Success does not always lead to happiness.

Penn State sophomore swimmer Willie Gordon has been gradually finding this out since last spring and finally made his decision to quit following the Georgia Invitational on Dec. 8.

Ironically, Gordon had just had one of his best performances of the season by setting Penn State season records in the 500-yard freestyle (4:32.69), 400-yard individual medley (4:00.35) and 1,650-yard freestyle (15:44.55).

"I was having probably my best season, but I just needed a break," Gordon said. "It wasn't appealing to me anymore."

Penn State swimming and diving coach Bill Dorenkott said Gordon was just going through the motions.

"If you're not happy doing what you're doing, you have to make a decision and [Gordon] wasn't swimming at what he what he was capable of doing," he said.

Gordon said there was no particular thing that led to the decision.

"I almost outgrew the sport," he said. "It was just something that I didn't want to do anymore. I wasn't happy."

Gordon, who has been swimming since high school, said the demands of the Penn State swimming schedule and the amount of training were interfering with his other pursuits in life.

"I wanted to dedicate more time to my grades," he said. "[Swimming] wasn't directly affecting them, but I didn't have much energy to focus on them. There's more out there than sports."

Dorenkott said that the team would always welcome Gordon back, and he doesn't think Gordon has any animosity toward the team and Penn State.

"He's a good kid," Dorenkott said. "I think he's typical of sophomores in college in that he's finding his own way."

Dorenkott made no apologies for the fact that Div. I sports demands a lot of time and effort on the part of athletes in order for them to find success.

"Show me someone who's successful in athletics, and that's probably someone who's going to find success in their social life and in the classroom," Dorenkott said.

As for the future, Dorenkott said that the team would have to move on without Gordon and that there were plenty of other eager swimmers who were willing to step up.

Gordon has said there is no possibility of him returning to the team.

"You can't second-guess yourself with a decision as important as this," Gordon said. "I thought this out well so you can't keep looking back and saying what if, what if."

Now, a month after quitting, Gordon said he is more relaxed and better able to focus on other things.