Iola’s Moira Springer has all the attributes of being a top Seahorse.
At last weekend’s SEK League Championship, the 10-year-old earned six medals, including first place in the 25-yard breaststroke, third in the 100-yard individual medley and fourth in the 25-yard butterfly.
“There were more people and it felt more competitive,” said Springer. “Getting the medals at the league meet was awesome because I knew I did well. I was trying to get as many personal-best times as I could.”
This summer, Springer has improved by leaps and bounds in both style and times.
The breaststroke has become her best stroke, finishing in first place in the event in a number of meets. She had personal-best times in every race except for one at the SEK League meet.
The multi-sport athlete has been swimming since she was five years old and loves to compete. She also plays softball, soccer and dances. Springer believes she has been able to ramp up her competitiveness this summer.
“I feel like I improved a lot and that made it that much better,” said Springer. “Our coaches pushed me to be more competitive. Coach Marcia (Davis) wants to make sure everyone enjoys the sport and loves swimming and coach Carter (Hutton) wants to win.”
“Having a good dive is important to get across the pool and then focusing on the stroke also helps,” said Springer. “It’s fun and very competitive.”
At Iola’s June 28 and July 5 swim meets, Springer earned first place in the 25-yard back crawl, the 50-yard freestyle and the 25-yard breaststroke.
“You just have to think that you can swim a certain race or swim it in a certain time because if you don’t think you can, you can’t,” Springer said. “But if you think you can do something, you can do anything. I want to be the fastest and the best.”
Springer took second place in the 25-yard back crawl and third place in both the 25-yard breaststroke and 100-yard individual medley in Chanute on June 21.
Springer frequently practices with older youths so she can be pushed to improve her times.
“She likes to be competitive,” said Moira’s mother, Katrina Springer. “Anything she’s going to win at, that’s what she likes best.”
