Thornton Academy senior swimmer Christopher Steward is a student of the sport, but this season he played bus driver as the Trojans traversed through an undefeated regular season and a third-place finish at the South Southwesterns championship.

Steward not only made his mark on this year’s Thornton team, he made it on the Thornton record books, as he broke four individual school records and was on three record-breaking relay teams.

Steward was the leader of a Trojans team that made waves in the pool this year, and for all that he has been named the 2014-15 Journal Tribune Boys Swimmer of the year.

“There is so much to Chris’ season that made it special,” said Thornton head coach Kathy Leahy. “Probably one of the biggest (things) is the leadership he exhibited right from the beginning of the season.”

Steward’s preparation for what amounted to a successful senior season ”“ both individually and as a team ”“ started outside the pool. Steward said his dry land workouts and weight training went a long way in improving his endurance and speed.

Leahy said that dedication to out-of-pool work was contagious for the rest of the team. And it’s the team success that Steward said he was more excited about.

“Taking third at (South) Southwesterns as a team was very special because everyone swam and it’s a huge team effort. It’s good that my teammates have something to show for all of their hard work, their points at Southwesterns matter a lot more than mine did,” said Steward.

Not that Steward’s points didn’t have any meaning to the Trojans, as he helped accumulate 64 of the team’s 197 points at South Southwesterns. That included individual wins in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard butterfly, and as part of the winning 400-yard relay team that capped off the meet.

“My relay (team) and I were very tired because we all swam hard (during the meet), but we re-broke our own (school) record by 3 (or) 4 seconds and we won the event by a lot,” Steward said of the 400 relay win. “It was a lot of fun to end the meet with that relay and right after take third as a team overall.”

South Southwesterns was the third time this season that the 400 relay team ”“ which also included Steward’s younger brother, Eli, as well as Tom Cote and Joshua Roberts ”“ broke the school record.

Steward also set school records in the 200 IM, 100 butterfly, 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard breaststroke.

“The 100 breaststroke is still surprising to me because I am not a breaststroker,” said Steward.

Steward followed up his South Southwesterns performance with a good showing at the Class A state championships. He finished third in the 100 backstroke, fifth in the 100 butterfly and helped lead relay teams to sixth- and eighth-place finishes in the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays, respectively.

Steward was the lone upperclassmen on the relay teams, as Cote is a sophomore and Eli Steward and Roberts are both freshmen. The success of the mostly young relay teams can partially be pinned to the elder Steward’s leadership, according to Leahy, but Steward said the younger swimmers’ talent is just as big of a part.

The eight individual TA swimming records are split evenly between Steward and 1999 graduate Todd Poirier. But Steward said he expects all those records to be broken in the next few years, as he believes “TA has the strongest young team in at least southern Maine.”

Those up-and-coming swimmers are better off for having Steward to look up to this season.

“Some of what makes Chris a special swimmer is ”¦ he has a strong understanding of swimming technique, how to teach all of the skills, understands good training requirements ”“ enough sleep, nutrition, hydration and time management of commitments ”“ and can discuss good racing strategies with the coaching staff and his teammates as we prepare for meets,” said Leahy.

Steward’s combination of skill, sportsmanship and schooling in swimming imparted him with a swim officials’ scholarship at South Southwesterns. Steward said the honor was “a great surprise and very unexpected,” and called it one of the highlights of his season.

Steward put the necessary work in before his senior season to have the kind of success he was hoping for and that he ultimately achieved. He said he’s glad it all paid off.

“It always feels good to be rewarded for your hard work,” said Steward. “I have placed first in all my (different) events, including relays, junior year and this year. And I am very proud of that because there aren’t many people who can say they have done that.”

— Sports Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.