Hall of Fame Class: Eddie Erazo

 MIND AND BODY CONNECTION

Eddie Erazo understood the mind and body connection early on.  

He began swimming when he was nine years old then continued to compete at a high level on the club level on his way to Mt. Carmel High School. 

After training hard for several years and midway through high school, burnout set in.  

Heading into his senior year, he planned to give up club training, swim the high school season then hang up his speedo. 

“That didn’t go over too well with my parents. So, I agreed to swim one year in college.” 

While most college coaches doubted his commitment and stopped recruiting him, UC Irvine head coach Brian Pajer was persistent and saw the potential. 

“Brian Pajer’s belief gave me confidence that this was a good spot. I felt like I could be a big fish in a small pond instead of being overwhelmed and quitting. Being at a good school was also more important than athletics.” 

His Anteater career started with success as Erazo was a member of the 200-yard medley relay team that captured the Big West title in school record fashion. 

Pajer continued to bring in talent and the Anteaters continued to build a national contender.  

Being a member of the 200-medley relay team, the first relay of the meet, set the tone and increased the bonding. Erazo was the backstroker and the first in the water followed by Daniel Simonsen in the breaststroke, Randall Tom in butterfly and Eric Reilly in the freestyle. 

The four were naturally good friends so bonding out of the pool helped the performance in the pool. 

“I think the strength of the relay gave the rest of the team confidence that we can perform well at the meet.” 

The relay brotherhood also gave purpose to Erazo’s swimming journey. 

“On those days you aren’t feeling it and don’t want to be at that meet, you know you have the team relying on you.”  

Watching fellow Hall of Famer Chelsea Nagata was also an inspiration. 

“Watching her compete and being really proud of her and how she performed our sophomore year at NCAAs, I was so inspired and if I was going to do this, be in the water 20-plus hours a week, then I want to perform as best I can and show what I’m capable of doing. That was the big turning point.” 

The mind and body connection started to click.  

“I don’t think I was in the right mindset. I was just trying to push through, white knuckle through it, as opposed to believing in myself and my abilities. That change would help me get the most out of it and seek out success.” 

Along with Pajer another key person in his development was assistant coach Soliman Eid.

“Soliman was integral to the second half of my college career, which was right when my passion and drive had intensified. He was always motivating, supportive, and instilled confidence in me, even calling me "the Heat". Soliman and Brian helped design individualized sets at practice, tune my stroke, and push me in dryland training. However, Soliman also brought laughter to the grind and was a friend that provided stability. I wouldn't have accomplished what I did without him and Brian and I'm forever grateful to both of them. I always wanted to make them proud, just as I did with my parents.”

The camaraderie and chemistry of both teams as well as the coaching staff were good for mind, body and soul.  

“That’s one of the main reasons I never quit. Having that chemistry between the men’s and women’s program.” 

In Erazo’s junior year, the men’s team won the 2007 Big West Championship. He claimed the 100 back (47.99) and the 200 fly (1:44.52) titles as well as being a member of the winning teams in the 200-medley relay and 400-medley relays.  

UCI would advance to the NCAA Championships where the Anteaters finished 25th in the country. Erazo finished 12th in the 200 fly (1:45.06), 15th in the 100 backstroke (47.61), 12th in the 200 medley relay (1:27.0) and 14th in the 400 medley relay (3:11.69) at the event. 

The NCCAs were a new experience for Erazo. 

“It was a bit overwhelming. It was all men and a testosterone-filled environment which I didn’t like very much. It felt very serious and all business instead of enjoying the sport. I think that’s one of the things I liked about club and collegiate swimming was the co-ed aspect.” 

While the team just had an incredible accomplishment, the event was also bittersweet because it would be the last event together for relay team as Simonsen and Reilly were graduating.  

“That was the hard part. Dan and Eric were graduating, but we enjoyed the experience and just making it was rewarding.” 

Another bittersweet moment of the championship was finishing ninth in the morning prelims in the 100 butterfly. Erazo was heartbroken as the top eight advanced to the finals.

The disappointment fueled his fire as did training for the upcoming summer Pan American Games in Brazil. He ended up earning a silver medal at the Pan Ams and felt good going into his senior year. 

“That was probably one of the best moments of my life. It was euphoric. I had been training really hard and well. Going from being burnt out and thinking of quitting to success junior year and being able to represent the USA, it felt really good.”  

The loss of the 2007 seniors made the chances of making the NCAAs as a relay his senior year unlikely so focusing on what he needed to do to perform and help carry the team became a priority for Erazo. 

“I led by being a role model. How I trained and prepared for meets.” 

During the season, Erazo would set the UCI record in three individual events - the 100 back (47.98), the 200 back (1:47.04) and the 200 fly (1:43.71). 

That leadership earned him 2008 Big West Athlete of the Year accolades after winning the 200 fly, 100 back and 100 fly events as well as being a member of the 400 free relay team at the conference championships.  

He would advance to the NCAAs where UC Irvine finished tied for 34th at the Championships on the strength of Erazo's scoring. 

He placed eighth in the 200-yard butterfly (1:45.20), becoming UCI's first All-American in men's swimming since 1990. He also finished 28th in the 100 back (48.65) and 32nd in the 100 fly (47.96) to round out his competition at the NCAAs.  

He ended his career named Mid-Major All-American by CollegeSwimming.com twice as well as All-Big West all four years. As a senior, Erazo was named UCI's Big West Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American second team as well as the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII first team.  

At UCI, a class taught by Dr. Sally Dickerson which focused on the biopsychosocial model of mental and physical health and how psychological factors can affect our biomarkers like cortisol helped pave the way for his graduate studies.  

After graduating with a degree in psychology and social behavior, Erazo headed to the University of Nevada, Reno for graduate school to earn his Ph.D. in clinical psychology.  

At Nevada, Dr. Holly Hazlett-Stevens’ work on mindfulness and how it can help modulate responses to stress was an important touchstone.  

Looking at stress effects in the body and how mindfulness can be a buffer is top of mind in collegiate athletic departments these days, but resources were limited during Erazo’s time in the pool and seemed reserved only for those with mental illness instead of being used to enhance performance. 

“I wish I was exposed to mindfulness in college because I struggled with anxiety. There was pressure to perform every meet over and over again. Mindfulness would have helped me a lot.” 

Having dealt with burnout and depression, Erazo was fascinated at how mental health could be used to improve not only overall well-being, but also performance in sports. 

"I was fascinated by it, but also intrinsically motivated to learn more about it and apply some to myself. I remember being touched by how my counselor helped me out and I wanted to be that kind of person to affect lives as well.” 

Today, he is changing lives as a clinical psychologist at the Veterans Health Administration.  

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, memories, flashbacks and chronic activation of fight or flight response can take a toll on a person’s physical health. 

Erazo was drawn to the job at the VA because of their integrated approach in the understanding of the importance of physical and mental health. 

His day-to-day includes treating patients individually for mental disorders and leading groups in mindfulness, insomnia, chronic pain, weight management, and tobacco. 

“Learning how to have acceptance and compassion for one’s past to buffer that constant cortisol release and muscle tension in the everyday moments is important.” 

An understanding of a strong support system was something that blossomed during his time at UCI. The bonding at Mesa Commons after workouts was an important part of his collegiate experience. 

Erazo, along with the seven other 2024 inductees, will be honored at the Hall of Fame ceremony on Feb. 2 and celebrated at halftime of the men's basketball game on Feb. 3.