Two-time state champion grabs senior leadership role

Amanda Tracy has accomplished more through three years of prep swimming than most can ever hope to achieve in four.

Two state titles, one runner-up finish and a pair of Powell High School records has Tracy’s Panthers legacy cemented. And the senior's best races are presumably still in front of her.

With such a long track record, Tracy, 17, faces a daunting task every time she takes her mark at the edge of a pool.

“For me, it isn’t really about beating other people, it is about beating my old times,” Tracy said. “My biggest competitor is myself.”

A third (or more) title is within reach, and Tracy’s school records — 5:31.36 in the 500-yard freestyle, 1:01.61 in the 100-yard baskstroke — could be temporary marks if she’s able to better herself in 2015.

Tracy is among the state’s top swimmers, a position she holds after spending years layering hard work on top of natural talent. Tracy probably could coast on her ability, but complacency doesn’t win state titles.

“There is a saying that goes, ‘Losers complain but champions train,’ and that is really what I want to try convey to the team this year through my actions,” Tracy said.

Now Tracy wants to guide her fellow PHS swimmers down the same trail she’s worked so hard to blaze. Tracy helped take the Panthers to back-to-back second-place finishes in the state meet in 2013 and 2014, their best finishes since 1997.

With only three senior swimmers, PHS head swim coach Luke Robertson will rely on Tracy to provide steady leadership after losing six Panthers to graduation.

Robertson has coached Tracy since her freshman year in 2012. In the subsequent three years, Tracy has made headlines for her speed in the water, but has made great personal strides as well.

“I see a lot of growth as a swimmer, but I also see a lot of growth just as a person,” Robertson said.

Tracy came to Robertson as a timid newcomer who just kept her head down and stayed in her lane.

But now three years more mature, Tracy has established herself as a key cog both in and out of the pool.

“She’s really taken on this leadership role,” Robertson said. “As a freshman she was kind of shy and she kind of hung back, and now as a senior she’s calling me up in the summer saying, ‘Hey, coach, do we need to get letters to the new freshmen?’”

The ability to lead is something that developed as Tracy felt more comfortable and sure of herself.

“I think she’s a lot more confident as a swimmer,” Robertson said. “Amanda’s never one to be cocky. She’s always very humble. But she’s just confident in herself and knows, ‘I can do well.’”

Tracy isn’t the most vocal leader, and she doesn’t always have to be. Robertson said her work ethic sets the example in practice.

When young swimmers question themselves while gulping down oxygen during a desperate 10 seconds between sets, Tracy sacrifices her own breath to give a reassuring word.

“Those kinds of things are signs of a leader, somebody who is always encouraging people during practice,” Robertson said.

It’s Tracy’s empathy that helps her relate to the younger swimmers. It wasn’t that long ago that the now-unquestioned leader was a wide-eyed freshman unsure if she could handle the load of high school swimming.

“When I was a freshman, about halfway through the season I wished I was going to graduate because it was all so overwhelming,” Tracy said. “I think that is how all freshmen feel in any sport.”

It was just one in a long line of lessons that Tracy can take from the pool and apply to other areas of her life.

“You learn how to be a team player, how to push yourself, how to deal with disappointment, how to persevere, how to stay positive even when things get hard, and how to interact with people you don’t like in a loving way,” Tracy said.

Those lessons will stick with Tracy for whatever comes her way after high school.

“I am sad it is coming to an end. I will miss it, but I am ready for a new adventure,” Tracy said.

That adventure is still to be determined,

“I have some friends from other teams who have chosen to swim in college, so I want to see how they like it before I make any serious decisions,” Tracy said. “Swimming truly becomes your life in college, but I really do love it.”