For this Providence High swimmer, life is a sprint going into state championship meet

Weeks, months, years of practice ... and it’s all decided in a matter of seconds.

A stray thought, a momentary diversion, or a strange sound can throw off all the timing and unravel all the training.

Such is the life of a sprinter, whether on the track or in the swimming pool.

Providence High junior Joslyn Bolton knows of the danger.

“Everything has to go just right,” Bolton said. “It’s stressful.”

Bolton will be among the “sprinters” competing this weekend in the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s Swim and Diving Championships in the Raleigh area.

The 4A championships are Thursday, with the 3A meet Friday and the 1A-2A finals Saturday. Diving in each classification takes place a day ahead of the swimming.

The swim meets are at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary.

Three-time defending 4A girls’ champion Myers Park and defending 4A boys’ champion Marvin Ridge each won West regional titles last week and are among the team favorites in 4A.

Bolton competes in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events. She had the fastest times in the state in each event during the regular season, although she finished second in last Saturday’s 4A West Regional to Myers Park’s Emma Grace Richardson (50 free) and Ardrey Kell’s Eliza Wallace (100 free).

But in events where a 10th of a second can make a huge difference, Bolton is very much in the championship picture heading into this weekend.

“It can be decided by the smallest of things,” Bolton said of the 50 freestyle, which is her favorite race. “Obviously, a bad start can ruin you. Everything happens so fast.”

The 50 freestyle is decided in about 23.6 seconds, with the 100 freestyle going about 51 seconds.

She said concentration is vital at the start, but, she added, practice also plays a big role. She said swimmers have a certain number of strokes in the short events.

“That’s what we practice at — over and over again,” Bolton said. “That helps with confidence, which is another important part of these events.”

Bolton, who grew up in northern Virginia and has been swimming competitively since age 6, said she has competed in the longer events as well.

“I like doing the backstroke, and I did the butterfly when I was a kid,” she said. “But I grew to enjoy the short freestyle events. Everything happens so quickly.”

Like nearly all of the swimmers and divers competing this weekend in the Triangle area, Bolton competes year-around — in her case, with Team Charlotte. She said avoiding injuries is the big challenge for full-time swimmers, and she hasn’t been immune to the problem.

“For example, I’ve learned to use icing and stretching,” she said. “That was something I learned from a shoulder injury.”

“But recovery is such a big focus,” she said. “You’ve got to rest, eat right, and do the right things between meets.”

With her year-around schedule, Bolton has two sets of teammates. Some of the swimmers she’ll compete against this weekend are her friends from the Team Charlotte program. But, she said, she is a Providence High swimmer this weekend.

“I like high school swim,” she said. “I like being with my teammates. The team thing is a lot of fun.”

Winning a state championship, or event finishing in a medal position, would be a big deal this weekend, she said. But Bolton added that she won’t lose sleep over it.

“I try to be in the moment,” she said. “I like to swim. I simply enjoy the activity. It’s important not to put too much pressure on yourself. It’s competition, but it’s also supposed to be enjoyable.”

State meet info

Swim preliminaries begin at 9 a.m. each day, with the finals starting at 5 p.m. Diving competition begins at noon each day.

The 4A divers compete Wednesday, with swimming Thursday. The 3A divers compete Thursday, with swimming Friday. And the 1A-2A divers compete Friday, with swimming Saturday.

Diving is at the Pullen Aquatic Center in Raleigh, and swimming is at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary.

Defending champions are Marvin Ridge (boys) and Myers Park (girls) in 4A; Carrboro (boys) and Lake Norman Charter (girls) in 3A; and Raleigh Charter (boys) and Pine Lake Prep (girls) in 1A-2A.