Westhampton Beach Swimmer Max Buchen Finishes Fourth in the State

Max Buchen likes to keep it positive before he dives into the water. He wants to remain confident, but focused, and with that mindset on Saturday, swam to a fourth-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association boys swimming and diving championships.

“I was happy with how I placed for my first time at states,” Buchen said. “I think this time is relatively easy for me to get now, but I’ve surprised myself. I would’ve never pictured coming so far so quick.”

The Westhampton Beach junior’s time of 56.57 seconds was just shy of his 56.54 finish at the Suffolk County championships, which became a new personal best for him. It not only earned him fourth in the federation, which includes Catholic schools, but ranked Buchen third among public school swimmers in the state. It was also a captivating performance for just his second varsity season, and first in several years since swapping his tennis racket for time in the pool.

After he broke his December record at the county meet early last month, Buchen has been hovering around his new standard at four competitions since then.

“This gives me some more confidence, because I know that I didn’t just have one great swim that I can never reach again,” the junior said. “And I think I will start dropping my time again quite soon.”

Buchen said besides breaking through barriers, his opposition has also been motivating him to maintain his high level of achievement. After several club contests, he traveled with members of that Three Village swim company up at Ithaca College to race March 3 and 4.

“The pool was great there, and there were so many fast swimmers,” Buchen said. “I felt, obviously, a little nervous, but also excited, and I enjoyed going with Section XI as a team.”

He was one of just two in the Top 10 of the 100 breaststroke to represent Section XI, the governing body of athletics in Suffolk County. The only other was St. Anthony’s Noah Cakir, who finished just ahead of Buchen by touching the wall in 56.17 seconds.

“I try to go in hyping myself up and feeling the adrenaline, and during the race I really don’t think about anything, and mostly reflect on what happened after,” Buchen said. “Obviously, I wasn’t very thrilled, because it wasn’t a best time, but I was content with it and how I swam.”

Jason Cohen, director of physical education, health and athletics for Westhampton Beach School District, said Buchen, the only male swimmer from the area, is nothing short of remarkable.

“He has demonstrated that even after stepping away from the sport, dedication and commitment to training and a desire to win prove to be a successful combination,” Cohen said. “The Westhampton Beach community is extremely proud of Max and his accomplishments, and we look forward to another great season in his senior year.”

His Three Village Swim Club head coach, Mark Anderson, also didn’t balk at the idea that his swimmer could contest for a spot in the top three after seeing his progression across just a few short months.

“His time even at a regional level is very competitive,” Anderson said last month. “His natural-born talent is the backbone to what he’s been able to do in such a short amount of time.”

Buchen’s other club coach, Christopher Brandenberger, who is also the head coach of the St. Joseph’s University women’s team, first met the student-athlete in September, when the junior reached out to rejoin the club after competing for the Westhampton Beach tennis team the last few seasons.

“When I first saw him swim, I had to ask Mark again how long he was out from swimming, because his stroke looked awesome,” Brandenberger said previously. “It’s been pretty incredible how his times have improved over the last few months. It’s special working with Max, because he’s extremely talented, but also one of the hardest workers. With the effort he puts into swimming, his results are well-deserved.”

Buchen said the positive results remind him that he made the right decision to switch sports, and motivates him moving forward.

“I have big expectations and goals for myself for the upcoming season,” he said.

The junior’s coach said he’s looking forward to it, stating the sky’s the limit for Buchen.

“It’s like he never missed a beat,” Anderson said. “He quickly got back to his old form, and I’m excited to see with a regular training schedule how much more success he can swim to.”