Record-setting start

Maybe it was the message from Black Eyed Peas — “Tonight’s gonna be a good night” — pumping through her iPod before the season’s first match on Feb. 25 against Mt. Whitney.

But Porterville High varsity swimmer Matlyn Morris isn’t sure of the reason behind her surprising record-breaking performance in just the first meet of her young career.

Representing the Panthers in the 100-yard backstroke race, the freshman clocked in at 1 minute, 4.17 seconds. That tops a 15-year-old record set by Lori Young in 1995 at 1:04.89 — practically by a mile in swimming standards.

“We’ve had freshmen break records before,” Porterville coach Richard Taylor said, “but I’m surprised she got it quite that fast. She swam a very determined race, so I was real proud of her.”

Morris admitted she had a little incentive to race harder after losing during the backstroke portion of the medley relay against Mt. Whitney’s counterpart. Morris got another chance during the individual backstroke race later in the meet.

“She beat me and I got kinda mad at myself, so I really wanted to win,” said Morris, who will compete in the 200 individual medley and possibly the breaststroke and butterfly for Porterville this season.

Taylor, who also coached Morris on the girls’ varsity water polo team last fall, said the year-round conditioning played an important role in Morris’ preparation for spring competition.

“She’s a hard worker and she’s putting the time in the pool,” Taylor said of the 14-year-old. “She’s one of the top swimmers around. We just hope to push her along and get her times to drop.”

Morris, whose sister Jenna is also on Porterville’s swim team, celebrated with a burger and fries at In N Out with the family. And once those calories burn off, she has her eyes set on another record — the 200 IM set by local legend Kimber Methvin last season.

“I’m still four seconds off,” Morris said. “That’s a lot, but I can do it. I just need some good competition and the belief that I can do it.”