Lydzinski handles pressure in pool
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Megan Lydzinski was well known in club swimming circles before last year.
After going unbeaten in sprints and winning the 100 freestyle at the Meet of Champions along with three relay golds, everyone in New Jersey high school swimming got to know her quickly.
Now a sophomore at Montgomery High School, Lydzinski continues to feel the effects of last year’s success with every race.
”Knowing that I haven’t lost a race kind of adds pressure,” she said. “I feel more pressure to do well.”
In the big meets, the pressure is even greater, as it was at the Somerset County Championships last Thursday. Lydzinski, though, had something to balance it.
”Last year, I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “This year, I was more experienced. This year, I knew more what was going to happen and what the meet was going to be like. I was more relaxed.”
It was a good thing because this year’s county meet presented a tougher challenge in all four of Lydzinski’s races. When she jumped in the pool to anchor the 200 medley relay, she was in second place with no chance of catching Bridgewater-Raritan. In the 50 free, she finished three-tenths of a second ahead of Casey Stahl to repeat as champion. In the 100 free, Lydzinski repeated as champion in 53.07 with Bridgewater’s Mara Valenzuela only 18-hundredths of a second behind.
”I’d say this year mentally, it was tougher,” Lydzinski said. “Last year, I just swam my fastest and I didn’t know what the whole thing was like, like the whole deal with meets in high school. This year, it was just different. I knew I had last year as an experience.”
Lydzinski finished her day by diving in fourth, but helping the Cougars 400 free relay finish second. The anchor swim cemented Montgomery’s overall third-place team finish.
Megan Lydzinski is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
”You have a little confidence when she dives in,” said MHS head coach Claire Scarpa. “If it’s somewhat close, you know when she dives in, she’s going to win it even if it’s against some of the best kids in the state.”
Lydzinski didn’t swim best times at the county meet. She was not tapered or rested, but she did have a confidence in herself that helped her push through in her races.
”In the 100, I was next to two Bridgewater girls and they were both close in times,” Lydzinski said. “They’re both two of my close friends, and we race a lot together. That was a close race. Anything could have happened.
”I just believed I could do it. The last 25, I wanted to get it for my team. We really needed that first place. To try to help the team out, I did my best.”
In just under two seasons, Scarpa has come to expect the competitive drive to kick in for Lydzinski. She’s combines that asset with unmatched technique which helped deliver the 50 and 100 free titles again.
”I videotaped both races,” Scarpa said, “and her starts and turns won those races for her. I’ve been showing all the kids. You can see how much she pulls ahead on the turns. And when she dives in, she’s ahead. Those are the things that make or break the race.”
Lydzinski needed those advantages to counter one effect of being the top returning sprinter in the state — she gets everyone else’s best efforts.
”It was different this year,” Scarpa said of the county meet. “Last year, she had a much larger win margin. In the 100, my heart was pounding quickly as Mara started catching her. I knew she’d have the drive to pull it out. I never question Megan.
”Even at the Meet of Champions, it wasn’t that close. But she wasn’t tapered. She went a 53-low. That’s still probably the fastest time in the state. I don’t think either of us was expecting that fast of a time from anyone else.”
It helps that Lydzinski has been put in tougher situations this year in the Cougar relays. Of the three MOC gold-medal relays, only Anna Marshall is back for the medley relay. The other three relay members graduated.
”I miss them a lot,” Lydzinski said. “We do have a good freshman this year. Most of our relays have me and another sophomore, Anna Marshall, a junior (Emily Koyen) and a freshman (Hannah Matheson).”
The relays have remained strong, even though the advantages Lydzinski are given aren’t as big as last year’s. Lydzinski doesn’t mind.
”Being the anchor is the hardest leg of the relay in the 400,” she said. “Last year, in most of the meets, we had a lead. I wasn’t used to making up or trying to make up time. I like it. It makes it more exciting.”
Lydzinski has been a steady contributor to the Cougars regular season success, but it is the big meets that she most enjoys. She made the most of her chance to defend her championships from her first county meet.
”It’s much more exciting,” she said. “The whole team is more energized and pumped for it. We were all gearing up for this. It’s definitely one of the biggest meets of the season. We were looking forward to it.”
Just as she’s looking forward to the next big meet — the Skyland Conference Championships this coming Thursday. They will also be hosted by the Cougars.
”She’s got some more confidence coming back as the defending state champion,” Scarpa said. “That gives anyone some extra confidence. It can also add pressure. She’s undefeated for her career so far. She’s not lost an individual race.”