Division I caliber

CLOVIS - About four years ago when he was in eighth grade, James Skuse realized that if he wanted to go to college, he had some serious work ahead of him.

With the cost of higher education climbing higher and higher, Skuse decided to throw himself completely into the world of swimming, with the hopes of earning an athletic scholarship to ease the financial burden of college.

Skuse said he would detail every practice, every swim and even every meal in a notebook and would write his race times on the bathroom mirror so that he could see them while brushing his teeth.

"I tried to keep a little bit of swimming everywhere I went and so that really helped me stay on track and get toward my goal," said Skuse, who graduated from Clovis High School in May.

That hard work will come to fruition this fall as Skuse has committed to swim at California State University, Bakersfield, a Division I program.

Skuse said he was also considering California Polytechnic State University, the University of Hawaii, Louisiana State University, California State University and Arizona State University. But after visiting Bakersfield "on a whim," he soon realized it would be the right fit for him.

"When I got there the campus was really nice and I was like, 'Oh, that's cool'. But what really stood out to me was the team because when I got there, the whole team got out of the pool and met with me and it was super cool," Skuse said.

Chris Hansen, director of swimming for CSU, Bakersfield, said Skuse's behavior outside of the pool stood out to him just as much as what the former Wildcat can do in the water.

"We're really excited," Hansen said. "It's a good thing when you've got a nice student-athlete. Besides his swimming, we were just psyched about the kind of person he was. Just a great kid. We're excited to get him out here, get a great education and swim fast."

Skuse said he plans to study kinesiology with the hopes of pursuing a career in physical therapy. After keeping a 4.16 GPA in high school, Skuse said his goal is to earn a 4.0 GPA or higher in college.

His hard work in the classroom paid off too because between his athletic scholarship and academic awards, Skuse said he won't be paying a dime.

Skuse's commitment is notable not only for himself but for the entire Wildcat swimming team as he will be the first Clovis swimmer to compete at the Division I level, according to Vincent De Maio, formerly the Clovis swimming head coach and now the school's director for high-performance swimming.

De Maio said Skuse has earned that honor.

"He certainly has the work ethic to be a Division I swimmer and that's probably the most important thing," De Maio said. "We're a hard work program and we always have been and James typifies that. He's developed an incredible work ethic and it's paid off for him."

Hansen said Skuse will of course have to earn his spot before coming in and racing as a freshman, but he does not think the former Wildcat will have any issues doing so.

"Not too worried about this kid, I think we've got ourselves a good catch," Hansen said. "With his height and with his background, I think we're going to see something special from this kid."