ROCHESTER, N.Y.  – Caleb Larchar is off to a fast start with the Roberts Wesleyan College men's swimming and diving team.

Larchar, a freshman from Sherburne, N.Y., has set school records in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200 breaststroke during his first season. He also was a member of the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams that established new school marks.

Larchar's accomplishments in the pool are more impressive when you consider that he did not compete or train for swimming for more than two years while serving on a mission to Spain with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following his graduation from Sherburne-Earlville High School in 2019.

A physics major, Larchar also attained a 3.95 grade-point average and is Roberts Wesleyan College's Male Scholar Athlete of the Month for January.

Larchar took a few moments to discuss a variety of topics, including adjusting to becoming a student-athlete after being away from both academics and athletics for an extended period of time. The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How old were you when you started swimming?
"I was in eighth grade. Initially, I ran cross country and track and I joined swimming to stay in shape for the track season in the spring. After my first year I started to really like swimming and I switched over to make it my main sport and it has been that way ever since."

How much experience did you have when you started swimming?
"I wasn't a complete beginner … but when I joined the swim team my knowledge of competitive swimming was zero. I didn't know how to swim fast at all. I knew how to stay afloat and kind of do a couple of strokes, but there was a lot of learning that my high school coaches helped me with."

What about swimming drew you into the sport?
"My first year there was a really amazing coach (Russell Cutting). It was his last year coaching and he was loved by everyone in the school, not just the swim team. He was an incredible coach and he and his wife kind of got me hooked because it was a super small team and they focused on all of the swimmers, even me who had just joined. They helped me with technique, and they would actually know my times and get me excited about improving. I really enjoyed making changes to my different strokes and making improvement at my meets, that's still kind of what I go for. That constant improvement still keeps me going."

What was your mission trip like?
"My mission covered half of Spain and the Canary Islands, which I got to go to and were amazing. … While I was there, we basically tried to serve people, help people, spread the good news and talk about Jesus Christ and talk about our church and what it means to us individually It was a little complicated because of COVID. My first three months were normal and then everything went whack because we couldn't go outside anymore and we couldn't talk to people in the street anymore, so we had to adapt. It was definitely an experience where I was challenged, my faith was challenged, I had to figure out how to live far away from home and so I definitely grew a ton. I am super glad that I got to have that experience and I am super grateful for it."

What was it like going from Sherburne, N.Y. to Madrid, a city with more than 6 million people?
"There was culture shock for sure. First of all, I didn't speak Spanish and they sure didn't speak any English. Also, the sheer number of people there was overwhelming. … My first apartment was 15 minutes from the center of Madrid on the metro, so I was right in the middle of everyone and everything. It was definitely hard to get adjusted to because there was never any quiet, even in our apartment you would hear bikes and cars going down the road, people, sirens. But, there's a lot of different things that I started to appreciate about Spanish culture and by the end of my time there I felt pretty comfortable and I loved it. Coming back home was an adjustment, too."

What was it like getting back in the pool once you came home?
"I bought a YMCA membership as soon as I could and just started going to the pool every day right up until school started. I have a friend from high school that swims at Nazareth and we would meet up and swim together just trying to get me back to where I was. It was definitely hard being in the water and not feeling the same way I used to was mentally difficult. … It was hard because I was so far off."

Are you back to your high school times yet?
"Yes, I have beaten every single one of them, which is really cool and means whatever we are doing here is working."

How did you land at Roberts?
"When I came to visit Roberts, it just felt right. There wasn't anything crazy about this campus, I just liked it. … It's a nice, small, Christian community and I feel like I fit in pretty well."

How would you describe your college experience at Roberts so far?
"It's going well. It's cool to have such a small campus and everywhere I go I am a person and not a number, so I really like that. I would definitely recommend it."