By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – Mattie Fowler wanted to swim during her senior year at Mt. Blue High School. She also wanted a life.

Consequently, the 2005 Sun Journal Swimmer of the Year and Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference 500-meter freestyle record holder isn’t competing in any meets sanctioned by the Maine Principals’ Association this winter.

“I really did love swimming with my high school team,” Fowler said. “There’s just a lot on my plate right now.”

Those time restrictions, coupled with MPA regulations, forced Fowler to make a choice prior to the 2005-06 campaign.

Mt. Blue doesn’t have a swimming program, but that didn’t stop Fowler from flaunting her talent with two teams as a junior. Fowler practiced with Messalonskee High School in Oakland and competed as an unattached individual in the KVAC and Class A meets. She also swam with the Mid-Maine Dolphins, a club affiliated with the USA Swim Team and based out of Alfond Youth Center in Waterville.

Her tireless approach paid dividends in the pool. Fowler won the 200 and 500 freestyle events at the KVAC Championship, shattering the conference record in the 500 by almost seven seconds. In the MPA state meet, Fowler scored among the top 13 finishers in five different events.

The commitment was exhausting, however.

“I was spending three to three-and-a-half hours in the pool, and I live 45 minutes one way from practice,” Fowler said. “It was very time consuming. I’d be getting home and starting my homework at 9:30 or 10 o’clock at night.”

Clubs such as Mid-Maine and the Twin Cities Swim Team are popular with swimmers wishing to make a splash beyond the high school level and hoping that practice now will make perfect later. But because of her membership with the Dolphins, according to Fowler, MPA rules required her to attend every practice with Messalonskee in order to remain eligible for high school competition.

Fowler decided this year to focus on USA swim meets, which allow her to travel throughout New England and beyond while swimming head-to-head against college-age talent.

The USA Sectionals are scheduled for mid-March in Cambridge, Mass. Then it’s on to the Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in the first week of April.

“That’s a nice trip,” Fowler said. “It sort of breaks up the season a little bit.”

Fowler has begun concentrating more closely on her two favorite events, the 200 butterfly and 400 individual medley, in hopes of landing an NCAA Division I scholarship.

New Hampshire and Massachusetts are at the top of her list. That application process created even more demands on her precious time.

“It’s unfortunate. I’d love to see the rule changed. There are some high-level swimmers who are taking that route and not swimming high school,” Fowler said. “I had to make a decision.”