A Few Moments with…Megan Detro – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swim & Dive
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Megan Detro is the oldest of Bill and Deb Detro’s four daughters, a family that includes sister Rebecca (17) and 13-year-old twins Sarah and Rachel. Megan is also a talented swimmer for Ohio State. Last year, as a freshman, she set school records in the 50 free (22.73) and the 100 free (49.46) and she swam on all five of the school’s record-setting relay teams. This summer Ohio State coaches added the 200 freestyle to Detro’s arsenal of swims. While she may have been a bit hesitant with the addition at first, she is no reluctant warrior today. She has an NCAA “B” cut in the event, a Big Ten Top 5 time and loads of confidence after a five-win Purdue Invitational, a Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honor and two consolation swims at the U.S. Short Course National Championships, including lowering the 100 free record to 49.22.
This summer was a bit of a struggle for me. I am a sprinter and longer distances do not come as easy to me. But I came back after taking a break with an open mind and realized that I can train mid-distance and I started working harder at every practice.
The most surprising point of the season was at Purdue. After a whole week of training hard, in addition to all the new training we have done this season and increasing the work load, we swam really well at Purdue. It was very impressive.
I went into the meet focusing on my technique in my races and on a race plan. I did not want to worry about anyone else in the pool. When I saw my times, I was surprised. Bill said he wasn’t surprised, though.
I put my complete trust in Bill Dorenkott…especially after our Purdue meet. You never know what he is going to pull out for us to do, and everyone is doing so well.
He can be quirky at times. This season, for example, some elements of our training are from a Russian program he uses to figure out our times and goal paces. We just never know what to expect, but we try our hardest at everything he throws at us because it will most likely work.
Stefanie Williams works really hard with the team. She does all the behind the scenes work that nobody knows about. She does everything from team meals, team equipment, to being on deck with a positive attitude every day. Anything we need, we just ask her.
I love everything at Ohio State. It feels great being a student-athlete in general. I know players from a variety of different teams. We are one big group here at school which makes it a lot of fun. I am so proud to be an Ohio State athlete.
I learned a lot from recruiting trips about where I wanted to be. When I met Bill on my trip he was new to Ohio State and did not know much about it. I still realized then that the team was going to improve a lot with him. I wanted to find a coach and a team that I would get better on. And I had that feeling when I came here.
I like the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion because it is so lit up. It is not a dungeon pool and it really wakes me up in the morning.
I just changed my major to Health Sciences. I am still in the process of deciding what I will do after school. This major allows me to do anything in the health field from medical school to physical therapy.
Away from the pool we don’t have a lot of free time. We all like to hang out together, watch movies and go to Easton.
The only trend on campus I know of is the Dougie. But there is always a popular dance to do every year.
My advice to the freshmen is to trust Bill, trust the training and everything you are doing, and just be confident.
I try not to compare myself to other swimmers, but I like to see what certain athletes do with their race techniques. I watch video and study other athletes during the meets. I look at the breathing pattern and starts of other athletes to see if I can incorporate that into my swims.
My goals for this year are to make NCAA’s and make top 16 at NCAAs. I’d personally like to win the 100 free at the Big Ten championships and be top three in my other events. I also want to see our relays do really well and make it to NCAAs.
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