San Marcos girls swim team earns CIF academic state title

Members of the San Marcos Girls swimming team, top row, from left: Megan Riley, Halie Johnson, Ashley Wagner, Natalie Chilton, Sarah Switzer, Hannah Turk, Frannie Kuesis, Emma Del Sol. Bottom row: Alex Brown, Sara Thwing, Dasha Depew, Hannah Koper. Not pictured: Brittny Hummel, Rose Koper.

San Marcos High School received some great news this week to begin the school year.

The girls swimming team learned it was named Academic State Champions for the 2010-2011 school year. Each year, the California Interscholastic Federation names 27 teams from 16 sports Academic State Champions, based on unweighted, 4.0 scale collective grade point averages. This past school year, San Marcos was the top academic school for student-athletes in all of CIF-Southern Section, which consists of 581 high schools along the Central Coast and in Southern California.

Head coach Brian Roth was excited and proud when he received the news.

“I am very proud of all the hard work (by the team members) in and out of the pool,” he said. “I think that this award highlights our girls’ dedication to all aspects of their lives. Many people ask me what the secret is to having a great athletic program. Time and time again I answer: Great kids, and great parents. Our girls are good people who are learning to make responsible life decisions and lead meaningful lives.”.

Team members were also proud of the news.

“Last year, we had really good chemistry on the team and we all worked hard in the pool and in the classroom,” senior Ashley Wagner said. “This makes me really proud to be a Royal and makes the upcoming season even more exciting.”