Athlete focus: Born to Swim

When it comes to swimming, Caroline Kelleher was practically a natural. “I actually learned to swim in the Armijo High School pool when I was 18 months old,” she said. By the time she was in elementary school – “probably around age 7,” she said – she was put on a swim team. “I’ve swum my whole life, but not competitively for seven or eight years.” She started again this year with the Armijo swim team, but she has also swum for Allan Witt and Rancho Solano. With her Armijo teammates, she did make it to Monticello Empire League finals. Not bad for a first-year team member.

In the fall, Kelleher was the goalie on both the Davis Club Water Polo team and the Armijo High School team, and she hopes to continue playing water polo or continue being on a swim team in college, perhaps UCLA. “I want to go to law school and become a District Attorney later in life,” she said.

Her favorite stroke is the butterfly and her go-to meet is the 200 meter. At a recent meet against Fairfield, she was the only person in that race. “I was all alone in the pool. That was really memorable,” she said.

While she spends a lot of her school year in the water, between practices and meets, she does have other interests. On campus, she is in leadership and band, where she plays the baritone saxophone. Off campus, she loves to bake and bicycle in the hills in her neighborhood.

If she were approached by a friend who was considering joining a team, she had no doubt about how supportive she would be. “Definitely join sports!” she said. “Not only does it get you fit, you can really bond with your teammates and make memories.” Of course, she would encourage them to focus on swim and water polo.

Kelleher said that her role models would have to be her parents. “They sacrifice a lot for me, especially driving me to events and allowing me to participate,” she said.