Martin does it again for Iowa Flyers

IOWA CITY – There's one recognizable giveaway when nerves are affecting Ruby Martin.

In the moments before competition, the Iowa Flyers club swimming standout will raise both her shoulders, even before her strongest event – the 200-yard butterfly.

'I just try to loosen my muscles up and I can't think too much about it because I already know how to swim it,” Martin said with a laugh. 'I do it all the time and I'm like, ‘Why am I doing this?'”

Martin has become increasingly adept at casting aside such edgy feelings and excelling in the pool, evidenced by another strong outing at the USA Swimming Winter Junior Championships, which wrapped up Sunday in Austin, Texas. Martin collected another silver medal in the 200 fly with a time of 1:56.07, more than two seconds better than her runner-up finish at the same event a year ago.

'I enjoy that event the most by far,” Martin said. 'When I think about it compared to the other events, I think of it as easy but then as I do it, it's not easy at all.”

Martin – a sophomore at Iowa City West – added a top-5 finish in the 400-yard individual medley (4:16.67) and capped the weekend by claiming a 2016 Olympic Trials cut in her statewide-best sixth event – the 100-meter butterfly in 1:01.15 – in the post-meet Sunday time trials on her 'Sweet 16” birthday.

'Pretty much the main reason that I went back on the last day for time trials was my mom was like, ‘You know, what the heck. We're going to be there, let's just go for it,'” Martin said. 'It was pretty ‘sweet.'”

The meet was hugely successful for the Iowa Flyers, which traveled seven swimmers. Mark McGlaughlin – a senior who also swims for the two-time defending state champion boys' team at West – earned an individual silver in the 100-yard freestyle (43.64), plus bronze in the 50 free (20.01).

'It was fantastic,” McGlaughlin said. 'I had best times in every event I swam.”

McGlaughlin earned a second silver by anchoring a 200 free relay performance (1:22.38) with West teammates Aidan Keen and Will Scott, plus Cedar Rapids Washington senior Nick Saulnier. The foursome also earned bronze in the 400 free relay in 2:59.95.

'The crew that I took down to Texas was an outstanding crew,” Iowa Flyers Coach Robert Pinter said. 'They know each other, they work well together and I think just the support and the way they were jelling and supporting each other went a long way.”

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