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Stately strokes, shining smile

A Countryside High swimmer basks in the glow of state titles in the 100 butterfly and the 200 free relay.

By BOB PUTNAM
Published November 9, 2006

From her seat above the pool, adjacent to the starting blocks, Sally Kastes stayed amazingly calm as her daughter, Katie, climbed onto those blocks during last week's state swim meet.

Kastes tried to hold back tears as Katie, a swimmer at Countryside High, stepped onto the podium in medal ceremony after medal ceremony, beaming the smile she loves so much.

"It's hard to describe this feeling," Kastes said. "Katie just wanted this and we hoped the opportunity would come. Her emotions described it all."

That was the image everyone watching the Class 3A meet at the Fort Lauderdale Complex will remember as well: Katie winning races, collecting her medals, flashing that smile after each one.

Katie, 17, was first in the 100 butterfly and combined with twin sister, Kylie, Rachel Burns and Melanie Marglis to win the 200 free relay and take third in the 400 free relay.

Katie also was sixth in the 200 individual medley.

Her performance propelled the Cougars to second overall, the highest finish in school history. Palm Harbor University High's boys also did well, finishing as the state runner-up.

"It's been so amazing to have that sense of accomplishment," Katie said. "I've had so many well-wishers and people congratulating me at school."

Katie knew what she wanted since the season started. She wrote down her goal of winning the butterfly at the state meet and tacked it above her bed.

To meet her expectations, she would get up at the crack of dawn, off to the pool with her twin sister to swim and swim some more.

After school, the two would dive back into the water, ready for another workout.

"The dedication is what so impresses me about my girls," said Kastes, who is a registered nurse. "To be 17 years old and put your life on hold to achieve a goal is something."

Katie finished the 100 fly in a churning rush, looked up at the scoreboard and mouthed the words "Oh my god," in excited disbelief.

Her victory was by the slimmest of margins, four-tenths of a second over Miami John I. Leonard's Sarah Andrews. Second at 50 yards, still trailing at 75, Katie won with a great, surging finish in 55.46 seconds. Andrews took silver in 55.88.

"This was my last shot, so I was going to give it my all," said Katie, a senior who will swim for the University of Arkansas next year.

Katie, though, couldn't rest because of her taxing schedule. She swam in eight heats including preliminaries, several of them so close together that she barely had time to cool down from one before she was lining up for another.

When it was over, Katie returned to the mundane task of attending classes and doing homework.

She celebrated by going to the mall, something she hasn't done in months. And she is going to get her navel pierced.

"(Katie) asked if she could get her bellybutton pierced, and I resisted for the longest time," Kastes said. "But how could I say no after all the hard work she put in to being a champion?"

[Last modified November 8, 2006, 23:43:25]