Senior varsity swimmer Caden Guerin-Knoll has competitively swam for four years. He swims to improve his abilities in water polo, but won’t be continuing the sport after graduation. His goal is to make it to the second day of districts this swim season, having been disqualified on the first day last year.
“My favorite achievement of mine is definitely the 200 free relay we got first in last year,” said Guerin-Knoll.
Guerin-Knoll prepares for his events by warming up, without much thinking beforehand, and looks up to his other teammates and their speed rather than famous swimmers.
“[I looked up to] Conner [Dickerson] last year because he was fast,” Guerin-Knoll says.
Sophomore varsity wrestler Riley Soto has wrestled for four years now, and enjoys the sport as an extracurricular, not planning to continue with the sport after graduation. Her favorite aspect of the sport is watching other matches and the support from her teammates. Soto’s growth in the last year is her proudest achievement along with getting the “Best Improvement” award last season.
After having missed last year due to an elbow injury, Soto is aiming to compete at state this year. Her inspiration comes from her father who wrestled and her friends and teammates who share her passion. Soto emphasizes the importance of her team’s support and how their encouragement plays a crucial role in her preparations for a match.
“You start jumping around, getting warmed up,” Soto said. “Just having your teammates be there and helping you get really excited and pumped for the match.”
Senior varsity wrestler Taylor Gauntlet has been wrestling for 12 years. He enjoys the sport both to watch and to play. He does not see a future in wrestling, but he does want to make it far in his last season. His main goal is to become state champion or at least state placer.
His favorite achievement was when he got district placer. His warm up before a match consists of
“Music, headphones, and then just jump around.” There isn’t any specific music he listens to, it just depends on what mood he is in. He looks up to Spencer Lee, a 26 year old American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler.
He shared his passion for wrestling with his dad. He explains that his mental strength and perseverance make him stand out to the crowd. One match that surprised him was his match to go to state his junior year. He lost because he was just super tired after wrestling for two days straight. When he won his district placer match his junior year he felt powerful.
Sophomore Lily Olsen has been competitively swimming for eight years, dedicating a lot of time to practice and training for competitions, aiming to swim division one in college.
“I love swimming, obviously, I’ve dedicated all my life to it,” she said.
She finds encouragement from her family, although they’ve never swam competitively themselves, and her friends, whom she’s made throughout her swimming career.
“The most powerful moments are at the end of your season when you’ve worked really hard and you finally get the times you want,” Olsen said.
Olsen credits her success to her dedication, hard work, and aspirations to grow and exceed her personal bests.
Having won districts her freshman year, she intends to win in all four years of high school.
“Last seasonI won districts my first year, and I got fourth in state,” Olsen said. “It’s nice to build up and have those accomplishments early in my career.”
