Doubling down
Spears, DePirro fuel Lake Central repeat at Highland Invitational
Over the winter break, L a ke C e n t ra l junior Michaela Spears said she really put more focus on her tempo training.
Spears used a tempo trainer, which can be described as a metronome. The desired pace can be set on a device attached to either the goggles or cap, and then the swimmers can match the corresponding beat.
At Saturday’s Highland Invitational, Spears found her rhythm in winning the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.71 and the 200 individual medley in 2:12.10.
“I worked with that tempo trainer so much in practice,” Spears said. “It’s helped with all my strokes lately, but definitely with the breaststroke. It really makes sure everything’s in tune.
“I was super happy with my times and surprised myself with them, but I knew I worked really hard to get there. I got in the water wanting it really badly.”
Spears was also a part of two first-place relay teams — the 200 medley (1:50.95) and 200 freestyle (1:42.02) — as the Indians repeated by winning the championship of the event with 513 points.
Crown Point (401) and Munster (383) placed second and third, respectively.
Lake Central coach To d d S m o l i n s k i wa s pleased with a particular aspect of Spears’ performance and his team’s as a whole.
“Michaela was our freestyle leadoff in that relay and was really good, and that showed me she’s clicking there right now,” Smolinski said. “Her breaststroke is probably her best stroke with the back and fly not too far behind, but I like that her freestyle is coming on.
“She’s very solid in all four strokes, which is great for the IM. We wanted each girl to step up and show what they can do and if they did that, we knew we’d do well as a team. It worked out for us.”
While Spears went 4for-4, classmate Maggie DePirro won three of four. She paired up in the relays with Spears and won the 100 fly (1:00.19). She took third in the 200 IM.
“I’ve gone lower than that time in the fly before, but I can’t be upset with what I swam because that’s a good place to be at this time in the season,” DePirro said. “I feel like I’m in a better spot this year, especially mentally, going into this stretch of the season.
“It was absolutely one of our biggest goals to come back and repeat as well as making a point that we were someone to reckon with at sectionals. We and some other teams had some girls out, but it was still a good gauge for what we can accomplish. There were a lot of fast times and we’re happy with that.”
CJ Peters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.