Robert Parrish Freeman III goes by Trey. It's a lot faster to say, and fast is his way.
This week in Indianapolis, Freeman will try to be the fastest 18-under freestyle swimmer in the world.
He could come close, having proven in late June to be the fastest at 200 and 400 meters in the United States - and the third fastest in the 800 free. That was in the same pool where the FINA World Junior Championships will begin Wednesday.
Freeman, a Salt Lake City resident, will be representing Baylor School and Baylor Swim Club at the meet, as will fellow 12th-grader Luis Sebastian Weekes and junior Jack Kirby. But those two will be swimming for Barbados, a Caribbean island country of about 300,000 people with one Olympic-sized pool - which is near Kirby's home in the Parish of Christ Church.
All three are 17, but this is their last chance at the Junior Worlds. It's held every two years.
Team USA representative Trey Freeman, right, poses with Baylor teammates and Barbados swimmers Jack Kirby, left, and Luis Sebastian Weekes in advance of their trip to Indianapolis for the FINA World Junior Championships this week.Baylor coach Dan Flack also is going to Indianapolis as part of the USA Swimming contingent. He's in charge of Team USA's middle-distance freestyle boys and girls, which includes Freeman in the 200 and 400 and the 4x200 relay.
Flack went to the Junior Worlds as a member of the U.S. staff also in 2011, when Baylor's Kristen Vredeveld was part of the gold-medal girls' 4x100 free relay in Lima, Peru.
"It is the highest honor in our sport - to coach the old Red, White and Blue," Flack said Saturday.
Freeman admitted he would have enjoyed traveling to Budapest, Hungary, where the meet was planned at one time, but naturally he likes the familiarity of the IU Natatorium pool on the IUPUI campus.
"And it doesn't really matter where it is. It's an honor to represent your country," he said.
He and Flack were set to fly to Indiana on Sunday. The Barbados duo will fly there today.
Kirby is beginning his third year at Baylor, while longtime friend Weekes is starting his second.
"I fit in very well. I really enjoy this place," said Weekes, who's from the Parish of St. Thomas. "I have a habit of smiling in the hall."
He and Kirby earned their spots in the Junior Worlds at the CARIFTA Championships in April in the Bahamas. Kirby earned silver medals in the 50, 100 and 200 backstrokes and a bronze in the 200 individual medley and was fourth in the 100 free. He's entered in the 50 and 100 back events and the 100 free in Indianapolis.
"I don't really know what to expect," Kirby said, noting the 100 back may be his best shot at a high finish. "I want to make the 'eight cut' for youth championships."
Weekes is set for the 50, 100 and 200 breaststroke, the 200 IM and the 200 butterfly after taking silver in the 200 fly, the 200 IM and the 400 IM and bronze in the 200 breast at the CARIFTA meet. He feels he has improved considerably since his last meet 2 1/2 months ago and hopes to make the semifinals in the 200 IM.
"Those two guys have gotten a lot better, and if they make the semis, it will be great. This meet will be crazy fast," Flack said. "They have to attain a certain level for their country to send them, and I'm glad to see they did."
He noted Freeman's best times are "probably" fifth or so among 18-under swimmers in the world this year, and the 6-foot-3, 192-pound Freeman said he feels stronger than when he set those times in the Phillips 66 Nationals. He's particularly optimistic about his relay team's chances for gold this week.
Freeman's father is a Chattanooga native who played football at Baylor, and while Trey has lived most of his life in Utah, the family did move to Nashville for a couple of years. While there, he began to get serious about swimming when he was "10 or 11," he said, and Baylor's reputation in the sport and Parrish Freeman's enjoyable connection made it a top option for high school for Trey. He is in his fourth year as a Baylor boarder.
"Coach Flack runs a great program. There's a method to his madness," Freeman said, "and the extra stuff in the weight room and the speed work in the pool have really helped me."
Said Flack: "He's grown a ton since he's been here. He was an incredibly hard worker when he got here, but I've shown him how to be a real student of the sport, and it's served him well. He's a lot more detail-oriented."
Freeman has committed to swim collegiately at Florida, and Kirby has "looked at" a school in England, Loughborough University.
Though a senior, Weekes is "a completely open book" about college, he admitted. He's hoping to make an impression on some recruiters this week.
"A lot of college coaches will be there," he said.
No matter how it goes, he'll still be smiling after the biggest meet of his life.
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.