By Derrick Smith
An athlete in a team sport, like football or basketball, has the ability to be surrounded and motivated by teammates that are all working towards the same goal. If you have a bad day, they are there to encourage you and help you work through it. Leah Wagner is a swimmer for Bixby High School and she says that the sport can make you feel isolated at times.
“Swimming is a lonely and grueling sport,” Wagner said. “It takes not only physical strength and athletic ability but also mental resilience. Staring at a black line at the bottom of the pool for two hours is boring, so you have to have a reason to be at practice. That, or have something to daydream about.”
Wagner is a senior that swims the breaststroke and the individual medley for the Spartans. She is not new to the sport of swimming, as she is entering her eleventh year.
Throughout her career, Leah has had people that she looked up to. But she says that there is one person that has had the biggest impact on her life.
“I’ve always looked up to my older brother,” she said. “He’s the reason I got into swimming, not because I wanted to be like him, but because I wanted to be better than him. That has always pushed me to be the best I can be.”
Another person that has been influential in Wagner’s life is one of her teachers.
“Mrs. Karmazin is an outstanding teacher,” she said. “She taught me to love myself and others unconditionally. She also taught me the art of catching and releasing bugs.”
Leah has made a lot of memories throughout her swimming career, but she says that there are a few that stand out as her favorites.
“The highlight of my High School career was sophomore year,” she said. “Just in one state meet, I qualified for sectionals for the first time and had a part in breaking three school swimming records. It was a really great year.”
Outside of swimming for the Spartans, Leah is also a member of the Bixby Bandits club and is a member of the FCCLA program. She says that she plans to continue her swimming career at the next level.
“I plan to attend Colorado Mesa University and swim while also working towards a degree.”
