Westhampton's Max Buchen on earning state swim title: 'I wanted to win so badly'

Westhampton swimmer Max Buchen never thought he’d experience becoming a state champion. But when he emerged from the pool at Ithaca College on March 2, that’s exactly what he was.

Buchen placed first in public schools and the federation in the 100-yard breaststroke with an All-American time of 54.28 seconds. 

“I wanted to win so badly,” Buchen said. “I knew the guys I was going up against had really similar times to me, so if I was going to get the win, I had to be on my best time. I was able to do that, and it felt great.”

He also finished third in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:51.56.

Would you believe that Buchen wasn’t even swimming competitively just two years ago?

Although Buchen began swimming for his club team at the age of 12, in 2020, he decided to step away from the sport to focus on tennis.

“When we were finally able to get back to swimming after COVID, I didn’t feel the way I had before,” Buchen said. “I was out of shape, I wasn’t performing well, and I just didn’t really like it.”

Last year, he had a change of heart.

“He emailed me and said he wanted to give swimming another shot,” said Mark Anderson, Buchen’s club swim coach. “He immediately blew my mind with what he was able to do after such a long hiatus.”

He went on to place first in the 100-yard breaststroke (56.54) at the Suffolk championships last season.

Anderson said that this season, Buchen has been more focused than ever on becoming the best swimmer he can be. 

“His work ethic increased exponentially,” he said. “He works hard every day at practice and he took it upon himself to put in the work in the weight room.”

The senior has verbally committed to continue his swimming career at the Naval Academy.

“No one deserves this more than him,” Anderson said. “I’ve never seen anyone have a comeback as successful as him.”