April 9, 2018 at 1:15 p.m.
WYNS swimmers have breakout season
10, including Rhinelander's Francis siblings, qualify for YMCA nationals
WYNS swimmers had four fourth-place finishes and the team had more than 100 Top 10 finishes at the meet. The 13-14 girls won first place overall, the WYNS girls' team took second overall and the combined team took fourth overall.
The young team includes a swimmer who is making a name for herself in competitive swimming across the state and she's only 14. A competitive swimmer since the age of 6, Malia Francis of Rhinelander grew up watching her older sister (Kiah) and brother (Nolan) swim and she learned to set goals by watching them.
Malia is fast, placing in the top 10 at the state level with her 200 fly and 400 individual medley. Yet it's her skill in the backstroke that places her second in the nation among 13- and 14-year-old girls.
Last month, Malia competed in an open age group at the USA Swimming Meet Speedo Sectional Meet and won the 200-meter backstroke. Her time of 2:17.50 is less than one second under the 2016 Olympic trial cut. Malia qualified to compete in the USA Swimming 2018 Winter Nationals as well as the USA Swimming Summer Speedo Junior National meet this summer. Her backstroke time has set a new WYNS record.
"You can have that natural ability but you have to work hard at improving it," Malia said.
She trains six times a week, splitting her time training with the WYNS swimmers at the Woodson YMCA and training with family at the YMCA of the Northwoods in Rhinelander. Her older brother, Nolan, helps motivate her, according to their mother, Amy.
"She's hyper-focused and that helps her. She takes care of herself," Amy said of Malia.
It will be Malia's last year to swim at the USA Swimming Meet with the 13- 14 age group and she's focused on making it another meet for the record books.
In the 8 and under 100 medley relay, swimmers Carly Springer of Weston, sisters Erin and Alyssa Leon of Wausau, and Emily Kwiatkowski of Tomahawk were able to beat the previous record time from 1998, placing in the top three.
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