Female Athlete of the Week climbs to top with record-breaking speed
Isabel Lee wants to make one thing clear.
Swimming is still a priority, even on a family vacation to the snowy ranges of Quebec.
The Ridgewood senior led her team to its first sectional title in more than a decade last week, then took off to Mont-Tremblant to ski down its powdery mountains. It was a chance to unwind after winning three county titles and finishing unbeaten in solo races this year.
The truth is that Lee still found time to train at a nearby aquatic center.
"There was a pool about 20 minutes from the mountain," Lee said. "But yeah, no taking a break. Especially now because it's championship season."
This year has been one big coronation for the champion sprinter. She set county records in the 50 and 100 freestyles, swept those events at the Maroons' divisional meet and pushed Ridgewood to a North 1A sectional crown in its third straight trip to the final.
The race against the clock continues away from the water. Lee is a student at the Bergen County Academies, where class is dismissed at 4:10 p.m.
Balancing school work with club and high school team commitments can be a delicate act.
"My dad actually turns off my WiFi at 10:30," said Lee, who trains with the Wyckoff Sharks. "I had to learn how to manage my time very well and how to definitely use every single second I have during the day to work."
Lee comes from an adventurous and athletic family. Her parents were high school sweethearts on the track team at Emerson and her dad went on to compete in an Ironman competition.
That competitive mindset rubbed off on Isabel, who joined a swim team at age 5 and ran her first triathlon three years later.
Gradually, Lee whittled down a long list of sports to lacrosse and swimming. In eighth grade, she chose to focus on the latter due to her love for the game and the recruiting potential.
"Outside the pool, she's awesome," Ridgewood coach Kyle Schulke said. "She's very excited about high school swimming. She's really enjoyed it. She definitely gets into the nuts and bolts of looking into different times and planning things out."
Schulke was pleasantly surprised when Lee signed up for high school swimming, especially since her freshman year was marred by COVID regulations and virtual meets. Lee was drawn to the team aspect and the chance to reconnect with hometown friends she left behind.
To master the short-distance events, Lee has taken a holistic approach to her game by combining strength training, breathing exercises and long hours in the pool to shave off a fraction of a second.
Outside the water, she uses a program called SwimStrong Dryland that is geared toward the muscles and movements needed for swimming.
"We work on balance and we work on explosive jumping and stuff like that to get off those walls faster and get off the block further," Lee said. "For a sprinter, your start and your turns, for yards at least, matter so much. It's crazy."
Lee will be swimming close to home next year at Columbia University while majoring in either economics or computer science. She leaves behind a big legacy at Ridgewood after going 4-for-4 in the sectional final last Thursday.
"She's able to make everyone around her better," Schulke said. "To have someone that is very competitive and can will herself to the finish and rise to the occasion, it does a lot to help inspire the rest of the team."
And for Lee, the feeling on the pooldeck has been mutual.
"I think you could tell how much my teammates have been improving this year and how hard they've been training," Lee said. "It's just so inspiring to watch."