There are worse adjectives than "consistent," so sophomore Elizabeth Whelan of Bishop McGuinness doesn't object too much to that description of her performance in the pool.
"Consistent. Always consistent," coach Kenny Christensen said. "Her stroke is consistent. Her time is consistent. Sometimes you can't tell a difference between when she's doing a sprint or distance."
Consistent is nice when it feels like a race isn't going great, yet the scoreboard timer shows a successful effort. Consistent is maddening, however, when that "I just swam my heart out" race nets the same ol' time.
"Sometimes I'll get frustrated: 'Why can't I just drop this time?' I'll know I went so fast and then look at the clock and I've maybe added a tenth of a second," Whelan said.
Whelan is finishing her second high school season and swam a leg of the Villains' 200-freestyle relay team at last week's NCHSAA 2-A/1-A state championship. During the season, Whelan swam the 200 free and 200-free relay, giving her exposure to a middle-distance race and the frantic pace of a 50-yard leg in the relay.
"If you mess up the start (in the 50), it completely messes up your race," Whelan explained. "In the 200, you have time to make it up. I don't like relay starts. I'm afraid I'm going to hit the person beneath me."
After her teammates have been so nice to her the past two years, Whelan certainly wants to avoid hurting them. Being on the swim team helped Whelan adjust to high school life at McGuinness.
"I knew absolutely no one," Whelan recalled. "Swim team is where I made most of my friends."
THREE QUESTIONS FOR WHELAN
Q: Where would you go on your dream vacation?
A: Bermuda
Q: What is your favorite sound?
A: Rain
Q: Who is the best teacher you've had?
A: Mr. Tourret (French)
Steve Hanf
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