There was a time about a year ago when Sarah Stockwell\u2019s relationship with her lifelong love was \u2026 well, a bit on the rocks.<\/p>\n
Suffice to say that she and swimming were still on speaking terms. But for a while, they weren\u2019t exactly best friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a little bit of a rough spot at the end of last summer,\u201d said the Kent native, a 2005 graduate of Kentlake High School and now on the cusp of her senior year at Indiana University. \u201cI was kind of frustrated with swimming. I tore a groin at the beginning of last summer, and it really frustrated me. I didn\u2019t finish well at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fast forward to last fall. Back on campus in Bloomington, Ind., she met with the Hoosiers coaching staff, and, in her own terms, \u201cI got my head back in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next week, she\u2019ll be back in the Midwest, albeit this time in Omaha, Neb. \u201cBack in the game\u201d has brought the 21-year-old Stockwell all the way to the United States Olympic swimming trials in the 100-meter breaststroke.<\/p>\n
That event begins Monday with preliminary heats and semifinals, and concludes with finals on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I started training in the fall, it kind of turned things around,\u201d said Stockwell, who won state bronze medals in the 100-yard breaststroke as a freshman, sophomore and junior at Kentlake, then snared a silver as a Falcons senior. \u201cI kind of expected to have a good season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m training better than I ever have.\u201d<\/p>\n
That good season Stockwell expected? It happened. She went to the NCAA championships in the 100-yard breaststroke, the 200 breaststroke, and as part of Indiana\u2019s 200 medley and 400 medley relay teams. The 400 medley set back-to-back school records and placed sixth overall, earning All-American status. The 200 medley placed a school-best eighth.<\/p>\n
And, for the first time in her life, Stockwell conquered the holy grail of breaststrokers: breaking the one-minute mark, when she clocked a 59.9 split for her 100-yard leg of the 400 medley relay.<\/p>\n
She also was in the 1:01 neighborhood in her individual 100 breaststroke. (Relay splits typically are faster because swimmers can get a \u201crolling start\u201d as the previous swimmer comes in to the wall; in individual races, they must remain motionless and wait for the starter\u2019s horn.)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just really cool to finally break a minute,\u201d said Stockwell, who broke into a huge smile just as easily as she recalled the moment. \u201cSophomore year, I started going a minute on relays, and I was going, \u2018I can break a minute, I know I can.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Making the Omaha cut<\/b><\/p>\n
But international competition such as the Olympics is a different story \u2013 not to mention a different distance. Competition is in meters, not yards, so it takes more time to get there. For the U.S. trials, the 100-meter breaststroke standard is 1:12.59.<\/p>\n
Stockwell got there in a meet last winter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI swim in the prelims, and I fell one-tenth (of a second) short. And I knew I fell apart in the last 10 (meters),\u201d Stockwell said.<\/p>\n
But she came back for finals and logged a 1:12.24.<\/p>\n
Omaha, here she comes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as I hit the wall, it felt real good,\u201d Stockwell said.<\/p>\n
Stockwell is working toward her degree in recreational sports management at Indiana. That alone can seem like a full-time job. And swimming at the NCAA Division 1 level, particularly in the depth-laden Big Ten Conference, can seem like another one. Stockwell said a typical week is 35 hours of training, both in and out of the pool. At the end of any given week, she has logged between 70,000 and 90,000 yards.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe training itself is so different (from high school and club swimming),\u201d she said. \u201cYou know you\u2019re going into a battle, but you don\u2019t know what it is at the other end. \u2026 It\u2019s all about survival.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stockwell certainly qualifies as a survivor. She said her freshman class at Indiana had 19 swimmers. By midway through her sophomore year, just six remained, all of whom are still with the team. Even one of her friendly rivals from high school, Oak Harbor\u2019s Missy McIntyre, who won the state 100 breaststroke title all four years Stockwell swam for Kentlake and then went off the national power Southern California, has hung it up.<\/p>\n
Approaching the end<\/b><\/p>\n
Stockwell, meanwhile, keeps churning up a wake \u2013 something she hopes to continue doing next week in Omaha. Making the team is an extreme long shot \u2013 only the winner of each event automatically qualifies; although second place is a virtual lock, as well. In the 100 breaststroke, the top two entry times are 1:06.20 and 1:06.34; Stockwell enters with a 1:12.24.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that I can say I made it is amazing in itself,\u201d Stockwell said. \u201cI\u2019d like to place in the top 16 (which probably will take a sub-1:10). At the very minimum, I want to get a best time.\u201d<\/p>\n
One thing has hit home with Stockwell: That lifelong love relationship with competitive swimming will be changing soon.<\/p>\n
Even elite aquatic athletes such as Stockwell, who pride themselves on stopping the watch as quickly as possible, still can\u2019t stop the calendar.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Nine) more months of swimming,\u201d she said, looking down momentarily at her iced Starbucks drink. \u201cIt didn\u2019t really hit me until last month. I was sitting with a couple other girls in my class, and we were talking. I\u2019ve been swimming 16 years and I have nine months left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suffice to say Sarah Stockwell and swimming are on more than just mere speaking terms these days.<\/p>\n
Sounds as if they\u2019re best friends once again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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