John Swabik, a senior at Sherman Central School, signs a national letter of intent to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder to run track and field for the Buffaloes. Submitted photo

One of the most decorated high school athletes in Chautauqua County high school history now knows where he will spend his next four years.

John Swabik signed a national letter of intent Wednesday night to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder to run track and field for the Buffaloes.

“Colorado has been talking to me for a solid three or four months,” Swabik said Thursday evening. “I’m happy that I’ve made my decision and I can kind of put that college search behind me. That’s been really stressful and put a lot of weight on my shoulders.”

Swabik’s recruitment was supposed to take him across the country — he visited Louisville and Rhode Island early in the process — but the coronavirus pandemic made it difficult to travel and get a true feel for some schools and campuses.

“I haven’t even visited the University of Colorado. It’s really tough to make a decision on any of the schools,” he said. “I haven’t seen them. I haven’t felt the energy on campus or met the coaches in person. Colorado just felt right.

“At the beginning of my college search, I was willing to go anywhere, but then as I started talking to more schools I didn’t really want to go that far because I would miss my family,” Swabik added. “As I got more into it, Colorado, 21 hours away, it was no big deal. Don’t ask me how that happened, but it did.”

The Sherman senior found his way onto the local scene as a freshman for the joint Clymer/Sherman/Panama track team.

That spring, Swabik finished second in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Division II pentathlon with 3,130 points — just behind 40 points back of Dansville senior Jacob Wadsworth.

The following year, Swabik won the state Division II crown with 3,411 points — only 66 points back of Walt Whitman senior John Poplawski, who won the overall title.

The summer, after being named the 2019 Post-Journal Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year, Swabik looked to tackle the decathlon while running for Chautauqua Striders.

In his first attempt at the 10-part event, Swabik won the Boys 15-16 Division crown with 5,660 points at the USA Track and Field Youth Outdoor Championships in Durham, North Carolina. Three parts of the decathlon were brand new to Swabik — the pole vault, javelin and discus.

Proving the state wasn’t too big, Swabik went on a few weeks later to claim the silver medal with 6,029 points at the USATF Hershey National Junior Olympic Championships at Sacramento State University’s Hornet Stadium.

“I definitely have more experience than most decathletes coming out of high school,” he said. “My parents got me into it at the perfect time. I know I can improve on every single one of my marks. It’s going to be interesting for sure.”

A two-time state champion with the Wolfpack football team, Swabik and his Sherman teammates were on their way to the NYSPHSAA Class D Far West Regional in basketball last winter when the coronavirus pandemic prematurely ended their season.

“Football is not out of the picture. I have plans on asking the coaches and I know there has been talk at Colorado,” Swabik said. “I’ll be connecting with the Colorado coach and hopefully seeing what he has to say, and maybe playing both.”

COVID-19 wiped out Swabik’s junior season of track and field with the Wolfpack before pushing back his senior season of basketball until at least next month and his final year of football until at least March.

“I’m looking forward to the end of my senior year,” he said. “I don’t want to not play basketball again. I want to get a chance to play some football in case I don’t in college.”

In Boulder, Swabik will compete under head coach Mark Wetmore. A 1978 Rutgers graduate, Wetmore was named the Buffaloes’ head cross country and track coach on Nov. 6, 1995. He has since become the lone NCAA Division I head coach to win all four NCAA cross country titles — men’s and women’s individual as well as men’s and women’s team.

In track and field, Wetmore’s athletes have captured 107 individual conference titles, two conference team titles, 21 NCAA individual titles and earned 220 All-American honors.

“They have five decathletes currently and two are graduating,” Swabik said. “They are adding me and trying to get one more.”

Swabik’s multi-event coach will be Lindsey Malone, whose athletes have set two school records, won two conference championships and competed at the NCAA Championships four times. Malone, in her 13th season with the Buffaloes, has coached athletes to 69 school top-10 performances in 22 different events.

“Coach Malone has been the one I’ve talked to,” Swabik said. “She’s very honest and … I can tell she has my best interests in mind. At the end of the day, honesty was one of the biggest reasons.”

This season, Colorado — which competes in the PAC-12 — was scheduled for an indoor/outdoor season beginning in December and running through mid-June. During indoor season, Swabik would compete in the heptathlon before moving to the decathlon for outdoor season.

But, first, he hopes to finish his senior year in Western New York with a bang.

“If we have (track) state championships, I’d like to win the federation,” Swabik said. “As far as goals for this year, I want a personal best in everything. If I can improve on my marks little by little, I’ll be happy.”