In the stretch of late October through early November, every prep swimmer in Florida is feeling nervous. Celi Guzman, for all her hard work, is no exception.
Or, that’s what she’ll say. The Strawberry Crest sophomore is practicing multiple times each day for what she’s expected to do: compete for state championships in the 100-meter butterfly and 100-meter backstroke.
But if she can be coaxed to come out of the pool, if only for a few minutes, her demeanor is calm.
It’s probably because she’s already competed in an international championship tournament, held this summer in Singapore.
“Once you start getting to high-level meets, you gain a lot more confidence in yourself,” Guzman says. “You think about what you’ve done, what you’ve accomplished before.”
ENDLESS SUMMER
Guzman was born and raised in the United States but both of her parents are Puerto Rican. Because of this, she was able to represent Puerto Rico in the 2015 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, held from Aug. 25 to 30.
Officials with the Puerto Rican team not only kept track of Guzman by going off of her times in Florida meets but have also been following her times for the last several years, whenever she’s been able to travel to Puerto Rico to swim.
Making the team was a big accomplishment for her, especially as someone who hopes to one day qualify for the Olympics.
There were several things that Guzman had to get used to in the competition — such as brushing up on her Spanish and adjusting to the 12-hour time difference — and she says she didn’t exactly take her events by storm with high finishes.
But swimming on an international level, Guzman says, was still a great learning tool that’s helped her gain confidence in every pool she’s since jumped into.
“It was definitely a great experience,” Guzman says. “You just have to keep working at it.”
She swam in another big competition less than a month later. Guzman participated in the 100 fly and 100 back in September’s FSPA High School Invitational meet and made a splash against some of the top competition in the state.
The stage may not have been quite as large as the FINA championships, but it was clear that Guzman had learned from that experience.
She ended up winning both of her events, clocking in at 56.81 in the 100 fly and at 56.72 in the 100 back. In both cases, she also won the preliminaries.
STAYING AFLOAT
The good news for Crest fans is that Guzman hasn’t stopped swimming well since the FSPAs.
Most recently, she won the Hillsborough County championship in the 100 back competition and, according to head coach Jennifer Sherrouse, is “neck-and-neck” with Durant’s Katie Vasiloff, Hillsborough County’s champion in the 100 fly in 2014.
Of the four Crest swimmers who have the biggest chance to win a state title, Guzman is the only girl.
Vasiloff appears to be her chief competition at states.
These two swimmers have plenty of history with each other, and it’s all good. Guzman and Vasiloff used to be on the same club team, when both swam for Brandon-based Blue Wave. While Vasiloff is still with that program, Guzman has since switched to Tampa Bay Aquatics.
“We’re both great competitors, so I’m really excited to compete against her,” Guzman says. “She’s my friend, and we always have friendly competitions with each other.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
CHECK IT OUT
Strawberry Crest and Durant compete in Class 4A-District 5, and both will
compete at the upcoming FHSAA regionals.
The Region 2 teams will travel to the Long Center, 1501 N. Belcher Road, Clearwater, for the Saturday Nov. 7 competition. The finals begin at 5 p.m.
For those interested in watching the diving teams, the competition will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 6.