Before Ethan Smith became an Armijo swimmer, he watched his older brother Josh swim. “I chose swimming because my brother did it before me, and I was kind of forced into it,” he said. Smith started with SASO (Solano Aquatic Sea Otters) about ten years ago and has been swimming for Armijo for the last few years.

While his favorite stroke is freestyle, Smith admitted that he struggles with the breast stroke.

He was an accomplished athlete when he first jumped into the Armijo pool. “I qualified for Junior Olympics twice when I swam for SASO, and I have qualified for Sections every year as a high schooler,” he said.

Like many swimmer, he has also participated in Water Polo during the fall season, but he does not plan on being on either team at Sacramento State, where he is planning to be in September. There he plans to study photography, as he is already working as a freelance photographer for NASCAR race teams. “My career goal is to become a full time NASCAR photographer,” Smith said.

“Probably my most memorable meet would be the last one (before the COVID-19 shutdown). It was the first league meet of the season, and although nothing special happened, it was great to meet with many of my friends from Rod,” said Smith. “We all had a feeling that something would happen, but obviously not this early on in the season.”

The virus has had an impact on Smith’s final months on the swim team. “I feel bittersweet about it,” he said. “To be honest, I do not like swimming that much, but I was hoping that I would be able to finish my final season, and get my 4-year award.”