyone was paying attention. But he was quick to point out that it never did happen.

"I think we'll stick with what we excel in for now," Sean said.



As they prepare for their run at Creighton Prep's ninth straight state swimming and diving title, Ryan said he thinks there is still a ton of work to do.

"Actually, we need to buckle down," Ryan said. "I think we may become a little complacent at times. We know we're good, and sometimes you don't prepare as hard when that is the case. That mentality can make us weaker. Some of the guys may not necessarily like to hear it, but we've got to turn it up."

Once all of their goals are met at the state meet, Sean and Ryan will move on to separate universities to continue their swimming careers and their education. Sean will attend Duke University, while Ryan is set to compete for Northwestern.

Then, once he's carried the Blue Devil program to new heights and extinguished his eligibility, Sean hopes to keep swimming competitively.

"My dream is to represent my father's country, Belize, or the United States in a world championship some day. It doesn't have to be in the Olympics. I just want to wear that American flag on the world stage."