- April 19, 2024
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Micayla Cronk does the 100-yard backstroke against Seabreeze. Photo by Ray Boone
Micayla Cronk competes against Seabreeze. Photo by Ray Boone
Teammates cheer as Micayla Cronk touches the wall against Seabreeze. Photo by Ray Boone
Micayla Cronk competes in the 400-yard freestyle against Seabreeze. Photo by Ray Boone
When the race starts, Micayla Cronk dives into the pool. While those around her struggle to keep up, Cronk appears to glide through the water. Each kick, each stroke, is in perfect rhythm.
By the time she touches the wall, 4 minutes and 47.4 seconds have elapsed since she first dove in. She rises out of the disturbed water, takes off her goggles and looks back at the swimmers behind her.
Most of them are a lap behind. Some are still treading water with more than two laps to go.
“It’s always cool to look back,” Cronk said. “You’re kind of just like, ‘Oh, look! There they are! Still going.”
And although she just swam 400 yards, she’s hardly tired. While most of her competitors desperately try to suck in oxygen, Cronk’s breathing is even. She smiles and enjoys a conversation with a teammate, instead.
Last season, Cronk became the first female Bulldogs swimmer to win an individual state championship, taking the Class 4A gold in the 100-yard freestyle. She recorded her best time of the season (49.58 seconds) to eclipse Cooper City junior Kathleen Golding and Gainesville Buchholz senior Kirschtine Balbuena by less than half a second.
Cronk was a 14-year-old freshman at the time.
“I cried,” Flagler Palm Coast girls swim coach Marie-Anne Johansson said. “I get choked up now. It was amazing to see that. It was a very special feeling.”
Cronk, now 15, competed in two events at the state championship in 2017. In addition to the 100-yard freestyle, she also swam in the 100-yard backstroke, where she placed ninth with a time of 57.13 seconds.
Now in her second season with the Bulldogs, not only is Cronk the fastest female swimmer on the team, she’s also one of the fastest among the boys team. But despite being the Bulldogs' most decorated swimmer, Cronk is also one of their most humble members.
“She’s always cheering on her teammates,” Johansson said. “It’s never about her. It’s always about the team.”
The goal this season is to return to the pool for another state title (or two). To get back to that level, Cronk said she needs to work on the little things, like attacking the walls or perfecting her flip turns.
But the most dire need for improvement, Cronk admitted, is her performance in the preliminary rounds.
“It’s just been a mental block for me. I don’t know why,” she said. “I’m just not that great in the mornings.”
To compensate, Cronk swims nearly every day of the week with the Daytona Beach Swimming club. Sometimes, she’s in the water at 5:45 a.m., and although the work has been exhausting, she’s convinced it will help her be where she needs to be when states rolls around.
“It gets me ready for the day,” she said.
