Grade: Entering senior year
Age: 16
Sports: Track and field, swimming
Claim to fame/honors: Swam on record-setting medley and free relay teams; ran on record-setting middle medley relay; earned multiple first-team all-conference awards during my swim season; placed second in the 50-yard breaststroke at the Southwest Classic meet in January
Bet you didn’t know… I have the same birthday as Tim Tebow
Words you live by: What would God do?
Toughest opponent: I strongly believe my toughest opponent is myself. It’s so much more difficult to maintain a positive mentality if you have a negative mindset before you even compete.
Biggest influence: My mom, Lydia. She has run numerous marathons and even competed in a half Ironman. She continues to train for local triathlons and maintains the healthiest diet I have ever seen. She inspires me to train hard even on days that I feel like I can’t even get out of bed.
Meet-day rituals: I always do the same warmup routine before every race. Even my teammates know it by heart.
What’s on your bedroom walls? On one wall of my room, all the articles that my relay or I have been featured in are cut out and taped to the wall. It brings back great memories and is a great confidence booster for when a meet or race doesn’t go as well as planned.
When I’m bored I like to … go outside and sit on the deck with my cat, Dusty.
Favorite movie: Holes
Person who would play you in a movie: Blake Lively
Favorite TV show: Friends
Favorite musical artist: Dave Mathews Band
I can’t live without: Hair ties — it’s rare that my hair isn’t in a bun
I can live without: Sugar and soda
Event you’d like to attend: 2020 Olympics
Favorite book: Divergent
Favorite home-cooked meal: Grandma’s chicken and dumplings
Favorite restaurant: Piada
Favorite smell: Home when I’m away from home
Favorite cereal: Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Store where you’d like a shopping spree: Dick’s Sporting Goods
Vegetable you won’t eat: I like them all
I’d love to trade places for a day with … a millionaire
Whose mind would you like to read? The president’s
Place where you’d love to travel? San Francisco
Talent you’d like to have? Singing
Favorite school subject: English
Favorite athlete: Missy Franklin
Favorite team: Ohio State Buckeyes
Favorite Olympic sport: Swimming
Something in the world I’d like to change: I would like for recycling to become mandatory instead of just being a suggestion.
Favorite sports moment: Breaking a record during swim season that we weren’t at all expected to break. It was the greatest feeling when we all looked up at the board and saw a new Butler High School record.
In 10 years, I hope to be … happily married with a well-paying job. I hope to live in a nice house and would love to be the owner of a Great Pyrenee (dog)
Nominate an Athlete of the Week: Send an email to freelance writer Dave Lamb at d_lamb@msn.com. Please include the athlete’s name, school, sport and a phone number or email address where we can reach that athlete. Please include Athlete of the Week in the subject line.
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