Academy at the Lakes, Shorecrest swimmers set meet marks in Tampa Bay Classic
Source/Author: Chuck Frye, "Tampa Bay Times"
September 24, 2019
With about a month to go before district meets, swimmers are usually well into their hard-core training regimens by now. Exhaustive practices held now followed by tapering which, if all goes well, means peak performances come states.
But that doesn’t mean forgoing record-breaking performances when the opportunity arises, and a pair of area athletes did just that on a beautiful but blustery Saturday in the Tampa Bay Classic.
After establishing the meet standard in the 100-yard freestyle last year, Academy at the Lakes junior McKenna Smith shaved another one-tenth of a second off of her mark, winning comfortably in 52.18 seconds. She also was triumphant earlier in the 50 freestyle (24.23 seconds).
“(Saturday morning) didn't go as well as I wanted (finishing second in her 50 free preliminary race) but my 50 final felt really good,” Smith said in between races. “I hope my 100 does, too.”
Smith is feeling energized by the growth of the AATL program and her role within it.
“Last year, we had eight or nine swimmers and this year we have almost 20. The seventh graders came in and wanted to swim and it's super exciting. I guess I'm a mentor, they're always asking me questions, helping them learn and improve,” Smith said.
Shorecrest senior Caleb Kravitz made an impressive climb in the 500 freestyle, carving more than 2½ seconds off of his seed time and 5½ seconds off of the six-year-old meet standard with a 4:26.66 clocking.
“I've just committed to University of Florida and I wanted to make a statement,” Kravitz said. “Last year, I started swimming distance and I was state champion in the 500. This year, I want to break through, I want to know the strategy needed at longer distances.
“I just got done swimming long course during the summer competing in the 1,500. After swimming races that are three times longer, now it comes down to focusing on the nitty-gritty details.”
Two other year-old meet records fell as well as Jacksonville Episcopal's Jace Crawford carved three seconds off the old mark in the 200 freestyle (1:38.35) as part of a two-win day, and Sarasota Cardinal Mooney's Michaela Mattes set a new 500 freestyle standard in the prelims (4:56.86) while also topping the prior best in the final (4:56.95).
