After a great start to the Cougar swim season, we sat down with two of the school’s swimmers to find out just what it takes to be a record breaking swimmer. Here’s what they had to say:

Q: What inspired you to start swimming?

Natalia Lopez: Well, it was a choice between cross country and swimming. I knew I wanted to do something and I was always in the water growing up. I chose swimming over cross country because I would rather be in the water than in the hot sun.

Anna Rosa: I was watching my older sister swim with the older kids when I was about 3 years old and I wanted to join them too because it looked like fun.

Q: How do you balance swim, school and homework?

NL: I try to prioritize what I’m doing and when I’m doing it. School always comes first. Then I do my homework, then I go to swim.

AR: I have a very tight schedule between school and swim, but I try to get my school work out of the way as soon as possible so I have more time to swim.

Q: What event do you usually look forward to the most?

NL: I look forward to the 100 IM [individual medley] because it consists of all four strokes: butterfly, backstroke, breast stroke and freestyle. I can always try to improve in this event.

AR: I look forward to doing the 400 individual medley. It is a combination of all four strokes.

Q: Have you ever felt like giving up? What inspires you to keep going?

NL: There are times when I felt like giving up. What inspires me to keep going is that I know that if I keep practicing, I will one day become as good as some of the fastest swimmers out there.

AR: Sometimes I want to quit because I’m not as fast as some of the other swimmers, but they inspire me to keep going and smile while I’m swimming.

Q: While you are swimming, what do you think about most?

NL: While I’m swimming, I like to think that I could push myself farther and that I could build myself up to become faster and stronger.

AR: I think about my technique and how it could affect my swim.

Q: What makes your team unique?

NH: We are a bunch of middle and high schoolers that come together to form a high school team and compete against other high school teams as one.

AR: We all goof around but still work hard in the pool.