Sophomore Autumn Wright would race her mom in the swimming pool, she never thought that it would lead her to steadily craving higher competitors.

However, swim isn’t first on her list. Wright is also a dedicated water polo player. “I’m actually doing swim to become faster at water polo,” Wright said. “Speed was something I lacked and I knew that swim could help me improve.”

Although she plays water polo she described how beneficial swim is. “I love being in the water, it counts towards school credits, and most importantly it’s making my speed better, it’s perfect for in between my season.”

When Wright first started water polo she wasn’t aware of how fast some of the opponents would be. “I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and swim just really prepared me.”“We mostly do drills back and forth it’s exhausting, but I love seeing my improvement by the end of the season.”

Increasing her speed is her favorite thing about swim, she loves competing and constantly getting better.

“I plan on doing swim until I graduate,” she said. “It’s something I can’t see myself not doing.” Swim is something that’s been part of her life since she was a child, It sparked her interest when she was 10 years old.

“It started with my mom,” Write said. “We would always race in the pool when I was younger and I loved it so much, I always wanted to swim and be in the water.” From there she did swim throughout organizations as a child  and switched when she got into high school.

When Wright began her swim career at Stagg, she lacked the confidence that she had as a child and didn’t pursue the sport her freshman year. “It was intimidating to try out for swim because I don’t usually show my body off like that so it was uncomfortable at first.”