By Sonia Bhati ’14, Contributor.
Perhaps you’ve seen her in the hallways; she’s tall and muscular, and you know instantaneously that she has to be a swimmer. Allie Wooden ’15, is a new student at CCDS, and is, in fact, an incredible swimmer. This past summer, Wooden and her swimming relay team got 7th place in the nation for the 400 freestyle. At Junior Nationals Wooden also swam the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 800 free relay and 400 medley relay. Inspired by her cousins who swim competitively, Wooden has been swimming for 10 years and is very excited to be part of the CCDS team.
As a new student, Wooden is very happy to be part of the CCDS community. She recently moved from Kansas, but quickly picked up on Cincinnati favorites such as Graeter’s, and is now a Buckeye Blitz lover. Her favorite subjects are math and English, including Mrs. Dunn’s infamous Honors English 12. Wooden says “don’t get me wrong—English is tough. But Mrs. Dunn has inspired me to work hard.”
This winter will be Wooden’s first time swimming on a high school team, as she participated in only club swimming last year. Due to a Kansas state law, swimmers cannot practice with both high school and club teams and Allie wanted to practice with her club team. Wooden has heard of the CCDS past relay teams’ successes and hopes to build on them this winter. She will also swim for the Cincinnati Marlins, an extremely competitive club team.
Wooden enjoys swimming the 50 meter freestyle the most, but while swimming backstroke, she feels like a “pinball.” A fan of Ryan Lochte, Allie loved watching the Olympics this summer. She was disappointed the USA relay team lost to the French, so she set her desktop background as Lochte. “I had to change it though,” she says. “Too many people made fun of me!” she said sadly, but this die-hard fan found a place for Lochte on her I-pod cover.
Unfortunately we will have to wait till later in the season to see Wooden in action because she cannot swim on a high school team and participate in club meets. However, I am sure that when we do, she will be exciting to watch.
