The sound of the horn rings through Kylie Kwoka’s ears. It’s a cue for her to block all outside noise and focus only on her lane.
Nerves hit before every race but Kwoka’s concerns are simmered with encouraging words from coach Troy Lubanski before she starts. Once she’s dialed in, it’s a crystal-clear focus of beating the clock and the field.
Clearing her mind helped Kwoka become one of the top swimmers in Niagara County and Section VI swimming. Last year, she won the 500-yard freestyle state qualifier and Section VI championship with a time of 5 minutes, 13.28 seconds, defeating Williamsville South’s Bridget Reilly by 0.54 seconds.
Two weeks later, Kwoka finished 21st overall at 5:16.69 to win the Class C final at states in Webster and posted an 18th-place finish in the 200 free at 1:57.08. The growth correlates with Kwoka’s mental approach to each race.
“It’s honestly just staying level and not getting too stressed out or too upset if I have a bad swim,” Kwoka said. “And, just staying consistent, knowing that it’s all going to work (for) me.”
This season, Kwoka is ranked third in the section in the 500 free at 5:33.56, also the fastest in the county by nearly five seconds. Since starting the event in seventh grade with the 54th fastest time, Kwoka has posted top-10 finishes in three consecutive years.
Plus, in her five years with the Spartans, Kwoka has won 18 regular-season meets in the 500 free, including three times this season. But her chase towards beating her own time doesn’t stop once the school season ends.
Along with weight lifting two to three times a week, Kwoka is in the pool year-round. Kwoka is part of the Buffalo Area Aquatic Club, which competes from November to July, in events both locally in Buffalo and Clarence and out of state in Rochester Hills, Michigan and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
During the school season, Kwoka, at times, goes from her Starpoint practice to the club’s training facility at the University at Buffalo pool, depending on her energy level. With BAAC, Kwoka has competed in the 50 free, 100 free, 400 free, 800 free, 100 back, 100 breast and the 400 IM events, with the endurance translating over to her main events of the 200 and 500 free.
“It’s just staying consistent with my events and working hard,” Kwoka said. “That’s usually just how I get to where I am at the end of the season. It’s just working on the little things. … It’s just stroke technique or (how) I put my hands in the water. And also turns are a big thing because they take up a lot of the race.”
The training led to her run to states in Webster, with Kwoka facing the challenge of competing against the best in the state for the first time. But now with the practice, Kwoka is aiming at not only returning to states, but also dropping her 500 free time to under 5:10.
Lubanski has had a front-row view of Kwoka’s progression as he was an assistant in 2021 before taking over the program as head coach last year. Reaching and handling the pressure of competing at states, to Lubanski, only drove her to strive in practice and meets.
“Kylie did a really nice job handling that (pressure),” Lubanski said. “Last year, she was able to get best times in some swims, and we were just shy in others. So looking forward to what we can do with our preparation this year to make sure that we’re ready for that season.”