Normally, setting a pool record is one of the defining moments of a swimmer’s career.

But not for freshman Katie Maaske, who, in her first meet for the Syracuse swimming and diving team, posted the best 100-yard breaststroke time ever at SU’s Webster Pool with a time of 1:05.60.

Maaske will not get a chance to break her own record when SU hosts Colgate today at 4:30 p.m. at Webster Pool. In what is part of the long order, swimmers will compete in 200-yard races instead of the short order’s 100-yard races.

Perhaps the only thing keeping Maaske from a continuous assault on the record books is that SU has only four home meets the entire season. Maaske’s personal best is a half-second faster than the time she posted in SU’s season opener, an exhibition meet against the Syracuse Chargers, a local club team made up of people of all ages.

But that does not mean the record was not exciting.

‘I had no idea that I had gone that fast,’ Maaske said, adding that her goal was 1:10, more than four seconds slower. ‘I didn’t even know until five minutes after that it was a record.’

‘I was surprised that she swam that well early in the season,’ said Diane Maaske, Katie’s mother. Diane called Katie’s time ‘decent,’ however, saying there is room for improvement.

Katie agreed that she is not satisfied.

‘I want to be faster each time out,’ she said.

Maaske graduated this past spring with an impressive rsum from The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., a world swimming powerhouse. In her last three years of high school, Maaske finished third, fourth and third, respectively, at the Florida State Finals in the 100-yard breaststroke. This past year, Bolles won the Florida State Championship for the 14th consecutive season. Maaske said the team also won the ‘mythical’ national championship, determined solely on times posted around the country in the respective state finals.

‘We have some of the better high school swimmers in the world here,’ said Jeff Poppell, Maaske’s high school coach at Bolles. ‘If you have the opportunity to train with some of those individuals on a daily basis, not only can you learn a lot, but you are able to challenge yourself against them every day.’

Poppell said a year and a half ago Maaske was not sure if she wanted to swim past high school. Poppell said swimming was more of a social activity for Maaske and not until she was well into a strong senior season did she say, ‘Hey, this is something I can continue with in college.’

Lisa Wittich, a junior who won three events in the exhibition meet last week against the Chargers, said Maaske occasionally beats the men in practice.

The 100-yard breaststroke record was set in February 2003 by Maddy Crippen of Villanova. Crippen was a U.S. Olympian in 2000, but not in the 100-meter breaststroke. (International competitions use meters instead of yards.) Crippen finished sixth in the 400-meter individual medley competition at the Sydney Olympics four years ago.

Maaske will be competing in the 200-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard individual medley today against Colgate. According to SU swimming and diving head coach Lou Walker, the biggest test for Maaske and SU the rest of the season is consistency.

‘Hopefully, she is able to take our winning tradition to Syracuse,’ Poppell said. ‘(SU) is trying to build that same tradition.’

Published on October 14, 2004 at 12:00 pm