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Sarah Oldenburg glides through the water with strong, powerful strokes.
Arm over arm, she cuts swiftly through the Husson College pool before turning and then kicking off the wall before heading back in the other direction.
She is one of the state’s best high school swimmers, but her grace and power in the water belies her 15 years. As she stands poolside, the youthful exuberance of this young freshman comes out.
“It’s not the competition,” Oldenburg said. “I don’t like to compete. I like the people. I like talking. There are millions of people to talk to all the time.”
On Monday, Oldenburg will lead her Bangor High girls team into the Class A state championship meet at Husson College in Bangor. The same day, Class B is at Colby College in Waterville.
Boys championships will be held Saturday with the Class A meet at Husson and the Class B meet at Bates College in Lewiston.
Trials will be held during the day with finals slated to begin at 5:30 p.m.
Oldenburg’s quest in Monday’s meet will be to win the two events in which she is top-seeded: the 50-yard freestyle and the 100 butterfly.
Oldenburg’s 50 free time of 24.91 is only .22 off the 13-year-old state record of 24.69, set in 1981 by Karen Dionne of Morse. It is the oldest state record on the books.
“I’ve been surprised,” Oldenburg said. “I’m a little overwhelmed by it. I didn’t think my times would drop so much, especially as a freshman.”
In the 100 fly, Oldenburg (1:01.56) is more than 2 1/2 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. Not bad for a first-year high school swimmer who came up through the Bangor YMCA program instead of the powerful Hurricane Swim Club sponsored by the Bangor YWCA.
“I went to my first swim meet with my mom and I was really bored. I didn’t want to be there,” Oldenburg said. “She said, `Well, we’ll sign you up.’ ”
Since, then Oldenburg has made one splash after another.
“It’s definitely been a surprise,” said Bangor Coach Wendy Woodbury. “At the first meet, we knew she was fast. But from her first meet on, her times have been dropping. It’s been very exciting.”
It should be an exciting championship swim weekend for the Oldenburg. Sarah’s older brother Parke is top-seeded in the boys 50 free (22.37) and 100 fly (55.23).
Westbrook, Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, and Bangor are the four teams to beat in Class A competiton, while Old Town, Belfast, and Morse of Bath are the leaders for the Class B team crowns.
Other Class B swimmers to watch include Shawn MacLeod (50 free, 100 free) and Chris Coleman (500 free, 200 free) of Belfast, and Sarah Kovenock of Orono (100 free, 200 free).
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