- April 20, 2024
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Photo by Ray Boone
For Flagler Palm Coast swimmer Micayla Cronk, the butterflies build up in her stomach before every big race. But they disappear as soon as she steps on the block.
“That’s when I start to focus,” she said.
She pulls her goggles over her eyes and stares at the calm water, awaiting the signal to dive in.
Cronk had one goal in mind when she dove into the pool at Sailfish Aquatic Center for the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyles in the Class 4A FHSAA State Swim Meet on Friday, Nov. 15: She was going for the state record in both events.
In the 200, an event she won for the first time last season, she touched the wall in 1 minute, 44.39 seconds. She missed out on the state record, set by Morgan Tankersley in 2016, by .08 seconds.
"It was a great season. I had so much fun. I don't know where I'd be without this team. This season is one I'll never forget."
MICAYLA CRONK, Bulldogs swimmer
“It would have been a faster reaction time off the block, one more kick, one less breath,” Cronk said. “I was so close.”
Then came the 100, an event she won as a 14-year-old freshman in 2017 and again last year.
She touched the wall in 48.20 seconds, eclipsing Abbey Weitzel’s state record of 48.69, which was set in 2016.
Cronk, a 16-year-old junior, is now a five-time state champion and arguably the most decorated athlete in FPC history.
“It’s awesome,” she said. “Not a lot of people get to say that. But I try to stay humble about it.”
Despite the victory, this past year has been a hectic one for Cronk. She left her previous club, the Daytona Beach Speed, and was in the process of looking for a new coach when she found the Blue Dolfins, coached by Charlie Rose, in Oviedo.
She trained harder and she trained smarter. She started working harder outside the pool as well as inside it.
Throughout the past year, it was not uncommon to see Cronk lifting weights alongside the Bulldogs’ football team.
“It’s helped me so much,” the University of Florida commit said. “My power in the water is so much better.”
Although the high school swim season is over, big meets are still to come for Cronk. She will compete in the U.S. Open and Jr. Nationals in December, and the U.S. Olympic Trials are in August 2020.
“It’s going to be hard,” she said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how it all pans out, but I think I should do pretty well.”
But did Cronk, who started swimming at the age of 7, ever envision where she’s at now?
“Absolutely not,” she said with a laugh. “Every swimmer’s goal is to get to the Olympics, but I never thought I’d be where I am now.”
