Nov. 18, 2015
By Michele Jaroszewksi, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Casey Francis turned in a record-setting performance over the weekend as she touched first in the women's freestyle mile race during the men's and women's swimming and diving invitational where the Nittany Lions swept UConn and Princeton at McCoy Natatorium.
Francis had a strong lead throughout the entire race, finishing at 16:05.37 and breaking the Penn State and McCoy Natatorium record. She is the third Penn State student to reach this milestone of a new NCAA B cut time. Her training partner, Katelyn Sowinski, was right behind her touching second at 16:25.78. The two swimmers now have the fastest times in the country so far, with third place belonging to Minnesota swimmer Sam Harding at 16:36.33.
"This week was a really hard week in practice, but I felt good the whole week and felt confident going into the meet," Francis said. "I thought I was going to do somewhere close to my best time, but didn't know that it was going to be that fast."
Earlier that event, Francis referred to the updated times on the board and saw that the fastest pool record time for the mile was 16:21. With that time in the back of her mind, she knew that she needed to be as fast or a little better.
"I thought, 'Ok, that's a pretty fast time,'" Francis said. "I was hoping for a 16:21 or better, and then to look up at the board and see a 16:05, I was just in shock."
With the mile race being the longest competition of the entire weekend, Francis said that this was nothing compared to other races she has competed in. Francis participates in open water swimming that has 5k and 10k races.
"The 10k takes [about] two hours," Francis said. "When we practice, we are practicing for two hours straight. So 16 minutes wasn't that bad."
When it came down to the actual competition, Francis said she felt at home being in lane five. This lane is special to Francis, for it is the lane she practices in everyday. During those practices, Francis and Sowinski work hard in preparation for races such as this.
"During practice, we're pretty much together the entire time. Some days, [Francis] will be on her game and I'll be the one trying to catch her. Other days it'll be the other way around," Sowinski said. "We try to push each other. Depending on the day, it sets it up for what it's going to be like at those big time races."
The time that these two swimmers spend training together pays off with big rewards at the end. Sowinski said that after she saw Francis earn that title, she couldn't have been happier.
"We've been working our butts off the past few weeks. Coming here and being able to continue [to] race each other, push each other, and see each other success is really cool," Sowiniski said. "I know it inspires both of us and encourages us to continue to work hard."
As for her own time in the mile free, Sowinski said that she was a little surprised by the final mark.
"I wasn't expecting to go that fast. Everyone was up and cheering the whole time which helped pushed me," Sowinski said. "Some of your best races you feel the worst, and then they end up working out."
For assistant coach Doak Finch, seeing the hard work that the two swimmers have put in to reach this milestone is a great sight to see.
"It's fantastic, it's great for them to get the recognition," Finch said. "They come here and put in the work. What we're putting together this year, it's special. They are working together as a team and the success it just going to continue to grow upon itself."