Athlete of the Week: Baird rolls to state swimming title

Mon. February 13, 2012 at 10:53 p.m. | By Jason Queen

West Davidson's Grace Baird (Photo by Donnie Roberts/The Dispatch)

TYRO | There’s only one thing that makes Grace Baird nervous when she’s in the water swimming the 500 free: if her teammate, Taylor Koonts, shakes the board that tells her what lap she’s on at the turn.

Other than that, it’s smooth sailing for the West Davidson junior.

Baird had no worries and dominated the competition to win the 1-A/2-A state championship at the Triangle Aquatics Center in Cary on Friday, completing a three-year climb in the event from third to first.

She won the event by 12 seconds over the nearest finisher, running away with the gold medal. Despite her dominance, Baird took nothing for granted. “I knew I had a lot of competition going in, and the races were going to be hard,” she said. “I needed to do my best.”

That’s exactly what she did. As a freshman, Baird finished second to her sister, Kelly Ann, who set the state record that day. Last year, she finished second. Now, she can watch as her name is added to the gym wall at West.

While she acknowledged the typical butterflies the day of the meet this time around, she said the Dragons’ tight-knit unit helped pull her through. “I was definitely nervous,” she confessed. “But the team was very supportive, so it was really exciting.”

Baird tacked on a third-place finish in the 200 free, and swam the breast stroke on the Dragons’ 200 medley relay team that finished sixth. Not a bad day’s work at all in the pool, but the 500 is definitely her bread and butter.

Baird said swimmers can’t sprint the whole time, obviously, in a 500 free. “I definitely try to stay steady the whole time, then about halfway try to really turn it on,” she said.

And at the turn on every lap, Koonts dips the placard into the water to let Baird know what lap she’s on. Contrary to the shaking style some swimmers prefer, Baird likes for Koonts to stay as calm and cool as she is. “I like it being steady, because it makes me nervous shaking; I feel like I have to go faster,” she said with a laugh. “She’s a senior this year, and we’ve been swimming together for a really long time.”

And with a pool full of swimmers in an event that takes several minutes to complete, Baird has to trust her abilities. She can rarely see if she’s in front or trailing. “Sometimes you can tell, but sometimes you never know about the far side of the pool,” she explained. “So you just have to try to get a best time.”

That’s about the only thing left for Baird to chase in the 500 next year. Kelly Ann holds the 1-A/2-A record of 4:49.20, which she set in 2010. Kelly Ann’s state record seems like it may stand for a while. But, Grace has some medals to add to the family trophy case; removing her sister’s name from the record book may be next.

Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220 or jason.queen@the-dispatch.com.