Students may be familiar with junior Luci Damuth, whether it’s by seeing her sing the national anthem at home basketball games or racing through the water at swim meets.
With her participation on the varsity girls swimming team and Varsity Voices, Damuth is making the most of her time in high school count.
Throughout her three years on the swim team, Damuth worked hard to get to where she is now. She has discovered a love for the sport and her school along the way.
“[I’ve been swimming] since as long as I can remember,” Damuth said. ”At like four years old I started competitive swimming.”
Throughout the past two years, Damuth was able to make top 24 individuals for the swimming conference championship, qualifying her for finals. This was a significant accomplishment for her as a high school swimmer.
“For me, finals is a big goal, and it is even more fun than prelims,” Damuth said. “The energy for finals is brought up a notch, because that’s where we actually score the points for the meet and everyone on the team is supportive, whether they made finals or not.”
Damuth finds encouragement with her swim coaches who have guided her throughout the sport. Assistant coach Trevor Sparks, a new addition to the varsity team this season, is pleased with her efforts.
“[Damuth] is always engaged with her teammates at practices and meets. If [she’s] not actively racing she can be found screaming her lungs out for her teammates,” Sparks said. “Outside of the pool she continues to be involved in her school, she makes the extra effort to attend school events and can even be found singing at some.”
In all of her activities, Damuth strives to motivate herself and her teammates.
“I always try to be positive, I know that attitude can bring myself down and my teammates down so I always try to keep a positive attitude even when it is really hard,” Damuth said. “It’s not always easy, but it always comes out better that way.”
Damuth has continued to grow as a leader on the swim team and push herself towards her goals.
Her head swim coach and father Rob Damuth is admirable of Damuth’s hard work as an athlete.
“[Luci] has turned into a hard worker in both school and swim,” Rob said. “I am so proud of the student and leader that she has become.”
This year, Damuth particularly looks up to the captains of the girls swim team. Senior Evan Arnold is one of the swim captains and is inspired Damuth’s work ethic.
“[Damuth is] an incredibly hard worker and always goes above and beyond to support the team,” Arnold said.
When Damuth is not competing on the high school team, she is training on the community club “NKAT” team to stay in shape. She loves being able to work harder to improve throughout the year.
“Club [swimming] is pretty much a necessity if I want to improve for my next high school season, because the continuous training keeps my body in shape as well as improves my swimming overall,” Damuth said.
While after school Damuth can be found in the pool, she is also singing in the choir room for Varsity Voices, a select variety of vocalists. This is her first year in the group, and she is thrilled about the singing experience.
“I was super excited and honored to be selected to be in Varsity [Voices] this year, because it is really hard to get in, and being in Varsity [Voices] has been a goal of mine for a long time,” Damuth said.
Damuth loves the feeling of being a part of something and the relationships that come with it.
“I love the community of [Varsity Voices],” Damuth said. “We all get along like we are brothers and sisters, and that helps us to achieve our goals even more.”
After high school, Damuth is interested in pursuing a Pre-Medical degree or a health science field for college. Damuth has worked hard these past three years as a student athlete.
“[Luci] has always been full of energy and potential,” Rob said. “I really feel like she is starting to put it all together. She can accomplish anything when she puts her mind to it.”
The people in Damuth’s life have supported her with all of her passions.
“[Damuth] is an outstanding young lady who puts others before herself and excels in everything she puts her mind to,” Sparks said. “I am very excited to see where swimming and school continues to take her.”
