EDWARDSVILLE – Lydia Fernandez of the Paddlers Swim Club in Granite City had a good showing at the Southwestern Illinois Swimming Association championship meet July 21, 2024, at the Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center on the campus of Edwardsville High School.
Fernandez was a part of the girls 11-12 200-yard medley relay team that came in third at 2:33.84, finished seventh in the 50-yard freestyle at 34.09 seconds, came in sixth in the 100-yard individual medley at 1:27.29, finished fourth in the 50-yard breaststroke at 43.66 seconds, and was a member of the 200-yard freestyle relay team that placed third at 2:15.30.
Lydia is a Stillwater Senior Living Female Athlete of the Month for Granite City.
In her interview, which was conducted during the meet, Fernandez expressed satisfaction with her overall performance, cutting her times down in all of her races.
“I dropped time on almost every one of my races, so I think did well overall,” she said.
During the meet, almost all the Pirates swimmers did indeed cut down their times, and also cut down on the number of their disqualifications, which Fernandez saw as a positive sign.
“I think our team had a good day at the SWISA Meet, too,” she said.
Fernandez saw her overall body of work this season as positive and upbeat, with much improvement as the year went on. She also saw room for improvement, along with looking forward to a move-up in age groups, to 13-14.
Fernandez specializes in the breaststroke, and is also looking ahead to her future in swimming, seeing it as a positive one, indeed.
“I want to get faster in my (individual medley) time,” Fernandez said, “and get better at, like butterfly, and all those.”
It’s a lot of work ahead, but Fernandez feels very confident in her improvement as she moves along in swimming.
“I do winter swim to help out,” she added.
Again, congrats to Fernandez on her Stillwater Senior Living Female Athlete of the Month accolade.
