The votes are in and the verdict is almost out as the final NCAA meet for Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace looms nearer with every tick of the clock. While Arianna has proven to be a prolific sprinter and role model for the Auburn Tigers, the lingering questions to be answered within the next 9 days is whether or not she can break the 21 second barrier in the 50 yard freestyle.
With 146 votes over the past week, there are 55% of you that think Arianna will only break 21 in her relay split. While there were voters (17%) who believe that it won't happen at all, we all know that it possible as she cleared the 21 mark at SEC's this year (20.80).
So, let's take a look at the possibility of Vanderpool-Walllace actually breaking this monumental time mark in her individual freestyle event. First and foremost, we have to look at her reaction times as that can make or break a race. In the finals of the SEC's, she was able to grab a solid reaction time of .73. However, there's always room for improvement as she wasn't the fastest off the blocks (.68 from Tennessee's Jenny Connolly). Arianna took out the first 25 of that swim at a blazing 10.46 with the closing 25 at a 10.89; these splits are simply as close to perfect as you can get on a 50 free sprint (a mere .43 difference is incredibly difficult to accomplish).
Instead of speculating what we think might happen, we've asked Arianna to chime in with her thoughts as the meet date closes in:
“Really all that I am thinking about as the meet gets closer is about the other girls on the team and helping them to get to where they need to be to race hard and fast next week. I know that we have all already put the work in and it's just about focusing in on everything now. I really try not to focus on times especially at this point, I just know what I need to do to be where I need to be.”
And when asked about her thoughts on this being her last NCAA meet, Arianna had this to say, “I think I'm ignoring the fact that it's my last NCAA's and probably the last time I'll ever be a part of a team like this; they are my family, through everything they stand by me as I stand by them, and in this last NCAA's I would just like to go out knowing that I made a difference! I think it's nice to end it all at home, a little poetic if I may say so myself! I couldn't ask for a better ending and I hope all goes well!”
And there you have it…now only time will tell if Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace will do the near-impossible.
A big thank you to A3 Performance for sponsoring our weekly poll and Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace for sharing her comments.