Great athletes don't often get to the top of their respective sports by being satisfied.

They always want more and expect more, catapulting them to the front of the line.

Northwestern junior swimmer Trey Shackleton has that type of attitude and that's why he was named the 2014 TIMES NEWS Swimmer of the year. It's the second consecutive year he has won the award.

His work ethic and drive helped Shackleton win gold at the District 11 Class AA Championships in the 500 freestyle. He went on to two top-six finishes at the PIAA Swimming and Diving Championships this season, including a bronze-medal finish in the 500 freestyle.

"I'm never satisfied, I always want to do better," said Shackleton. "That's kind of been my mantra, not only with swimming, but in everything that I do. I think it's important for me to always expect more of myself. If you work hard and have the attitude that you can always do better then good things will usually follow.

So far, Shackleton's theory has come to fruition. His hard work has certainly paid off. The junior spends a lot of time in the pool training to become a better swimmer.

Shackleton's regiment isn't easy. He spends two and a half hours a day in the pool training for distance and then an hour of cross fit training following that. He does that six days a week, with Sunday being his rest day.

"He's one of the most consistent and hard working swimmers we have," said Shackleton's coach Ryan Woodruff. "He has a certain tenacity to the way he swims and he's never satisfied with hi accomplishments. He has such a great drive and love for the sport and that's why he is successful."

Woodruf, who coaches Shackleton at Parkland Aquatic Club, expects even bigger things from him in the future.

"It's been pretty amazing to see how much Trey had improved since he was 11 years old," said Woodruff. "Just in the last two years he has improved dramatically and that's a testament to the work he has put in. He's also gaining more experience, swimming in bigger and bigger meets each year. He's going to accomplish some pretty great things in his career if he continues down this path."

Shackleton isn't the biggest of athletes, but his appetite fuels his drive for success, literally and figuratively. He loads up on calories throughout the day in order to stay energized throughout his intense training sessions.

"I think an important aspect to my training is eating right and eating a lot," said Shackleton. "I make sure to eat really healthy and I would say my meal portions are bigger than the average person. I just eat a lot because I know I burn a lot energy during my training segments, so I think it's important for me to do that.

"I have to be honest though. I never eat fast good during training, but after states I think my next three meals were at fast food places. Hey, nobody is perfect."

Another key to Shackleton's success is competing year-round with the Parkland Aquatic Club. He gains valuable experience at big meets with PAC.

Most recently, he competed in a meet at Virginia Tech and he is gearing up for a Grand Prix swimming meet in Charlotte, North Carolina in May. Then comes Shackleton's biggest event of the summer, the Mid-Atlantic Junior National Championships at Bucknell University.

"My goal is to just get better each and every time I go out there and improve my times," said Shackleton. "I also want to make it to senior nationals in the 400 freestyle and make some noise in that event. These meets have the best competition around, so it won't be easy, but it will only make me a better swimmer in the long run."

As far as next season in PIAA competition, it's no secret what he wants accomplish.

"I want to win gold next year," said Shackleton. "I know if I continue to work hard, gain experience and do my best that I have a really good shot at doing just that.

"A lot of these guys that I competed against this year will be back, so I need to continue to put in the extra work in the pool and that's exactly what I intend to do."

Winning a gold at states won't be enough for Shackleton as he has an even higher goal he wants to accomplish in his swimming career.

"I want to swim at a Division 1 school and if I keep working towards that, there's no reason why I can't accomplish that goal," said Shackleton.

"I just have to continue to swim with the same attitude that I've been swimming with. Like I said, my goal is to just get better every time I go out there, not just in swimming, but in everything I do."