Swimmers from across the region were busy competing Saturday during the Aberdeen Swim Club’s annual High Point Indoor Meet at the Aberdeen Family Y. Motivations ranged from clocking top times to winning races to obtaining rewards for a solid performance.

“I just try to think about how much work I put in in training and stuff like that, and I just want to make it show while I’m racing,” said Aberdeen’s Annie Bindenagel.

The 14-year-old said the mile is her favorite race, despite it being longer than most of the other events.

“I’ve been told I have a good sense of pace,” Bindenagel said, “and I think it’s just better to kind of settle into a good pace than waste all of your energy at once in a short race.”

It’s safe to say that the event allows time for plenty of food for thought. When asked what she thinks about while she’s competing, Bindenagel responded, “Sometimes I’m thinking about what I’m going to eat after the race.”

So that makes a person swim faster?

“Well, if I swim good then my mom is probably going to take me where I want to go,” Bindenagel said.

Bindenagel was satisfied with her times during the opening day of competition and that drives her long-term goals.

“I’m trying to get more lower times so I can go on to sectionals next year,” Bindenagel said, “because all-stars is just for 13 and under so I’ll be able to qualify for sectionals, so I just want to try to get some good times for that.”

Bindenagel’s brother, Porter, is currently swimming at all-stars in Iowa this weekend. She watched his event before diving into the pool and noted that he got second in his heat.

The younger Porter sometimes asks Annie for swimming guidance. Her best advice she’s given him?

“If you’re not having a good race, don’t focus on anyone else in the pool,” she said, “just focus on where you’re at and try and make the race better.”

SWIMMER GOES FROM WEBSTER TO WATERTOWN

Webster does not have a swim during the short course season, but that hasn’t slowed down McKoy Pereboom. The 13-year-old drives to Watertown a couple of times a week to compete for that squad.

“It just fit our schedule better and it wasn’t as far away as everywhere else,” Pereboom said of the decision to swim for Watertown.

He said it was a bit of an adjustment at first, but he feels like he’s a part of the new squad now.

“I raced one of them, so I just became friends with them, but for the first couple of months it was tough,” Pereboom said. “It was kind of hard to make friends, because I didn’t know very many people.”

Pereboom believes that the switch which allows him to compete year around has helped him in the pool.

“I think the competition really boosted my ability to swim,” he said.

PULLING DOUBLE DUTY

Saturday was a busy day for Cristian Martinez. During the morning the Aberdeen man was watching his son Gian swim, and then in the afternoon he coached the Aberdeen Christian girls’ basketball team in the Redfield Classic.

Martinez said that scheduling issues don’t happen very often.

“This is the first year,” Martinez said, “because my son has gone back to swimming, so we’re here.”

Martinez described the differences between cheering on his son and coaching his basketball team.”

“They’re different feelings, definitely,” Martinez said. “Right now, my son, I want to go over there and support him 100 percent versus I go over there (to Redfield) and support my girls and think about the game and how we’re going to do and teach them there, so it’s a different feeling, but it’s a great one.”

FOCUSING ON THE TASK AT HAND

Ava Smallman found herself in a close battle during one of her races Saturday morning, but she was unaware how close the event was at the finish.

“I try to focus on myself and try not to look at other people,” Smallman said.

The 11-year-old member of the Aberdeen Swim Club tries to keep things in perspective when competing in the pool.

“I want to beat the times,” Smallman said, “but if I don’t, then it’s just another goal to beat.”

While Smallman said she can hear people cheering her on while she swims, she said a key to lowering times is to just block out the surroundings, especially when it comes to who is swimming next to her.

“Keep your head down and just focus,” Smallman said, “and don’t look over.”

COMPARING SHORT COURSE VS. LONG COURSE

There is a major difference between the indoor and outdoor swimming seasons and it involves much more than just the temperature.

Indoor, or short course, takes place in a 25-yard pool, compared to a 50-meter pool outdoors for the long course season. That can have a major impact on race strategy, according to Aberdeen’s Joe Grebner.

“When you’re swimming short course, the walls are immensely important, because let’s say I’m going 100 breast short course, I’ll take six strokes to get across the pool and I’ll turn, I’ll do my underwater pull out and do another six strokes, to get across to the other side,” Grebner said. “But when I’m swimming long course, it could be more than double that. When you’re on the wall you get a little bit of a break, so long course it can be a little bit more intense. You have to battle the elements. You have the heat, it be can be a little bit more challenging.”

Grebner, who is in his final year of high school competition, will graduate a year early from Aberdeen Christian and still be eligible to compete again next year at the age of 18.

“This isn’t my final home meet,” Grebner said. “It’s my final home meet as a high schooler, but I’ll be a post-graduate swimmer next year.”

For now, Grebner is focusing on lowering his times, although at this point in the season, that task is a bit more difficult than normal because of training. He tries to use benchmarks for a true time comparison.

“Normally when I’m swimming in the middle of the season, I try to analyze, what did I do last year, am I swimming faster than last year, am I swimming faster than the meets prior to this, two weeks or three weeks ago, or even the first meet of the season,” Grebner said. “And I really go from there, because we’re training really hard right now and to hit a PR, it’s not impossible, but it’s very difficult. Everything has to fall in place just right.”