Freshman Samuel Cornelison joined the water polo team to keep busy during the off season for basketball.

“I wanted to get in shape for basketball and I hurt my knees over the summer,” he said. “I needed something low impact to help come back.”

He started off the season with a lot of frustration, because he struggled in practice. But he knew if he stuck with it he could only get better.

And the hard work payed off for Cornelison. He is now tied with senior Julian Hernandez for the leading scorer for the boys water polo team after two games. Each player has a total of four goals.

Cornelison scored all four of his goals and one assist in the game against McNair last week. Stagg went on to lose the game 13-10.

He takes pride in his current stats, but is always looking to improve.

“It feels good to know I can play and can be good at water polo, but I still know I need to get better,” he said.

Cornelison is working out not only during practice, but on his own time. This includes extra push-ups, conditioning, and putting more focus on shooting during practice in order to improve.

Along with improving his personal skills, he hopes to help motivate his team to beat St. Mary’s the second time they match up.