FAIRBANKS -- A pool full of competitors will try to take away Anne Goering's 200-yard freestyle title at the state swimming and diving championships this week at Bartlett High, but Goering's biggest threat might come from the pool itself.

Goering, a West Valley senior, suffers from chlorine-induced asthma, a condition that triggers coughing fits and sometimes forces her out of the pool and into the cold outdoors, where she can gulp fresh air.

"Sometimes I think she's going to puke out her heart," West Valley coach Bryan Mitchell said.

Goering is the swimmer to beat in the 200 free -- her personal-best time would be a record for the UAF women's team -- and she has a shot at the 100 title too.

But her success comes with a price, particularly at poorly ventilated pools.

"If we do excessive sprint sets, sometimes I go into coughing fits and then I have to take a break and I have to stick my head outside for five minutes or so before I can breathe normally again," Goering said. "But it's not painful. It's just annoying. ... It gets frustrating a little bit to have to interrupt your training like that."

Mitchell said Goering has an unmatched work ethic and refuses to use her asthma, which was diagnosed last year, as a crutch.

"She'll come to the (finish) wall and just cough and cough and cough, but that's the only way she knows how to practice," he said. "She's not going to hold back one bit, and that's what made her a state champion."

Goering edged Jordyn Caldwell of Chugiak for last year's state title, posting a time of 1 minute, 55.27 seconds. She fondly remembers the race, in part because of the mystery created by breathing to the side away from Caldwell for the last length.

"I was sprinting the last 50 (yards) and I did not know where she was the last 25," Goering said. "So when I hit the wall I looked up and I had won by a tenth of a second and I was amazed."

Goering, an honor student who will graduate a semester early, amazes those around her by juggling a schedule that includes training three hours a day, practicing the violin and keeping up with schoolwork.

"I don't have much of a social life, but that's OK," she said.

Mitchell, in his seventh season as West Valley's head coach, said Goering's maturity level is beyond most kids her age.

"She's a real testament to what an athlete can do if they're motivated in the right way," he said. "It's very impressive because high school students nowadays have a hard time getting to school on time and doing their homework, let along balancing that with practice and school and violin and taking classes well above her (school) year."

Goering wants to swim in college but hasn't decided where to go. She plans to study engineering, and has ruled out attending UAF, where her father, Doug, is the dean of the engineering department.

Instead she'll apply to such stellar academic schools as Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University, schools with Division III swimming programs. She's also considering Division I schools including the University of New Mexico and will likely get a jump on her college career by taking a couple of classes at UAF next semester.

Goering appreciates swimming in part for the bond created with teammates at West Valley and her club, the Midnight Sun Swim Team. But she also loves the individual aspect.

"When you're swimming and you're racing, it's just you and the water," Goering said, "and there's nothing else, really."

Schedule ASAA/First National Bank Alaska swimming and diving championships Friday 1 p.m. -- Swimming preliminaries 3:30 p.m. -- Diving preliminaries Saturday 1 p.m. -- Swimming and diving finals

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