Nov. 11—GRAND FORKS — Rainy Bancroft grew up watching her mother, Robyn, compete in several Boston Marathons.
Rainy, however, didn’t quite fall in love with running like her mother.
She chose the swimming pool.
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“Growing up, watching my mom run and compete and just enjoying a sport very similar to swimming was so fun,” Rainy said. “She always wanted me to be a runner, but it’s not quite my thing. But I think swimming is such a close parallel.”
Rainy “grew up in the pool,” joining the competitive club team in third grade. Though she chose a different sport than her mother, the similarities between swimming and running allowed Robyn to offer advice and support her daughter.
“She always helped me out when I was younger,” Bancroft said. “That not getting in your head, and everyone has their own way of approaching things, because meets can be scary. So I grew up just learning how to deal with my excitement and preparation in my own way.”
Now, Rainy is a senior at Grand Forks Central. She’ll compete in her final North Dakota girls swimming and diving state meet this Friday and Saturday at the Hulbert Aquatic Center in West Fargo.
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“I’m so excited,” Rainy said. “It being my last one, I’m extra hyped for it, just to see how we can do as a team and individually, just because we’ve had such a great season.”
Rainy is coming off an excellent showing at the Eastern Dakota Conference meet. She finished second in the 200 freestyle (2:01.97) and third in the 100 freestyle (56.35).
Rainy was also named to the EDC all-conference team.
“The events opened up a little bit, and I swam better than I ever had at EDC,” Rainy said.
Last year, Rainy placed seventh in the 200 freestyle and ninth in the 100 freestyle.
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“This year, I definitely want to race and be competitive and be up there,” Rainy said. “Based on the seeding, I should be in both A finals, so both top eight, but I really try not to focus on that. I focus on my time and not so much about where I’m going to place.”
Rainy has been a staple for the Grand Forks Knightriders for some time now. She’s been a team captain since she was a sophomore, and this will mark her sixth appearance at the state meet.
“She’s very smart and she works really, really hard,” head coach Bryan Walls said. “She has a tremendous work ethic. It’s funny — I tell kids sometimes, ‘Funny how those things go together: success and hard work.’ And Rainy’s had a lot of success, and she is very dedicated to what she’s doing, and dedicated to making those things happen to reach her goals, which is what you want in a senior and a kid, especially somebody in a place of leadership.”
Rainy is considering swimming in college. She’s going through the recruiting process, but hasn’t found the right fit.
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Grand Forks will graduate several other key seniors this year, including Sasha Poltavski, Kaidence Grimaud and Gabby Tack.
“Everything we do, all the seniors are so sentimental,” Rainy said. “We all just like, ‘Oh my goodness, we’re almost done.’ It’s been such a large part of our high school and even just our teen years, that it’s crazy it’ll be done this Saturday. It’ll hit me after my final race for sure.”
Walls said that the EDC meet has consistently been a ‘rough’ one for the program, because it comes right as the athletes begin start to rest and taper with a focus on the state meet.
However, Walls was pleased with the team’s sixth-place finish at the EDC championships and has high hopes for the state meet.
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“I think there’s a goal for everybody to try to be in the top eight in most of their events,” Walls said. “If our girls swim to their potential, they’re going to surprise a lot of folks.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
