This season the boys varsity swim team has made great improvements. For the first time in almost ten years, the team is expected to be PAL league champions. A lot of this recent success can be attributed to sophomore all star Nico Camerino, this month’s top student athlete.
Camerino started swimming at the age of 12, a relative newcomer in a sport where most successful athletes start before they turn eight. His hard work translated to immediate success, and he has been making waves since.
Since he started swimming, Camerino has overcome immense obstacles yet remains one of the top swimmers in the nation. With a height of 5’6, Camerino is oftentimes a full head shorter than those swimming next to him.
“Sometimes when I’m swimming next to someone much bigger than me, I can tell they don’t take me so seriously. I ignore it because it really doesn’t matter who is bigger, it’s who finishes first,” said Camerino.
Along with his height disadvantage, Camerino suffers from asthma. In a sport where oxygen intake is the only way to survive, he is oftentimes unable to breathe.
Since freshman year at Carlmont swimming, Camerino has been a vital addition to the team. As a freshman, he set junior varsity records in the 100 free and 200 medley relay at PALs.
He is also seen as a leader by many of his teammates. “Nico is always the first one in and the last one out. He is the one that is always motivating us as a team and is kind of like the glue that holds the boys varsity team together,” said varsity teammate Trevor Weden.
After last year’s successful season, Camerino has made big improvements. In a dual meet versus Mills, he had an incredible race in the 200 free against his rival, Jake Lin, and finished a mere two hundredths of a second ahead of him. His time of 1:48 is less than a second away from the Carlmont record. Along with that, he is currently ranked third among all sophomores at CCS in the 200 free.
“This year I want to win PALs in the 100 free and 200 IM against last year’s champion. Also I want to make finals at CCS in the 200 free while getting the school record in it as well.” said Camerino.
Camerino credits his success in the pool to his hard work and dedication, something that has also helped him achieve high grades and test scores.
This past semester he finished with an outstanding 4.5 GPA. Next year he plans on taking six AP classes and continue being on the honor roll for the rest of his high school career. His college choices include Stanford, Harvard, and Berkeley, all schools with a division one swimming program.
Camerino has high expectations for the rest of his swimming career at Carlmont. He plans on breaking as many varsity records as he can and take his swimming talents to a top ten ranked swimming college. With his high grades and impressive swimming talents, he is sure to continue making waves for a long time.
