Gendron eyes Texas-sized challenge
Cumberland coach can relate to Northmen senior
NORTH SMITHFIELD — Sara Gendron, North Smithfield High’s firstever state individual champion in any sport (perhaps), was a mighty tough girl to track down after school on Monday.
That, however, comes of no surprise. Following her classes, she still had to
complete her homework, or at least most of it, then trek to Bryant University for a minimum two-plus hour practice with the USA Swimming, Inc.- affiliated Bulldog Aquatics during the evening hours.
Really, who has time to talk on the phone?
She nevertheless did plenty of talking at the R.I. Interscholastic Girls Swimming Championships at Brown University’s Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center. After placing second in the 200-yard individual medley with a lifetime-best clocking of 2:09.65 (she had lost to friend and Bay View sophomore Gianna Spremullo by a lengthy 4:87 seconds), Gendron took to the blocks for her specialty, the 100-yard butterfly.
When she finished in another PR of 56.94, less than two seconds of Team USA Olympian and multiGames medalist Elizabeth Beisel’s nine-year-old state mark, she grinned widely to the crowd at the massive natatorium, then walked to less busy part of the expansive pool to warm down.
Gendron did have some girls from other schools congratulate her on her first-ever state title, but she wasn’t approached by any teammates; that’s because she doesn’t have any. Her school doesn’t offer any aquatics program, so she swims as an independent.
In addition, because she is her own team, she attends only three interscholastic meets per winter – the Bay View Invitational, the division meet and the state championship.
“I think some people thought I was displeased with the IM because I finished second, but I was happy because I broke 2:10 for the first time, plus I’m close with Gianna; I like her a lot,” Gendron said. “She definitely has a better middle 100 than I do, as I’m not much of a breaststroker.
“As for the fly, there’s no better feeling.”
She had spoken in the past how difficult and lonely it could be not having teammates surround you at meets like this (naturally, she does in meets Bulldog Aquatics attend), and Cumberland High head coach Rod McGarry knows that all too well.
“That’s the most impressive thing about her, I’d say,” McGarry stated. “She represents her school, but doesn’t have any teammates. Sure, she knows a lot of the swimmers at these meets because they swim club, too, and they know all about her situation, but I still give her a ton of credit.
“Going to a meet of that caliber by yourself, it’s so difficult psychologically – you don’t have your own team to sit with; all of the other kids do, (as) they practice together, go to school together every day, have their own personal jokes and friendly banter, the relays, the cohesion. She’s got none of that.
“I know firsthand how difficult that is,” he continued. “When I went to Bishop Feehan (in the late 1980s), we didn’t have a team and I swam as an independent. I remember going to the old Brown Interscholastics ( at Smith Swimming Center) and the Max Read Memorial Championships alone, and I thought, ‘Why am I doing this?’
“Fortunately, guys ike Bruce Calvert at Cumberland and Kenny Reall at East Providence, both ( R. I. Aquatic Hall of Fame) coaches pulled me aside and said I could warm up and sit with their teams during the meet. They made it really easy on me, and I thank them for it.
“I know Sara has the same kinds of friends in club swimming, and she sits with them during these big meets, but it’s still hard. I also know she doesn’t get as much recognition from her own school, but I know she will now.”
Not long after winning her gold medal, Gendron caught a glimpse of longtime Athletic Director Matt Tek and immediately embraced him. He later said he had told Gendron that, if she did win an event, he would put a banner up in the school’s gym.
“I promised her, and I WILL get one,” he laughed. “She’s already picked out the spot.”
Fact is, for this state meet, Gendron wasn’t fully tapered (in the best possible shape), the reason being she has a bigger championship to train for next month in Austin, Tex. That’s called the USA Swimming Inc.’s Speedo Sectionals at the University of Texas, and she will compete against the nation’s best in the 100 and 200 butterflies and the 200 individual medley.
“I have the qualifying standards, especially after the PRs I did (Saturday),” she said. “But after the IM (race), I did a quick warmdown because I wanted to watch my friend, Caroline (Shen, a sophomore from Cumberland), swim the 50 free. I think I lost a little focus because I wanted her to qualify for Texas, too.
“She went 24.91 and finished third, and incredibly, she did the exact same time she needed to make it. We’re going together! I ran up to her and gave her a big hug, then started thinking about the fly.”
McGarry indicated he believes Gendron has a mighty bright future ahead of her, as she’s already committed to swim for Bryant. That’s the same school where her dad, Ron, heads the men’s varsity tennis program – that is, when he’s not mentoring his daughter.
“She just swims with a great deal of poise and confidence; it’s a joy to watch,” he noted. “When she steps on the blocks, she looks like she’s ready to pounce. She actually looks like she’s agitated because she doesn’t want to wait for the starting gun; she wants to get the thing going.
“Her time in the 100 fly, 56.94, that’s a no-brainer; that’s magniicent,” he added. “You look at the number of high school girls around the state who are just trying to break a minute in the 100 freestyle, or the boys trying to do the same thing in the 100 fly, and she’s closing in on 55 in one of the hardest high school events there is.
“She gets in there and puts on a clinic. Sara has such balanced races – her splits are so fast and so tight (meaning each 50 time is so similar). She’s got the natural speed and technique, but she also has the starts, turns and finishes. She’s a very mature swimmer.
“That girl is something else; she deserves a state championship. She’s really fast now, but you can tell she’s a great, healthy career ahead of her as a collegian.”