COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Ross High School swimmer Davis Geyer is on a mission in the pool this winter.
Three months after he learned his Hodgkin's Lymphoma went into remission, the 17-year-old is grateful for every opportunity to practice or compete with his teammates.
"I thank God that I'm healthy really," Geyer said before practice at Clippard Family YMCA. "Everything that I do I try to do 100%. Keeping that mentality is going to help me through anything."
No one is doubting Geyer, who has set multiple personal time records this season as a team captain. His renewed strength — mentally and physically — is evident to those around him.
"It's just amazing to see him with clarity, full purpose — like he just knows what he wants to do and he does it," said Ross swimming and diving coach Joe Stewart. "Across the board we keep a Google sheet of all of our stats. I compare from last year to this year and it's like, holy crap — it's like it's a different kid. It really is; it's really nice."
Geyer persevered through six months of chemotherapy after he was diagnosed with cancer on April 19, 2022. Still, there were difficult moments when he felt like he was swimming upstream.
"There were days where I'd get in the pool and I'm feeling like crap," Geyer said. "Just in a bad mindset. You know — sad, down."
Yet, those days wouldn't define Geyer. He surrounded himself with family and friends while he stayed active with club swimming and playing competitive golf during the summer months into the fall.
Geyer competed for the Rams' golf team this past season while receiving chemotherapy. Ross coach Rick Mathes said Geyer never complained and didn't ask for a pull cart to hold his golf bag.
"That just speaks to his determination and his grit and the hard-working nature of Davis," Mathes said. "I can't say enough about his character. He was a leader on the team."
That leadership is evident on the swimming team, too. Stewart said Geyer is the glue for the team and inspires others. Geyer participated in the team's offseason programs while going through treatment.
"You can see there was days when he came in really ragged, pale," Stewart said. "It was like, 'Davis, if you want to rest, rest.' He was like, 'No, I'm going to do something. I'm going to do what I can.'"
That driving force often came from family. Geyer's motivation included his late grandmother, Madalyn Lester, who died just weeks before he learned about the Hodgkin's Lymphoma diagnosis.
"Every chemo I'd say, 'I'm doing this for her,'" Geyer said with tears in his eyes. "I'm going to get through this for her."
He also leaned on his mother, Jenny Reece, who was diagnosed with leukemia and had a bone marrow transplant in 1989. Reece, the Badin High School swimming coach, is now cancer-free.
"She also went through cancer as a kid, and (I) just really looked up to her and how she got through it," Geyer said.
It was those examples that have helped Davis surpass expectations this swimming season, too. He's excelling far beyond his coach's expectations.
"I think for Davis, he has come back more whole than ever," Stewart said. "He's an animal, an absolute animal. It's like where did this come from? He's setting personal records in all sorts of times."
Geyer smiles when asked about his reason for success this season. He understands the obstacles he's had to overcome. He's grateful for family, for Dr. Robin Norris and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital staff, and for his friends who continue to support him.
Geyer plans to study aircraft mechanics at Cincinnati State after graduation. Most importantly, Geyer is happy with life.
"You can think, 'Why is this happening to me? Why was I put here?'" Geyer said. "Or you can look at it and say, 'I'm going to get through this. I'm going to make myself a better person through this.' And that's what I've done."
