Sports Spotlight - West Orange Times & Observer: Elizabeth Cottle

Elizabeth Cottle, a sophomore swimmer at West Orange High who also competes for the SouthWest Stars, recorded the best times of her career at the USA Swimming Futures Championships in Atlanta. On Aug. 5, Cottle broke the Stars’ record in the 100-meter fly with a time of 1:04.46, in addition to recording 100% best times.

You did well at the USA Swimming Futures Championships in Atlanta last month, even breaking a team record for the SouthWest Stars in the 100-meter fly. What was that like?

It was pretty cool, because the time to beat was really fast, and it was a goal of mine to break the record. I think I broke it by a half-second, and it was my best time.

Leading up to the meet, what had you been working on from a technical standpoint?

It was a goal for me to do more fly sets this year so that I can improve my 100-meter fly. Doing more fly sets during practice and bringing more intensity, it helped me to get the time that I wanted to get.

You jumped right into the varsity swimming season. Is there a difference between competing in high-school swimming and club?

It’s very different. High school is more fast-paced swimming, instead of more yardage like here (for SouthWest). I’m more of a sprinter in high-school season. I do more endurance swimming (for SouthWest).

What elements do you like the most about each?

High-school swimming is really fun and the atmosphere is really good. At SouthWest, everyone is really fast, and it’s really good for me to compete against them during practice to help me get faster.

With the Summer Olympics recently concluded, is there a particular swimmer who you cheered on while watching?

Michael Phelps because this was his last Olympics, we’re all thinking. It was just cool to see him get a bunch of gold medals again.

Does watching the Olympics inspire you?

Yes, very much. I look up to all those swimmers who swim so fast, and it makes me want to swim faster in practice.

Do you have any other hobbies that take up your time?

I like to do acrobatics — backflips and stuff like that in my backyard. I can do a roundoff-back-hand-spring-back-flip.

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

I would probably be a cheetah because they’re so fast. They’re cool.