Swim plans to turn heads, making waves

Swim plans to turn heads, making waves

By Shenba Vairavan, The Standard

After a successful season last year with three wins in the CIF competition and fifth in girls’ team competition, the team plans on working hard to accomplish more.

Last year Nate Biondi (‘17) won the 100 and 200 yard freestyle at the CIF Southern Section Division 3 finals. Biondi also swam in the 200 freestyle relay, which won the consolation final at 1:31.45 minutes. The girls, however, won it in 1:43.06.

The girls placed fifth in team competition with 136 points. Deanne Umbay (‘18) placed second in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke after winning both in 2015.

Marissa Johnson (‘19) placed third in the 500 freestyle, sixth in the 200 freestyle. This year she plans to improve her placement by rigorously practicing two and a half hours a day, six days a week.

“I love to swim because it provides a challenging opportunity for me to improve myself alongside my teammates and friends. I love how I get to go to practice every day after school with some of my best friends, we have grown together over the years and we continue to push each other to be better every day,” Johnson said.

Gazelle Umbay (‘18) placed sixth in the 100 butterfly and hoped to drop time.

“I like swimming because I love racing and being competitive with other swimmers. I did really well at CIF. It was such a cool experience and I was really satisfied with my times. I’ve been swimming since I was 10. The most memorable part about swimming every year is swimming at league with all my teammates and cheering people on. My goals are to drop some time in my best events and to just enjoy my last 2 years of swimming for Sierra Canyon” Gazelle Umbay said.