With the past and the future hanging in the balance of a couple of strokes, junior Addyson Matern is focused on the present.
As she reaches the finish, Matern draws strength from the countless practices from over the season. From 5 a.m. mile runs before school to after school cutdowns, every practice from her past has led to this moment.
In the State finals, Matern can qualify for a medal by finishing 8th or better in her 100 yard butterfly race. Whether her future holds the promise of a state medal comes down to the last 10 meters of the race.
But Matern’s not thinking about that. She isn’t looking behind at her past. That would be counterintuitive. When he looks in front of her, she doesn’t see a state medal. The only thing on her mind is the finish.
With a time of 54.95 in prelims, Matern qualified for the state finals. In the state finals, she swam a 55.95, which netted her 7th place in the state. Despite the success that followed, Matern had to contend with settling her nerves.
“[I felt] nervous, but also pretty calm,” Matern said. “It’s kind of just calming right before you walk out, because there’s nothing else on your mind, and right when you start, you don’t think of anything else.”
Matern’s performance at the state tournament, where her 200m freestyle relay team also placed 7th, was a culmination of long, intense practices throughout the season, but ended with her name etched in IHSAA state records forever.
“I definitely surprised myself that I actually got [7th in the butterfly]. In prelims, I had walked back to my coaches, and figured out that I got top 8, and we all just kind of celebrated. And then I had to come back the next day, and I got 7th,” Matern said.
Her journey to the State tournament didn’t come without challenges, however. Although the sectional tournament was fruitful for Matern, it represented a deflating result for the Trojans, who finished runner-up in the meet to Franklin Central.
“[We] were a little put off since we had lost county and we had gone in and won against [Franklin Central] for three years straight [in the years prior], but I think it worked out pretty good that we have a lot of people advancing to state,” Matern said. “Even though we did lose, everyone was up and going and cheering for everyone. It was really positive and we didn’t let losing to Franklin get us down, so I’m excited for State.”
With a hand in four of the events Center Grove is being represented in, Matern had some pressure on her shoulders, which she felt during the sectional race.
“I know I felt a little bit of pressure in the relay parts, since it’s definitely a big group thing, and if you mess up on the relay, it hurts the entire relay. I know since half of my relay team were freshmen so they’ve never done this before, it definitely felt a little pressuring, but we overcame that,” Matern said.
Overcoming challenges and trudging through intense practices from her past led up to the moment where Matern hunched over the blocks at the start of her state race, ready to write history. By focusing on her present, she achieved things she never thought she could, and wrote her name in IHSAA history. Now, as a junior, and with the high school season done, she can finally focus on the future.
Because unlike the past, and the present, Matern’s future is yet to be written.
