Haley Larson was destined to swim.
When she was 14 months old, Larson, unbeknownst to her grandparents, fell into the pool, because she had a fascination with water.
“The story goes that my grandparents didn’t see me down in the pool for a while before they pulled me out,” said Larson, who was already walking and talking shortly after her first birthday. “Apparently they left me alone and I went right back in. I guess they couldn’t keep me out of the water.”
Larson, a San Benito High senior, hasn’t lost her passion for swimming. If anything, her love for the sport continues to grow with each stroke. Fellow senior Corey Latham has a similar attitude toward swimming.
“I’m constantly pushing myself to get better,” Latham said. “I love the pain and suffering of doing intervals, because I know it’s the only way I’m going to get faster. I’ve always been very dedicated to the sport.”
As proof, Latham points to an incident that could’ve scared him off from swimming. When Latham was enrolled in the San Benito Aquatics Program as a fifth-grader, he was grabbing the wall and looking for safety on the first day of classes.
“I looked like a fish out of water,” he said. “I was pretty scared. I was so bad they had to put me in swim lessons for a week before they put me back on the club swimming team.”
Latham swims the 200- and 500-freestyle events, along with either the 200 or 400-medley relay events. Larson swims the 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley, along with the 200 medley relay.
Both are versatile swimmers and standouts who lead by example.
“Corey and Haley are extremely hard workers,” Haybalers coach Christine Schafer said. “They’re tireless in their efforts, and you see the effect rubbing off on the rest of the team, because this team works really hard and together. It’s been a joy to coach this year’s team.”
Larson, 17, will be swimming for Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore., a Division III program. Although Larson did not receive an athletic scholarship — D-III schools don’t offer it — she did receive an academic scholarship (Larson carries a weighted 4.3 GPA).
Like Latham, Larson enjoys the pain of finishing a grueling workout.
“I love the intense practices, and feeling sore afterward,” she said.
In addition to showing an interest in swimming at a very early age, Larson had solid role models in her life growing up. Both of her older sisters, Lacey and Kelsey, swam at San Benito.
Larson was a seventh-grader when Lacey was a senior, so she always had times to chase — and eventually beat.
“I think I’ve done a little better (than my older sisters) comparatively,” Larson said. “It was encouraging to grow up with sisters who did the same thing, and I always had the drive to put in a lot of extra work.”
Even though Larson hasn’t hit the 2014 CCS qualifying marks in her individual events, she’s confident the times will come.
When Larson visited Lewis & Clark College seven weeks ago, she saw all of the school’s swimming records and immediately envisioned placing her name on that leaderboard.
Larson has always planned for the future, and she’s already got her future mapped out. After five years of college, Larson can earn a master’s degree in liberal arts and a teaching credential, with the goal of coming back to California to be a teacher.
Larson loves her relay team of Michelle Brunido, Grace Larson and Hayleigh Smith. They’ve already hit the CCS qualifying mark, an impressive accomplishment since Larson is the only senior on the squad.
Latham is going to swim at Cabrillo College, with the hopes of earning an athletic scholarship from a Division I or II school after two years. The 6-foot, 145-pound Latham knows his best days are ahead of him.
Six months ago, Latham decided to switch clubs, from SBA to the Gilroy Gators. He credits his new club program for helping him shave nearly four seconds off his 500 free time from a year ago.
“I take pride in pushing myself to the edge,” Latham said. “I want to be that one swimmer who can finish the second half of long-distance races faster than the first half.”
Latham said he had to overcome some serious naysayers in his sophomore year, as various coaches and fellow swimmers told him he would never amount to anything in the sport.
One stroke at a time, Latham is proving them wrong.
“I had a lot of people tell me I would basically go nowhere,” Latham said. “That I would never amount to much. I used that as fuel to push me to another level. I’m close to qualifying for CCS, and I know I’ll get there. It’s pretty crazy. When I started swimming, I never dreamed of making the varsity team for a high school. When I accomplished that, my goal was to make it to CCS, and look at me now. I’m that close to making it happen.”
