Gray stands tall when swimming far

Little Tiger readies for Mercer County Championships

By: Justin Feil
   The sprint world is not one in which Cranbury’s Kristin Gray fits, or rather she fits too easily.
   The Princeton High swimmer resides firmly in the world of distance events.
   "I’m short," said PHS junior. "I can’t sprint. Bigger people like (6-foot-7) Jesse Applegate are sprinters. Shorter people tend to go to the distance events. That’s where they have as much an advantage as anybody else. Sprinters are just huge."
   At 5-foot-1, lots of swimmers look huge to Gray, who might just about measure up to Applegate when she’s standing on the starting block. With her compact body, she’s found success for the Little Tigers in the longer races.
   "I have a lot of arm muscles and leg muscles," she explained.
   Gray expects to need all the muscle she can muster and every inch she has to out-touch her opponents when PHS opens the Mercer County Championships at Lawrence on Friday. The boys’ first day is Thursday. Both teams’ finals are Saturday, also at Lawrence.
   Gray will swim some of the most competitive events in the meet, if only because she’ll be up against the Little Tigers’ most consistent winner and teammate, Nina Rossi.
   "She’s ridiculous," said Gray, who will compete with Rossi in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly. "Plus, there’s a new West Windsor (Plainsboro- South) girl and there’s Annie Clark from Hopewell and there’s me and Melody (Wysocki of Steinert). Melody beat me last year."
   Gray finished fourth last year in the fly last year in 1:10.61. She was also ninth in the 500 free.
   "I used to be a freestyler, but it’s not working anymore," the 17-year-old said. "I don’t want to do freestyle now. My body matured and it’s gone down from there. Everything’s a little off. I’m getting down my times again though. I’m getting back."
   Gray is hoping that that return to excellence isn’t slowed at counties.
   "Last year, I got fourth in the fly and I’d like to get better than that," she said. "I’m just hoping to get back to the finals in the IM. I’m just hoping to have fun there and see how I do. Fly is my main event. I used to be more of a distance swimmer and I’m still more of a distance swimmer."
   If there was a 200 fly in the MCC, Gray would be a favorite. As it is, her hard work has made her one of the best fliers in the county and a top points earner for PHS. The Little Tigers wrapped up their dual meet season Thursday with a 112-56 win over a thin Ewing squad.
   "The girls ended their dual meet season at 5-5, and .500 was a goal for the team," said PHS head coach Greg Hand. "Everybody was getting better throughout the season. We have a terrific group of kids. There’s always so much enthusiasm. Everyone’s working hard, but it’s not one of those overly intense environments. Their getting their work done and having fun.
   "We’ve got a little more than half the team entered in counties in something. I don’t think there’s a team objective to do anything in particular, but we’ve tapered for it and this is a chance to get a best time."
   Gray, who has been a member of the Hamilton Aquatics club team since she was 11, feels ready to see what she can do at counties where she’ll be matched up against many of her club teammates.
   "I usually have fun at counties because all my teammates are there from other teams," she said. "The whole 500 finals and 200 finals was Hamilton. It was funny.
   "We will taper a little bit for it. We’ve been doing some aerobic work in practice. But I do better if I work harder. I have to have a workout before I swim. I don’t get warmed up until (swimming) like a 1,000 (yards). We had a practice before counties last year and I do better that way."
   Hand has his share of club swimmers between the boys’ and girls’ teams at PHS. They never fail to impress him with their work ethic, and their ability to shine at counties in the midst of some serious outside training.
   "The club swimmers are always tired during the high school season," he said. "Even when you get to the big meets, whereas some of the high school-only kids taper over a substantial period, the club swimmers might get a very brief rest. Not that one is more important than the other, but you can only do a serious reduction of yardage with additional rest a limited number of times a year. It’s always a credit to club swimmers that they come to counties and race tired and without complaints."
   It’s what Gray has been doing all season for the PHS girls. And that’s as impressive as any of her accomplishments.
   "She’s always ready to give 100 percent," Hand said. "Maybe she’s even a little hard on herself. I think she understands the deal. She’s always going to give everything she’s got."
   For Kristin Gray, that means putting every ounce of muscle on her 5-foot-1 frame into her Mercer County Championship events this weekend and hoping that she comes out just a few inches ahead of her closest competitors.