Competitiveness runs deep in Dusty Ragland’s blood.
“I think my competitiveness is always just there; it’s kind of been my personality, and my dad’s,” he said. “He goes mountain biking a lot and if someone is going to pass him, he won’t get passed. He gave that to me.”
Ragland’s mountain is the swimming pool and the junior at Park City High School is widely regarded as the best individual boys’ swimmer in 3A so far this year.
Starring on the team that shocked 3A swimming last year by winning the state title, Ragland has always been viewed as an amazing athlete who can do amazing things, according to his head coach Mike Werner.
“He’s just a natural athlete,” Werner said. “Whatever he wants to do, he can do it. He has a kinesthetic sense about him; he knows how to get his body going. That’s not something you coach; you tweak it and fine-tune it. You don’t really coach it a whole lot.”
Werner has been a coaching Ragland since November 2005 and he remembers a youngster at a crossroads between a promising tennis career and a shot to become an water addict.
The head coach is glad his star junior chose the latter of the two.
“He decided to go to the swimming thing. Things just started to really stand out,” he said.
During last season’s magical run to the state title, Ragland took second place at the state tournament in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races. This year he’s just leaving his competition in the rear-view mirror, and not looking back.
“It’s not about going into it thinking I have to get this time,” Ragland said. “It’s more about what do I need to do, or can I do, to get faster? It’s about thinking about the little things that will help you to get your time to drop.”
So far this season, Ragland has dominated the 50-, 100-, and 200-freestyle events in most meets and has his sights set on the state championships this weekend in Provo.
“I’ve done a lot of big meets, so it’s not that big of a thing anymore; it’s just more of getting the team ready for a competition,” he said. “Last year we came together at the end of the season and we won state.”
Werner said his star is unique in that he can bring many different things to the table for his team Ragland is more than just a swim star, he’s also a leader and helps teammates realize what’s in front of them.
“He likes to lead by example,” Werner said. “When it’s time to work, it’s time to work, and when it’s time to play, it’s time to play. He’s always there doing what is asked of him and going above and beyond.
“He gets people to believe in their abilities.”
Ragland has been focusing on both his high school swim career and his club swimming career. According to Werner, Ragland will be headed to a big swim meet within the next few weeks that is sort of a regional-based competition for national competitors. If Ragland can continue on his speedy streak in the water, Werner is hoping a strong performance can carry him into the junior national spotlight as well.
“A lot of it won’t be based on high school,” he said on collegiate scouting. “Going to these meets, some college coaches could see him there.”
But Ragland knows the next obstacle is the state championships and he is focused on getting himself and his teammates ready to take that next step at defending their state title.
“At this time of the year, we’re already there, so I’m excited to see what happens,” he said. “It’s really competitive. I like the aspect of ‘you never really know what’s going to happen’.”
Werner said in last year’s state finals Ragland lost to Judge Memorial swim star Oliver Diamond, who has since taken a swimming scholarship at Brown University. Werner said Diamond was easily a foot taller than Ragland, but his star gutted out performance after performance.
“He’s all heart,” he said. “He just goes for it.”
When asked if he thought Ragland could do special things at the next level in swimming, the head coach wasn’t coy.
“Absolutely,” Werner said.