2014-15 Journal Tribune Girls Swimmer of the Year

Kennebunk junior girls swimmer Marshall Lowery said she had high expectations for herself this season, but she wasn’t expecting to have the kind of season that she did. It was a remarkable season, which saw individual and team success, and a state meet record that Lowery hadn’t even set her sights on.

Lowery helped lead the Rams to a South Southwesterns title, a third place finish at the Class A state championships, and she won a pair of regional and state event titles. According to her coach she is already the most decorated swimmer in Kennebunk history as a junior.

Lowery stepped up her performances to another level after a great sophomore season, and she is deserving of being named the 2014-15 Journal Tribune Girls Swimmer of the Year.

Lowery and the Rams sniffed success last year, as the team finished third and fifth, respectively, at South Southwesterns and the state championship, and Lowery had top-five finishes at both meets.

But success rose to a new level this year, as the Rams won South Southwesterns, improved their finish at states and Lowery took home four individual titles.

“Winning Southwesterns was a huge season highlight both individually and for the entire team. As it was our last meet with everyone participating, there was a lot of excitement and team spirit that contributed to our success,” said Lowery, who is the back-to-back recipient of the Journal Tribune award. “It was the first time I had won an individual event at Southwesterns, which helped me realize that my hard work was beginning to pay off.”

First-year Kennebunk head coach Andrew Coulombe said that hard work is what makes Lowery a special swimmer.

“Marshall sets high goals for herself and works tirelessly to achieve them. Her success in the water during a race is a direct reflection of how hard she works during practice,” said Coulombe.

Lowery said she realized that she needed to devote more time and effort to swimming if she wanted to reach her lofty goals. Those goals also involved team success, so Lowery said she wanted to step up as a leader with senior co-captain Olivia Hammer-Grant to create a successful team environment. Lowery said the individual and team success this year shows that Kennebunk is growing into a “strong, formidable competitor in the state.”

The Rams proved that by winning South Southwesterns, which they won comfortably by a 64-point margin. That was also the amount of points that Lowery contributed, with two individual wins and a relay win.

Lowery then contributed 96 points to Kennebunk’s 217-point total in finishing third at states. Lowery won both the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard backstroke ”“ the latter in a state meet-record time of 57.12 seconds.

Lowery called the win in the backstroke a “huge personal accomplishment because I had no idea that I was capable of swimming the event in a 57.12 and was even more surprised when I learned that this time was a meet record.”

Lowery said she was proud of winning the 200 IM because it was event that she was disqualified in as a freshman at the state championships.

Lowery set four individual school records and was part of three relay school records this season.

“Marshall had about as good of a season as anyone could have imagined,” said Coulombe.

Lowery still has one year left at Kennebunk. She swims with the Northern York County YMCA Manta Rays during the offseason, so she will get plenty of time to work on her craft before her senior season. And with a “focused and driven” mentality, according to Coulombe, what Lowery will do for her senior swan song should only top what she did this season.

— Sports Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.