A valuable new member of the swim team joined this past season. Here’s the catch: she is the only freshman on varsity. 

Swimming since she was 5, Leila Ceranic took lessons at her private swim club, Nova, where she competed in meets and fell in love with the competitiveness of the sport. Her training in the club pushed her to meet the standards of varsity, according to Ceranic.

“I was really excited when I got in because it was just a new level to my goal and just pushed me to work my best,” Ceranic said.

While many may be intimidated by the idea of being the sole freshman in a group of returning upperclassmen, Ceranic quickly bonded with the rest of the team and made close friends, according to Ceranic.

“I think during the swim meet when we have relays and our team events, it really brings us together,” Ceranic said. “I feel excited when I’m in a race with my teammates, and it really motivates me to go faster, and you really get adrenaline and excitement when you’re in the water.”

For Ceranic, everything is about her motivation to compete. Much of it stems from the support and mentoring from her parents and older brother, Riki Ceranic, who also swam during high school.

“I’m really proud of her and I think what she is doing is amazing, and I think she really worked hard for this and she really deserves this,” Riki Ceranic said. “I would say that the long hours in the pool, every day, six days a week is really hard, but it paid off. I am really proud to have a sister like that who is so hard working and is able to compete at that top level, especially in her first year in high school.”

Ceranic’s extensive training at Nova and after-school practices with her varsity teammates drove her to thrive this season and allowed her to achieve sub-60 seconds in the freestyle 100 meters, a goal she had since the beginning of her swimming career. 

“When I first joined swimming, it was more for fun, but I think now that I’m in competitive swimming, I just want to get better every single time,” Ceranic said. “Now, that’s my goal.”

For Leila Ceranic’s remaining years in high school, Riki Ceranic sends a caring message with advice that he hopes she would resonate with.

“I want to tell her don’t take swimming too seriously and just learn from your mistakes and don’t beat yourself up too much,” Riki Ceranic said. “I would say that everyone has failures but it is how you handle those failures is where you can really excel.”

As for this season, Ceranic said she hopes to continue improving her times and fostering a tighter bond with her fellow teammates.