State Champion spotlight: Matt Polewaczyk Falmouth HS


Junior Matt Polewazcyk of Falmouth won the Class A state title in the 200m & ran the lead-off leg on the state record breaking 4x200m relay. We caught up with Matt to ask him about his preparation before the meet, his mindset on race day, and about winning the state title.




What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?

My preparation for the state meet began numerous weeks in advance. My trainer (Matt Marcoux) began to taper my workouts for quite some time. A lot of weeks I would train with uMed twice a week one time including 7am on Wednesdays, as well as normal practice. I then focused on my diet as I made sure the only things I ate were good for me and my body. That includes no soda, candy, chocolate or anything of that sort for about a month. Lastly, I always made sure I got around 10 hours of sleep the night before a meet. If there is one thing I learned it is that small practices such as those above can help you drastically come meet time.


How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?


I am going to be honest, I did not feel that much pressure going into the state meet, which helped me big time. Last year I would of been freaking out minutes before the race, but I believe I built up a form of composure that kept me calm and ready. Yes I was a little nervous, but I absorbed the emotions and turned them into adrenaline. I also was not supposed to win an open event, so there was even less pressure on me (or so I believed). I felt kind of bad because for most of the meet I blocked out everyone and focused purely on the races but that was my way of coping with all of the pressure.


You can in as the underdog in the 200m, and ended up pulling out the victory. What was your strategy in the race, and when you were neck and neck with Paolo in the homestretch what was going through your mind?

First off, I just want to give credit to Paolo, because he is a great competitor and he helped push me through the whole thing. But my strategy in the race was quite simply, stay with Paolo. I had enough confidence that I knew if I stayed with him the first 150 I had a golden opportunity to win. Some videos helped me decide that too as I learned what point I could turn it on and what point he appeared to lose speed. When we came neck and neck in the homestretch, it was just how I pictured it and so I put all I had left into those last 10 meters just so it was exactly how I pictured it.


Coming into the season what were your goals and did you achieve them?

 Coming into the season my goal was to break 23. If I had lost in states but still broke 23, I would of still been happy but I was unable to achieve that goal. Having said that, winning states was not a goal of mine. It seemed unrealistic at the start but then gradually became a possibility later into the season.


What did it mean to break the state meet record in the 4x200, and run the #2 time in Maine history?

It meant the world to break the state meet record, mainly due to the fact that the rest of the squad is seniors, so it was our last chance. We are practically brothers, constantly hanging out in and out of practice and I am going to miss them a lot next season so it meant a lot to break it with them. Hopefully we still have our best time coming as it would be surreal to run #1 in Maine history.


Polewaczyk's 55m Progression


55M
INDOOR Graph
20166.78
20156.97


Polewaczyk's 200m Progression


INDOOR Graph
201623.14
201523.92
201425.44



2015-2016 Results


2016SEASONEVENTMEETDATEPLACEROUND
6.78Indoor55mClass A Indoor State Championship3rdFinals>
6.78Indoor55mClass A Indoor State Championship2ndPrelims>
23.14Indoor200mClass A Indoor State Championship1stFinals>
6.86Indoor55mWMC: Greely, Falm, York, Yarm, GNG, Freep, Sacopee Va, St Doms1stFinals>
23.38Indoor200mWMC: Greely, Falm, York, Yarm, GNG, Freep, Sacopee Va, St Doms1stFinals>
6.80Indoor55mWMC: Cape, GNG, Freeport, Falm, Lake Region, Traip, York, Lisbon2ndFinals>
23.41Indoor200mWMC: Cape, GNG, Freeport, Falm, Lake Region, Traip, York, Lisbon1stFinals>
6.92Indoor55mWMC:Wells, PRHS,Traip, Falm, Frye, NYA,Sac Valley, York, St Doms2ndFinals>
23.56Indoor200mWMC:Wells, PRHS,Traip, Falm, Frye, NYA,Sac Valley, York, St Doms1stFinals>
23.87Indoor200mWMC:Traip, York, Falm, YARM, GNG,PRHS,Sacopee Valley, Lisbon2ndFinals>
54.43Indoor400mWMC:Traip, York, Falm, YARM, GNG,PRHS,Sacopee Valley, Lisbon3rdFinals>
2015SEASONEVENTMEETDATEPLACEROUND
6.88Indoor55mUSM Relays3rdFinals>
6.89Indoor55mUSM Relays5thPrelims>
6.94Indoor55mWMC: Falmouth, Traip, York, Fryeburg, Freeport, Cape, Greely3rdFinals>
23.81Indoor200mWMC: Falmouth, Traip, York, Fryeburg, Freeport, Cape, Greely1stFinals>