Brynn Lavigueur won two Class B swim titles in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke on Tuesday, then Wednesday was traveling to Florida to take the next step in her swimming career.
After setting six Brewer High School school swimming records — four individual and two relays — the freshman phenom is taking her talents to Florida to swim for the Sarasota Sharks.
Lavigueur is the third prominent Maine high school athlete to leave the state for better opportunities in Florida in the past year, with Nokomis basketball stars Cooper and Ace Flagg transferring to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida, for their sophomore seasons.
The Sharks sent 10 swimmers to the 2020 Olympic Trials with one swimmer, Emma Weyant, winning the silver medal in the women’s 400-meter individual medley.
Lavigueur wants to be on that list in 2024.
“This coming Olympics I would really like to make trials and then next Olympics I could qualify,” Lavigueur said.
At the state meet at Colby College, Lavigueur broke the school record in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard freestyle via her leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay.
The 15-year-old wants to focus on the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter backstroke with the Sharks.
“I really like sprinting,” Lavigueur said. “I am not a huge distance swimmer so being able to swim as hard as I can in the shortest amount of time possible, I enjoy that more than swimming for two minutes or five minutes.”
During Christmas vacation, Lavigueur and her 12-year-old sister, Bixby, traveled to Florida to check out the Sarasota Sharks and they immediately liked what they saw.
Bixby will also be joining the team.
“They are one of the best teams in the country,” Lavigueur said. “I am swimming with them for better opportunities and better training. We came down during Christmas break and it was different from what we’re used to and we just really liked it.”
With the Sharks, Lavigueuer will be participating in two swim practices a day and also dry land training every day, as well.
The decision to relocate to Florida was made soon after the visit to join the Sharks, but on Tuesday her focus was on the state meet.
“I was feeling a bit nervous because I knew there was going to be more competition than I’ve had all season,” Lavigueur said. ‘My goals were to win but also get season bests, which I managed, so I was happy with the outcome. I had to think about all the training I put in all season and that now is the time to show it. I had to really stay focused and be positive.”
Lavigueur will continue her education remotely with Brewer High School for the remainder of this school year.
“She just wanted to go out and have the best swim she could in her last four races as a Witch and have fun with her teammates one last time,” Brewer swimming coach Carmen Williams said.
Williams has nothing but positive things to say about her star freshman swimmer.
“She’s a great kid and she’s a great member of our team beyond everything she does in the pool and I know she has huge things ahead of her and that’s what she’s going to accomplish and I am excited to see her accomplish and it’s been exciting to be a small part of her journey.”
