Unlike sprint swimmers, distance swimmers spend minutes at a time propelling themselves the length of the pool. Most of that time comes with their heads submerged, meaning there’s plenty of silence for thinking.
Barrington junior Maggie Emary said songs will inevitably filter through her head as she swims from end to end.
Racing in the 500-yard freestyle Saturday at the Stevenson Sectional, Emary found her own rhythm.
“I actually did have a song in my head the whole time,” she said.
The song was “Hoedown Throwdown,” by Miley Cyrus. The words carried Emary through the start of the race. “Put your hawk in the sky, move side to side.”
“I sang that through the first 300 yards, and then I saw the coaches waving at me, and I got focused and swam faster,” Emary said.
The two events featuring Emary and Stevenson junior Iza Pelka signaled two of the day’s best races. Pelka recorded the state’s fastest time in the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.09). Emary finished second, and her time (1:52.89) was nearly four seconds faster than her previous season best.
That led to a singular performance in the 500 freestyle, as she broke away over the final 20 yards.
Emary’s time of 4:55.32 sliced four seconds off her top time of the year and gave her the top qualifying time of any swimmer in the state. Pelka had the second-fastest time (4:56.07).
Barrington finished second with 263 points to the Patriots’ 291. The Fillies will have eight individual entries and all three relays at the state meet, which begins Friday at Evanston.
Emary is poised to improve on last year’s state performance, when she finished tied for fifth in the 500 freestyle. Former Barrington star Kirsten Jacobsen won the 200 freestyle three times and the 500 freestyle all four years. Jacobsen is now a freshman at Arizona, and Emary has a shot at continuing Barrington’s dominance in the event.
“It was very nice last year working with her, because I was never the top dog,” Emary said. “Kirsten was always faster than me, and she pushed me a lot. It was great to have somebody like that to turn off of. Without her this year, it’s kind of sad, but I think our team has done a great job of stepping up and creating the great legacy that Barrington has.”
Emary grew up in Florida, where swimming is second nature to many kids. She developed her passion for distance swimming as a young girl and said she competed in the 500 freestyle at a state meet in Florida when she was 10. The next year, her family moved to Barrington.
Emary was just outside the top 10 state qualifiers in the 200 freestyle but will try to outswim her seed at state. Emary said she prefers the longer distance but likes mixing it up with the 200 freestyle, with its greater opportunity for an all-out sprint. Her training consists of weight work and swimming 300- and 400-yard practice runs.
Barrington coach Jim Bart said Emary is vivacious and outgoing and that her work ethic sets her apart.
“I’ve had to kick her out of practice a couple of times this year because she just wants to keep going,” Bart said. “She is swimming very well right now, but we still have room for improvement. She is not even tapered yet, and we are hoping to get even more out of her at state.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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