[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK]
FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMER OF THE YEAR
READY FOR A NEW CHALLENGE
I
n the 15 minutes or so Torri Huske finished her high school career for her high school swimming before any race, Torri career. by setting national high school records in Huske prefers not to speak with At the Virginia 6A anyone. The 18-year-old from championships in late February, the 100 yard fly and 200 IM, and by being Yorktown High School and Huske swam a 1:53.73 in named Swimming World’s Female High the 200 yard IM, breaking a the Arlington Aquatic Club in Virginia might be a newer face national record School Swimmer of the Year for the second 12-year-old on the elite swimming scene, of 1:53.82 held by Dagny but as she has steadily built to time (2019, 2021). The 18-year-old senior Knutson. Shortly after, she won this level, she has refined the 100 fly in 49.95, breaking from Yorktown High School (Arlington, Va.) the approach to racing that works not only her own public school for her. Some swimmers are will be moving on to Stanford in the fall, but record, but the overall national social beings in the immediate high school record held by first, she set an American record in the 100 Claire Curzan. Just six years leadup to the race to distract themselves from nerves and meter fly at U.S. Trials that earned her a trip after the first overall woman pressure, but Huske embraces broke 50 seconds in the 100 fly, to Tokyo to compete in her first Olympics. those feelings, knowing she can Huske became the first to do channel them into adrenaline. so in a high school swimming BY DAVID RIEDER “I just like sitting on the floor competition. Those two recordand stretching and getting in breaking performances were my own head and getting in my own mindset,” she said. “Sometimes good enough for Huske to be named Swimming World’s Female I’ll think about the race. I’ll think about how I’m feeling, like High School Swimmer of the Year. emotionally. It’s just feeling everything that’s around you and the “I have been chasing after that for so long,” Huske said. “It was energy. Sometimes, there’s this tension. Everyone’s really anxious kind of just a relief. I had been 50-point so many times, and it was before their swim, and I feel like it’s just kind of experiencing the really frustrating, just because I knew I was capable of going under moment, shaking out my body, making sure everything feels good 50, and I had been so close so many times. It was just really nice to and that I’m loose and stretched out and making sure that I’m warm finally look at the clock and see that.” and that I’m physically and mentally ready.” Huske almost broke a third national public school record that day, with her 200 free relay leadoff split of 21.65 coming up just 1-hundredth short of Abbey Weitzeil’s record. But much more A STELLAR HIGH SCHOOL SEASON significant for Huske was leading Yorktown to a state championship, In the past few months, the United States and the world have the first in her high school career. Yorktown finished with 236 points gotten the chance to see Huske display her physical talents and to defeat runner-up Battlefield by 27. mental fortitude on the sport’s grandest stages, the Olympic Trials “We’ve been so close to getting first as a team these past three and the Olympics, but before that, she was producing some of the years,” Huske said. “My freshman year, I think we were second. My best-ever performances in high school swimming. She broke the sophomore year, I think we got third as a team, but we were closer national public school record in the 100 yard fly as a sophomore, in points than we were the previous year. And then last year, we got then as a junior and then a third time her senior year at the high school regional meet. That set her up for an amazing swan song second again. We’ve been really trying hard. I feel like we were 12
AUGUST 2021
SWIMMINGWORLD.COM
