TOWSON, Md. - The space that is the most cramped during any Towson swimming meet is not in the pool itself, but rather in Cassie Sorna's head.
That's because there are usually three people traveling around inside the Ijamsville, Md., native's noggin during one of her 1,650-yard freestyle swims.
One of those three, Sorna herself, is obvious. Someone has to play host, after all. The second person is the unnamed announcer who calls the race that Sorna's involved in at that given moment.
“It's almost like a NASCAR race, actually,” said Sorna, breaking off into a call of the race. “'OK, in lane four, it's coming up in the flip turn. Goodbye.'
“That helps a lot. I've never met anyone else that kind of does it that way, but it helps get me through it.”
Which leads us to the third person splashing about with Sorna during a race. That's whatever singer is performing the song that plays on a loop on her mental jukebox during the time she's in the pool.
Last Saturday, when Sorna swam the 1,650 freestyle in a personal best time of 16:20.44 in the AT&T Winter Nationals at the University of Tennessee, the song of the day was country legend Shania Twain's “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under.”
“It (the song) changes all the time,” said Sorna, a senior, whose time was good for 13th. “I heard that song and I was like, 'This is going to be a good time to listen to for 20 minutes.'”
Sorna wasn't the only Tiger to have success in Knoxville last weekend. Fellow seniors Kaitlin Burke and Shelby Witham also did well in the 1,650-yard freestyle, with Burke's 16:07.19 placing fifth, the highest finish ever for a Towson swimmer at a national meet. Witham's 16:34.51 was good for 19th.
Meanwhile, sophomore Jenna Van Camp broke a school record in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:15.13, just ahead of the 2:15.42 that Cari Czarnecki swam in 2010.
Sorna said the Tiger swimmers motivated each other with each successful trip in the pool fueling another.
“If you see a teammate go fast, you're like 'I can do that,'” said Sorna. “We're swimming together every single day. We're doing the same stuff. So, there's no reason I can't do that, too.”
As for Sorna, her results in Knoxville on Saturday came after what she called two days of poor performances, which were triggered by pressure that she placed on herself.
“I just folded,” said Sorna. “Swimming is a mental sport, more than anything.”
Between her swims on Friday and Saturday, Sorna said she received a number of good luck texts from family and friends. She's not sure how anyone knew to send her good vibes, but they were certainly welcomed. They seemed to lift the weight that had been dragging her down for two days.
“I thought I would just go out there, do it for them (friends and family) and just know when I get home, no matter what, that everyone is still going to love me. I have a really good support system,” said Sorna.
Winning the mental part of the sport has been the key to Sorna's success in swimming, more so that conquering the training part, she believes.
“I don't know how it happens,” said Sorna. “I'll just sit there and I'll tell myself over and over again, 'Cassie, you're going to do this.' And by some miracle, it happens.
“I know if I go into a meet with a bad attitude, I won't do well. It's just statistically proven. It just won't happen. In that moment, you just tell yourself you're going to do this. And your body listens. It's just mind over matter.”
It's precisely that triumph of competitiveness that Sorna says she'll miss when her Towson career concludes at the end of the school year, hopefully with an appearance in the NCAA championship meet.
“There's no other feeling in the world that I've found that can beat that feeling from the moment right before the starter says, 'Go,' said Sorna. “It's such a rush and to feel your body push through the water and to do things it's never done before, it's incredible.
“I don't know if I'm ever going to find something as wonderful as swimming, which luckily I can do for the rest of my life.”
