The junior freestyler is leading one of the Titans' strongest teams in recent years.

Favorite event: The 100 freestyle. I love to race other people, and it's an event I do well in.

What are your usual events in a meet? In high school swimming, I do pretty much everything. In club meets, my standards are the 200 freestyle, the 100 freestyle and the butterfly.

Which club do you swim for? Southeast Metro Sharks.

What's the difference between club and high school swimming? The main difference is the team aspect. In club, I am my own priority. In high school, my focus is on the team.

Do you have a preference? High school, because I like competing as a team.

How big is swimming at Tartan? It's not that high up, but recently we've received more attention because we have a few fast guys breaking a bunch of school records.

How long have you been swimming? For nine years. I started because I couldn't pass my swimming lessons; I was stuck on Level 4 and I failed multiple times to move up. So I joined swimming out of spite.

Did you eventually pass? When I joined club swimming, I didn't go back to lessons.

Goals for this season: I would like to get our relays into the top 16 in state. In the individuals, maybe a top-three or even a championship in the 100 and 200 freestyles. I think I've got a pretty good chance.

JIM PAULSEN