By Jack Armstrong ’15

For sophomore Morgan Hill swimming comes naturally. She has been swimming since she was 5-years-old and has been on a club team since she was 11-years-old. Even though she still has two more years at Sherwood, she already has established herself as one of the most elite swimmers in the area.  She was selected by The Washington Post as a First-Team All-Met swimmer, after receiving an honorable mention last year as a freshman.

On February 22 at the MPSSAA State Swimming Championships, she swam 23.60 in the 50 free and 51.71 in the 100 free, blowing away the competition and securing titles as state champ in the two sprinting events.

“She’s a great competitor; she knows mentally how to prepare herself for her races to do the best that she can,” said swim and dive Coach Brendan Lees.

At the highly competitive Metros, the Washington area swimming and diving championships, she swam the 50 free with a time of 22.97, breaking the 10-year meet record. She also swam the 100 free in a blistering fast 50.81 and finished second. Unlike most high school meets, Metros attracts larger crowds, helping to ramp up the already high level of excitement. Competition at Metros involves the best swimmers, including American Olympians, from all over the region.

“Metros is one of or maybe the most fun meets that I swim in” said Hill. “The atmosphere is crazy and everyone is loud and excited.”

She currently trains 6-7 times a week, for 2-3 hours, at The University of Maryland for her club team Machine. In addition to her vigorous club swimming schedule, during the swim and dive season she manages her life at school as well as competes on Sherwood’s team. Even though high school swimming is not as intense as her club swimming, she enjoys the team spirit and says swimming for Sherwood is still so much fun.

Looking towards the future, Hill’s focus is clear. “My goals are set mainly on improving my times since I can’t control what other people do and how they swim.” she explained, “I have a good 2-3 events that I am best at, but sometimes it’s fun to mix it up and see how I can do in my off events.”