Lucas Coelho picked a great time to swim his best time in the 100-yard breaststroke — the NCISAA championships last season, when he nearly set a school record for Calvary Baptist.
His time in that race was 1:09.38; the school record is 1:09.35.
Coelho, now a junior, has the record, and more, in his sights.
"My goal is to beat the school record and hopefully get my time down to 1:07," said Coelho, who also swims the 100 butterfly, the medley relay and either the 200- or 400-freestyle relay.
"My strength is my sprinting speed. My biggest problem is that I sometimes lack stamina."
Coach Kip Keener said that Coelho could help himself by swimming in a summer league.
"He is plenty strong enough and has plenty of agility," Keener said. "He needs time in the water refining his stroke, and his turn is the only thing that's holding him back."
Swimming isn't Coelho's only interest. He also studies taekwondo, and he shared some of those talents with the swim team during a recent workout.
"We were working with weights and doing aerobics, and it just turned into the Lucas show," Keener said. "He taught the team judo takedowns and did a six-foot vertical leap into some mats."
Coelho, 5-foot-8 and 135 pounds, also plays soccer. His parents are from Brazil, and he joked that playing soccer is almost required for someone of Brazilian heritage.
He dreams of attending MIT and wants to pursue a career in architectural engineering
"I want to design my own building," he said. "My grandfather was an architectural engineer; and he inspired me to take that path."
THREE QUESTIONS FOR COELHO
Q: Who is the athlete you admire most?
A: Pele
Q: What other activities do you like to participate in?
A: Ultimate Frisbee
Q: What is your favorite band?
A: Queen
Tom Gillispie
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