This week, junior Hannah Cordes qualified for the 500-meter swim event for States and senior Amir Rasul helped the Cavailer football team by scoring two touchdowns at the game against Southwest. To read more about Amir Rasul and his passion for football, click here.

Q & A with Hannah Cordes: 

Q: How did you get into swimming? Was there a specific person or event that got you into it? 

A: I started swimming around seven to eight years ago. I started swimming because my mom swam growing up and she was like, “oh, maybe you’d like it,” so I tried it and I ended up liking it after swimming for a year.

Q: How long have you been swimming for? What’s your favorite part of it?

A: I’ve been swimming for around seven to eight years competitively but I’ve been in the water my whole life basically. My favorite part – I don’t really have a favorite part, it’s all a bunch of fun. I get to meet a lot of friends. It makes me feel good to work hard and get something out of it.

Q: How does it feel to have helped lead your team to victory?

A: It feels pretty good. Sometimes it’s a lot of pressure, but when you have a good team, it makes you feel good to get out there and get the win.

Q: Do you have any other hobbies?

A: Apart from swimming, on the weekends I like to go on the boat. My favorite activities are wake boarding and just taking pictures on my GoPro.

Q: Do you have any pre-race rituals or superstitions? 

A: I like to listen to music before my race and visualize how I’m going to do. It really helps prepare me for my race.

Q: Do you plan swimming in college? If so, what colleges are you currently looking at? 

A: I do plan on swimming in college. I thought to myself “I’ve been swimming for this long, why stop?” I haven’t really decided what colleges I’m looking at, but I wanna try to get out of Florida. I also want to try to get into a Division 1 school, but it all depends.

Q: What are your goals for states?

A: My ultimate goal is to make finals and to have fun and get my best time.