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10/29/2014 12:00 AMMarina Parlapiano has made her mark with Haddam-Killingworth swimming in relay runs the past three seasons, but this year, the senior is expanding her talents into the solo circuit with tremendous results.
The captain went to states last fall with a 200 freestyle relay that finished ninth before being a part of both the 200 and 400 free relay squads which have placed first in each of the Cougars' 12 meets thus far this season. Now for the first time, Marina can say she is a state title caliber swimmer on an individual wave as she has qualified for the Class S State Championship in the 50 free with a mark of 28.46 seconds.
"The practices have been a lot harder, but I dropped a lot more in my times this year versus others," says Marina. "For example, with the 100 free, I got my time down to 1:08 my junior year after taking off five seconds during the first three years. But this year, I have already dropped a whole five seconds to 1:03 this season alone. In my freshman and sophomore years, I didn't want an individual event because of my nerves, but with this being my last season, I wanted to make the most of it."
Marina has overcome the pressure of the relays and, when she moves out in the open on her own, she feels the two freestyle events fit her physical strengths to a tee.
"In relays, I feel the pressure from my teammates because, if you lose, you let them all down, but I'm excited to be swimming with teammates as there's more of a rush to it," says Marina, who has also consistently placed in the top three for the 50 and 100 frees all season. "I am a very strong sprinter with upper-body strength. If you were to ask me to swim the 500 free, I probably can't hit the top three, but for the short races, it's all about quick reaction time. I start it right from the blocks with my strength and leg strokes."
Cougars' Head Coach Peter Ettlinger adds that another one of Marina's biggest assets is the fact that she goes above and beyond to fill her leadership duties outside of the pool.
"Marina is an excellent leader and role model for the younger team members," says Ettlinger. "She has organized team dinners, the end-of-the-season banquet, and other team activities and she is experiencing her best season yet."
Marina explains that she enjoys doing all of the tasks-whether in person or in front of a computer—that come with being a captain, yet above it all, she loves aiding her mates and getting their muscles moving in advance of each practice and meet.
"I organized something called 'Spirit,' where we all dress in a certain theme, and I also send out emails to the parents about team dinners. I like communicating with and helping the other kids," Marina says. "I also added in more exercises for us, like lunges and dips. They need a leader and I'm happy to be one."
After making a strong splash at states in 2013 with a small group, Marina and HK have experience on their side going into this edition of the postseason.
"We were fifth at states last year with only seven girls competing," says Marina, who thanks Ettlinger and HK assistant coach Mary Kate Almeida. "So based on that result from last season, we are really looking forward to states this year."