It’s a moment that McKenna Lawson will never forget.
And it’s a moment that she hopes to duplicate on Saturday.
The moment of being a state champion.
Last year, as a newbie to the program, the now-Windham High sophomore captured the 100-meter breaststroke title at the New Hampshire Division I girls state swim meet.
Lawson finished with a time of 1:05.76, which broke the school record and edged out Bedford’s Emma Conway (1:05.79).
“I looked up at the board, and it said that I won by .03 seconds, and I went so crazy. I remember hitting the water, everyone screaming, people high-fiving me, and there was a camera in my face,” recalled Lawson.
In addition, she was second in the 200-IM (2:12.94) and was part of the second-place 200-medley relay team and the fourth-place 200-free relay team, helping the Jaguars finish third as a team.
Now a year older, Lawson enters this year’s state meet at the University of New Hampshire as the No. 1 seed in the breaststroke and the No. 2 seed in the 200-IM.
“It’s more pressure now than there was last year,” she said. “I think I can get first place in one of my two individual events. I think I have a good shot at the 200-IM. I expect the breaststroke to be a close race again, (Conway’s) time is right with mine.”
At last year’s meet, Lawson had to juggle a lot. She competed in four events, each held at different times throughout the day. She had a 90-minute wait between her two individual races.
“I was tired from just sitting around a lot,” said Lawson, who is an honor roll student and plays both the flute and piccolo in school. “Before the breaststroke, I did my warm-up, but I also slapped myself aggressively to get my blood pumped. I’m one of those crazy people who slap every single inch of their body, so my entire body is red. It helped me get ready for the race.”
Lawson – who swims year-round for the RAYS (Rockingham Area Youth Swimming) Club team – became the only freshman in last year’s state meet to take home an individual title. That was no surprise to Windham head coach Coleen Hayes.
“I have been coaching McKenna since she was little and got her start on the RAYS swim team,” said Hayes. “McKenna is always willing to step up to fill a need at a meet and can be seen on the sidelines cheering her teammates on. She enjoys helping at practice when we break into pairs to work on starts and turns, and she offers constructive help and tips to her teammates.”
‘’McKenna is driven to succeed and improve,” noted Hayes. “She is one of my hardest workers and knows that there is a direct correlation between working hard and seeing results.”