West Bloomfield’s Elizabeth Eichbrecht is Michigan’s prime women swimmer

In the 4 years Elizabeth Eichbrecht has been part of the West Bloomfield swim crew, she has helped the Lakers set the bar for achievement.

The program has damaged a number of information, together with new league and county marks, mentioned coach Ronson Webster. Eichbrecht has an opportunity to attain one other milestone because the senior Laker’s time on the crew nears an in depth.

Eichbrecht, dedicated to Indiana, is the No. 1 swimming recruit within the state for the category of 2026, based on Swimcloud. She has earned six particular person state titles in profitable each the 200- and 500-yard freestyle occasions yearly since her freshman season. If she repeats her victories at this 12 months’s Division 1 state finals in November, she’ll be part of Waterford United’s Maddie Wright as the one two women to win two particular person occasions in all 4 seasons.

“That would be an incredible honor and I would be privileged,” the 17-year outdated mentioned.

But Eichenbrecht is calm about it: “I try not to put that pressure on myself.”

The swimmer’s journey started after taking classes at Lifetime Fitness in Commerce Township. At 8, she earned a spot on Lifetime’s swim crew, which Webster additionally coached. The two have labored collectively ever since.

Webster credited Eichbrecht’s continued success to her dedication.

“I think the biggest thing that Elizabeth has, that we all look for in an athlete, is true grit and wanting to go out there and be the best,” Webster mentioned.

He recalled Eichbrecht’s “grit” throughout her early days at Lifetime, when she requested to swim with the older children in this system.

“No, you can’t,” Webster informed her.

“And she said,” he recalled, ” ‘Well, if I can beat them, can I?’ “

During the crew’s second meet towards Bloomfield Hills on Thursday, Sept. 25, Eichbrecht took first place within the 200- and 500-yard heats with occasions of 1:50 and 4:52, respectively.

Although she has been dominant all through the years, Eichbrecht mentioned she has realized easy methods to handle the stress of such a aggressive sport.

“Just putting a little less pressure on myself as an individual and as an athlete,” Eichbrecht mentioned on how she has modified a few of her tendencies from earlier seasons. “Still swim to the best of my abilities, but not take myself so seriously.”

Bryn Cusack, 17, of West Bloomfield has competed with and towards Eichbrecht since they have been each 10 years outdated.

“Training with her is helpful. She really wants her teammates to do their best, so she’s very supportive…” Cusack mentioned. “And also, just racing against her, she brings an intensity that you like to be able to match. So, just being around her and competing against her, it lifts you up to that other level.”

As the postseason approaches, Eichbrecht strives to enhance.

“There’s always more. I believe there’s no true pinnacle of the sport,” Eichbrecht mentioned. “And you just keep getting better and better as you go on, and that is through hard work and having fun.”

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Eric Guzmán covers youth sports activities tradition on the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work.

Contact Eric Guzmán: eguzman@freepress.com; 313-222-1850. Follow him on X, previously referred to as Twitter: @EricGuzman90.