Owls swimmer looks to cut time

December 8, 2016

For The Tribune

Skyler Cash has always enjoyed his winters at Seymour High School: swimming for the Owls, singing in the choir and playing in the pep band at the basketball games.

The senior’s swimming career began in Brownstown as he competed for the Brave Wave Swim Club before he moved to Seymour in sixth grade.

This season, Cash has been swimming the 200-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke, plus the 200 medley and 400 free relays.

Those events are at the beginning and at the end of a meet.

The 200 medley relay is the first event of a meet, the 200 free is the first individual event, and the 100 back is the last individual event, just before the 400 free relay which is the final event.

Cash said he swam the 500 at the start of his high school career, and he is pleased he switched to the 100 back.

“I’m very much enjoying getting to swim backstroke,” he said “When I see the flags I know I’m about three strokes from the wall.”

He won the 100 back in the opening meet of the season against Madison with a 1:05.57.

He said he wants to break a minute by the time the sectional comes along in February.

Thursday night at Columbus North he lowered his time to 1:03.69.

Cash said his favorite relay is the 400 free, and he has been swimming the third leg of that event.

He said practice is extremely important from planning out your race, to executing your strokes properly, to having good turns and finishing strong.

The hardest practices of the season are during the holiday break, Cash said, which includes a “FINA circuit” practice in late December, and a mile swim on New Year’s Eve.

“It’s based off the annual international swim meet,” Cash said of FINA.

“It’s a five-day swim meet because it’s stretched out for the professionals to have time to rest. What we do is we condense it and take every event and turn it into a set.

“We condense it down to a one-day practice. For example, a 400 relay we swim it as four 100s. The 200 fly would be the 200 fly with fins. It’s maybe the hardest practice of the year. The highlight of it is the fun mile.”

Cash said he and all the swimmers look forward to the practices at the end of the season when they take part in the taper.

Those practices are shorter and the swimmers gain energy and strength so they are 100 percent ready for the sectional.

This winter, he may change his events in some meets and swim a 500 free.

“The 500 is a psychological war,” Cash said. “I want to break five minutes this season.”

Cash said he has to make sure he has a good warmup before the meet, and he tries to relax and get as much rest as he can between his first two events and his last two events.

In addition to enjoying swimming, Cash feels he has gained a lot being in the band and choir.

He was a drum major the past two years, and has played different instruments in the marching band at football games and at parades, and a different instrument in the pep band at basketball games.

He plans to major in music in college.

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Cash file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Name: Skylar Cash

School: Seymour High School

Parents: Josh and Hannah Cash

Siblings: Eliza

Sports: swimming 4 years, tennis 2 years

Organizations: National Honor Society, band, Latin Club, chamber choir, chess club

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