Renata Martinez’s coach knew first.

When the junior swimmer touched the wall in the 100-yard freestyle race at Poughkeepsie Middle School Oct. 17, she didn’t know she had broken the 15-year-old program record until she lifted her head from the water and looked to Galen Franchek.

The coach, though, knew she would do it the day before.

“She was like, ‘I think you can break the record,’” Martinez said, recalling her own uncertainty. “I felt I could, but I wasn’t sure. I had those nervous, but also excited, butterflies in my stomach.”

Franchek laughed when being told Martinez remembered their talk the day before that meet against Ossining, before doubling down on her confidence. Franchek said she pays attention to her swimmers’ strokes during practice time. But, more than that, she’s witnessed firsthand the dedication and reserved confidence that makes Martinez unique.

“Renata has the characteristic of always following through,” the coach said of her longtime pupil. “Renata knows what she’s capable of. I think she has so much team spirit and she has so much support from her teammates, that’s what fuels her.”

After a season in which she broke a record, placed in the top-30 at the Section 1 Championships in two other events and was an all-league honoree, Martinez was named Poughkeepsie’s Athlete of the Month for October.

Rather than focus on where she has placed in any given meet – for the record, she was 21st in the section in her favorite stroke, the 100-yard butterfly, and 30th in the 50-yard freestyle – she focuses on personal improvement through putting in the work in practice.

“I’m always really happy when I look up at the timing system or the board and see that I dropped time,” she said. “That’s always a good feeling.”

That’s what she did Oct. 17, posting a time of 57.79 in the 100 freestyle to improve upon the school record set in 2009. “I really wanted to break the record before the race,” she said. “I really wanted to just hold a record. Especially because so many people haven’t held a record in this school, recently.”

When not swimming for Poughkeepsie, Martinez also competes for the club Patriot Swim Team. And, plenty of Sunday mornings you can find her volunteering at the pool teaching swimming for young kids enrolled in Franchek’s Mid-Hudson Heatwaves swim program. This past summer she worked for the city as a lifeguard and gave swim lessons to kids at Pulaski Park. “I think it’s really important kids learn how to swim, not just for safety. Everyone needs to know how to swim. It’s really fun.”

Franchek praised her demeanor as an instructor.

“When Renata teaches the children she gives them so much confidence. Her personality alone encourages the children to perform the skills,” Franchek said.

Martinez, a National Honor Society member, is looking at colleges at which she would be able to swim competitively – coaches from Vassar, Oberlin and Dickinson are among those who have reached out to her – but she is unsure what her future ultimately holds. A native English speaker, she’s learned Spanish from her father who comes from Mexico, and she’s in Spanish and French classes at Poughkeepsie.

“I want to do something with languages, where I could go international,” she said. “I’d like to have a job where I could work anywhere.”

Before then, though, she’ll see her name and record time posted on the wall at Poughkeepsie Middle School’s pool for her senior season.

“I’m excited for next season,” Martinez said. “I do believe, though, that if I was able to break the record this year, I’ll be able to break my own record next year. But I also do want to break the 100 fly record.”

Franchek says it’s possible. Though, the coach may be a step ahead of the swimmer again.

“I won’t be surprised,” Franchek said, “if she breaks another three records.”