HHS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
by John E. Powers, Sports Writer
Hillsborough High School senior swimmer Kyle Smith hasn’t stopped working to improve.
Smith, who has established himself as one of the better young triathletes in the Northeast, has been contributing to the Raider swim team with his versatile talents for four years.
Smith is the Hillsborough Beacon Athlete of the Week.
The HHS senior was second to Hunterdon Central’s Jared Lang in the 500 free at the Pirate Invitational at the Bubble at West Windsor Plainsboro South Saturday. He swam 5:01.23 to Lang’s 5:01.14. Smith also won the 500 in the Raiders’ 97-73 loss to Westfield last week. The time at Pirate was a personal best for Smith.
”Maybe some of the swimmers take time off in the summer, but Kyle kept going,” Hillsborough head coach Todd Sudol said. “The triathlon. The lifting. He kept coming. He wanted to be a captain and leader and to do that you have to train hard. Our kids look to him to do big things.”
”He did the things he was supposed to do during the off-season, he worked hard and now it’s paying off,” Sudol added.
Smith, who has also run cross country and track during his high school career, said triathlons have helped him in the pool, especially in the rugged 500.
”You need the aerobics capacity to keep going in longer races,” Smith said.
Last summer, he finished second in the 20-and under category in a half iron man in North Carolina. He swam 1.2 miles, rode a bike for 56 and ran 13.1 – miles all in just under six hours.
”It keeps my legs strong,” he said.
Smith has also volunteered to swim the butterfly. With some injuries and illness among his teammates, Smith has scored points.
”I just started swimming it this year and I got a lot stronger during the summer,” he said of the butterfly. “Coach Sudol helped me discover I had some talent in the butterfly. I’m glad to help the team in any way I can.”
Next year, Smith will attend John Hopkins University with an eye on a career in medicine. He said he will likely swim at the collegiate level, in addition to continuing his passion for triathlons.