Jake Last’s last name doesn’t correlate with his swimming aptitude. A San Benito High junior, Last is closer to first whenever he finishes a race. Last’s teammate, senior August Spurzem—or Gus as he has been called from the time he could remember—comes from a swimming family.
Together, the two form a potent 1-2 punch. Last has only been swimming since his freshman season—the year where he learned to refine basic swimming strokes—but his immense talent was on display last year in the Monterey Bay League Swimming Championships.
It was a coming out party for Last, who finished third in the 100 freestyle of the Gabilan Division race in 54.20 seconds and fifth in the 50 free in 24.33.
“Jake has shown tons and tons of potential, and if he keeps working hard, he’ll have a chance to go to CCS for all of his races,” Spurzem said. “He came in as a freshman and showed tons of natural ability. Now he’s just building on his conditioning and skill level.”
Spurzem had a quality showing in MBLs as well, finishing third in the 100 butterfly in 59.77 and eighth in the 100 backstroke in 1:07.13.
“Gus is looking really good, and he’s always been a good technical swimmer,” said Christine Schafer, who is the co-coach at San Benito High along with Cathy Larson.
The 6-foot-3, 165-pound Last plans on going sub-24 seconds in the 50 free and around 52 seconds flat in the 100.
Last credited Larson and Schafer for helping him refine his strokes and develop a solid foundation of fundamentals to swim from.
“Cathy and Christine taught me everything I know,” Last said. “I started doing swimming in P.E. (of my freshman year), and at that time I didn’t know what my capabilities were.”
Last does now. Last grew up playing baseball and roller hockey—his dad, Robert, played ice hockey from his late teenage years to 30—before transitioning into water sports. In addition to swimming, Last started playing water polo last year and got into Mixed Martial Arts during his freshman year.
Last and Spurzem know they are counted on to set a great example for this year’s talented crop of freshmen swimmers. Spurzem said he sees plenty of future standouts from the freshmen, and even though he views himself as an equal, many of them look up to him.
“From the school aspect, I definitely think it’s important to set a good example,” said Spurzem, who carries a weighted 4.3 GPA and also had a standout career in water polo. “School has always been an important part of my life.”
Spurzem wants to hit a CCS-qualifying time in the 100 butterfly; he’s been chasing that goal since his freshman year.
“Even though water polo has been my central sport, I still want to make more progression in swimming,” he said.
Spurzem recently got into strength-training, and he and Last work out together almost every day after practice. The added strength helped Spurzem on March 13, the day his car ran out of gas. Luckily, he only had to push his Ford Focus an estimated 50 yards to the nearest gas station.
As a freshman, Last was befriended by a great group of seniors, including former Balers standouts Dylan Ponzio, Caitlin Schafer and Rachel Estep.
“Even though I got my best results in my sophomore year, my freshman year felt better because the older swimmers gave me insights on how to perfect my technique,” Last said. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be the athlete I am today.”
Going forward, Spurzem and Last plan on nailing personal-records (PRs) in every event they compete in, hoping to hit CCS-qualifying times along the way.
