Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Carly Geehr: Back with a vengeance

Tony Altobelli

Newport Harbor High girls sophomore swimmer Carly Geehr must have

felt like a great white shark stuck in a goldfish bowl these past few

months.

Not being able to compete due to a torn right rotator cuff and

tendinitis, Geehr was finally able to do battle for the Sailors in last

week’s Foothill Swim Games and the results speak for themselves.

Geehr kicked off her 2000 season by winning the 100-yard breaststroke

with a school-record time of 1:05.53. She also came in second in the 100

backstroke (59.54) and teamed up with Nicole Mackey, Hayley Peirsol and

Amy Murphy to win the 200 medley relay (1:50.80) and the 400 free relay

(3:35.60). Both relay times are also school records.

“It was such an incredible relief to be able to go out there and swim

again,” Geehr said. “For that meet, I wanted to see where I was in my

healing process and how far could I push myself. The biggest thing for me

was that I was pain-free after the meet.”

Geehr transferred to Newport Harbor from Mayfield Senior School in

Pasadena and according to Coach Ken LaMont, she did not come to

Sailorville as an unknown.

“From my club coaching days, I’ve known of Carly since she was 12,”

LaMont said. “Needless to say, it was a happy day when I found out she

was coming to Newport Harbor.”

“It’s never easy moving to a new school,” Geehr said. “But I like Newport

and I love being near the beach. I’m making some good friends and being

on a team, you get to know the other swimmers pretty well.”

Dealing with on-again, off-again arm trouble for most of last year, it

was a minor bicycle mishap which triggered the shoulder pain.

“I fell off my bike and woke up the next morning with my arm throbbing,”

Geehr said. “I tried coming back earlier in the year, but I didn’t give

my injury enough time to heal. I had to be very patient and now that I’m

swimming again, I’m still very cautious.”

Now swimming again, Geehr will help the Sailors in a number of events,

giving LaMont some much-needed flexibility.

“It really allows us to massage the lineup,” LaMont said. “That’s one of

the best things about Carly is that we can put her wherever she’s most

needed for that particular day.”

The remarkable thing about Geehr’s record-setting times is that she’s

still not at 100% yet.

“My arm can’t really go all that fast,” the Daily Pilot Athlete of the

Week admitted. “I’ve been getting by on my kick. Also, my speed and

endurance is not where it used to be. Hopefully, that will be coming back

soon.”

A competitor for the Irvine AquaZots, her relentless training has allowed

Geehr to excel in some events in which she wasn’t as dominant.

“I realize the importance in training, especially in the individual

medley and breaststroke races,” Geehr said. “All this work has kind of

revived my breaststroke. I had been in a slump with that event for a

while.”

Geehr has now taken that work ethic and instilled it into her routine at

Newport Harbor, which is something that LaMont has noticed.

“Carly has a solid training ethic,” LaMont said. “She’s a tireless worker

and the effort that she puts in is a good example for our younger

swimmers to follow.”

When she’s not in the water, Geehr might be found behind a canvas. “I’m

getting into art,” she said. “Drawing, painting, that sort of thing. I

can’t do people yet, but I’m getting the hang of landscapes art.”