Cascade swimmer has made his mark, and looks to make more

Cascade swimmer has made his mark, and looks to make more

By Mike Beas

Only a junior, Dane Market has established himself as one of the best athletes to go through the Cascade High School swim program.

A first-place finisher in the 100-yard breaststroke at last season’s Hendricks County meet at Avon, Market would take third in the 200-yard individual medley in a time of 2:00.81 at the Terre Haute South sectional. Market wasn’t done. He would finish second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:00.01.

Market has impressed this season as well, winning the 100-yard butterfly and 100 breaststroke in a season-opening loss to Plainfield. The Cadets then placed second in a three-way meet against South Vermillion and International School, with Market again leading the way.

An outstanding student (4.2 grade-point average) Market also enhances his team’s point potential by taking part in relays. He entered this season as owner of seven middle school records at Cascade and six more at the high school level.

Market attempts to defend his win at county in the breaststroke and perhaps more when the meet takes place at Plainfield on Dec. 19. The Cadets take part in the Indiana Crossroads Conference meet on Jan. 9.

Cascade’s nine-person roster in boys swimming is void of seniors, so, naturally, Market has stepped into that role.

“Dane is a young man who isn’t drawn into his own success,” said Cascade swim coach Paul Williams. “He’s a well-respected swimmer within the county, but if he wins, he has the same expression as if when he loses.

“He’s super coachable and is disciplined. Dane is the first one in the pool and the last one out. He loves to work and try to get better.”

Market did a Q&A with ICON:

Q: It’s been said that competitive swimmers work harder than athletes in most other sports. Do you agree?

A: I believe I do, yeah. I’ve done soccer, track and cross country, and putting that into perspective, I do believe swimming is the hardest. It’s challenging both mentally and physically.

Q: Are the goals you set as a swimmer more for yourself or to see what Cascade can accomplish as a team?

A: As I get older, I definitely start making goals for the team. When I was younger, I was trying to fit in as the new swimmer, but you do set individual goals for yourself, too.

Q: As the team’s captain, what is the most important thing you can do?

A: When I hear the word captain, I think of keeping everybody on the same wavelength and making it as fun and as easy as possible. The biggest thing is optimism. In terms of swimming, I think I work better that way.