Kendra Gomez, 17, who is a senior at SBHS, started seeing swimmers on TV as a little girl.
“When I saw the fast dives into the water I knew I wanted to start swimming,” said Gomez.
She first started swimming when she was six. She joined a club and then joined the swim team for her school. Gomez took years to realize what events she really wanted to perfect in. When she hit her freshman year, she had decided on doing the 200 IM, or individual medley, and 100 backstroke.
“She has perfected many skills over her four years in high school; she also competes and practices with club swimming,” said her high school swimming coach, Ana Onet. “Gomez would always go above and beyond for this sport.”
Kendra is well motivated and determined to always do her best. After hours of school practices, she would still go practice again for club swimming. A lot of hard work was put into this, and it paid off.
In her junior year, Gomez placed second in the 200 IM in regionals, and then went to states. In her senior year, she won at the district and regional level, almost making it to states.
Many people adore Gomez for her hard work and her ability to stay humble. She never brags or states out loud about her wins, and she keeps to herself, but when it is her time to shine, she shows everyone her amazing achievements.
“Kendra is very humble and kept to herself,” said Taylor de Don, one of her teammates in the school team.
The senior also takes her education very seriously, as she knows you cannot get far without having one. She plans on going to Saint Thomas University, and is currently taking dual enrollment classes at Broward College. However, Indian River College has already given her an offer and acceptance into the college. She is searching for different college candidates as well.
During her high school experience, Gomez made sure her grades and education were her top priority. She applied for different scholarships with her swimming achievements and she has good grades. Teammates can attend to this. When no one had the time to help Joel Cea, senior at SBHS, she took the matter into her own hands to help a fellow swimmer.
“Kendra helped me work on my breaststroke,” said Cea, the SBHS swim team captain.
