The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ARMANDO Moss couldn’t ask for a better end to his collegiate career with the Musketeers men’s swim team at Xavier University in New York.

At the Big East Championships at the Ithaca College Athletics and Events Center Aquatics Pavilion February 18-21 , Moss not only helped the Musketeers men to repeat as champions but almost cleaned up, winning five of the seven events he competed in, placing second in the other two and leaving his name in Xavier’s record books in two of his events.

His performances included gold in the 100 metre butterfly in 49.40 seconds, gold in the 200m medley relay (1:29.31), gold in the 400m medley relay (3:19.31), gold in the 200m freestyle (1:21.44), gold in the 400m freestyle (2:59.17), silver in the 100m freestyle (44.80) and silver in the 50m free (20.53).

His Xavier records were posted in both the 200m medley and 400m freestyle.

“It was nice to end my college career the way I did,” said Moss in an interview with The Tribune. “I didn’t really think about specific times I wanted to swim, so I just went out and did my best. I’m pretty pleased with what I accomplished. I think it gives me a good chance to look ahead to qualifying for the Olympic Games next year.”

While the Big East Conference was not as keenly contested as some of the others, Moss said he was still thrilled about the accomplishments he achieved.

“It wasn’t easy. It definitely wasn’t,” he said. “This is my best year. Last year, I think I had half as many medals, so this all came together for me this year. It all fell into place. I had some good practices, I was healthy and I was ready, so I was very pleased with the way I performed.”

With a totally different mindset, Moss said he was able to take the event in its own perspective and that enabled him to achieve the seven-medal feat.

“I enjoyed the 100m butterfly the most because going into it, I saw it as my weakest event, but I won it after making a few changes from preliminaries to finals and that made such a big difference that I actually ended up winning the race,” Moss said. “So that had to be the most exciting event for me at the meet.”

Now that the championship is over, Moss is done at Xavier University and he could only lament on what has been a valuable lesson.

“My best year was my freshman year, but I had my ups and downs,” he said. “I had two really rough years as a sophomore and junior, then I had two subpar years. I started off strong, had two difficult years in between and then come back and finished off in a bang.

“But I couldn’t ask for a better way to go out. I struggled one year having surgery (on my left shoulder in 2012). But I’m happy because some people who end up having surgery, they don’t get to get back to the level that they were before. I think I was able to overcome it, surprised what I did in the past and got in a position where I continued to get better. So I’m pleased, but I’m not satisfied.”

The 22-year-old six-foot, two-inch, 175-pounder admitted that there’s always room for improvement.

At his graduation in May, he received the award for obtaining the highest GPA in the Williams College of Business out of a field of over 200 students.

“It’s hard to focus on competing and trying to be the smartest person in the classroom,” he said. “I almost was the valedictorian, so it was hard to balance it off. I just had to put in a lot of severe time management. I had some very strict priorities and I worked on putting the focus where it should be and what to put on the back burner.”

Moss, who will be returning home for a brief visit this weekend, will be working in Cincinnati in an accounting firm while training at the same time in preparation for competing at the Bahamas Swimming Federation’s Royal Bank of Canada National Championships at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex in June.

“My training will be based around my work schedule as opposed to my school schedule,” Moss said. “But I will be available to compete for the Bahamas in whatever international meets they need me to compete in. I really want to take a shot at qualifying for the Olympics (in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) next year.”

There’s nobody more proud of his performance than his mother, Pamela Parker-Moss, who prides herself on being her son’s number one fan.

“He is so reserved that he really put all of the focus on himself,” Parker-Moss said. “That’s one of the things that I like about him. I think I can learn a lot of life lessons from him because of the way he has conducted himself in and out of the pool.”

Parker-Moss said while attending the Big Ten Championships last weekend, one of the coaches came over to her and explained how delighted they were to have him as a member of their team at Xavier University. She said the coach told her that Armando was also thinking about his teammates more than himself.

“I noticed when he got the silver medals, he was more excited about his teammates who won than when he won his gold medals,” Parker-Moss said. “I’m very proud of him because not only is he an outstanding swimmer, but he has achieved very well in the classroom as well as a student. I’m proud to be his mother, his number one fan.”

Moss is a 2010 graduate of St Augustine’s College. He is the son of Pamela Parker-Moss and Peter Moss.