Diving into a state swimming competition after just one swim season is no simple feat. But, 17-year-old Tahjari Williams made it look easy.

The SBHS junior placed 16th in the 2024 Florida State Competition 50-meter freestyle, beating out 24 swimmers to earn a spot in the B final which is a group of the second fastest swimmers placing usually between 9th and 16th with a time of 21.97.

His SBHS swim coach Mrs. Ana Onet certainly proud of him.

“He is improving a lot,” said Onet. “He’s now doing swimming and water polo practice.”

Coach Onet has been coaching him since the beginning of the year, and he was very excited when she found out that he would be going to the states.

“I wasn’t surprised because I realized his skills the minute that I met him,” she said

Originally from Turks and Caicos, Williams came to SBHS because he no longer had a coach. His love for swimming came from his passion for marine biology and wanting to explore the ocean.

“You see the land all the time looking at everything, but we don’t look at what’s under the water. So I find the ocean very fascinating,” said Williams.

He grew up in Turks and Caicos and has been swimming competitively since he was ten. Inspired by his uncle, a boat captain who introduced him to the world of diving, he developed a love for the sport. He spent a lot of time with his uncle, helping with diving equipment at his company called Beaches. His uncle had invited him to go snorkeling, and that’s when he fell in love with swimming.

“We saw lionfish, we saw stingrays, and we saw hawksbill sea turtles, a loggerhead sea turtle, and we also saw a shark. I felt amazed when I went with him,” said Williams.

At the age of 11, he competed in the Couch Race, an all ages 2.5 mile ocean swim near Grace Bay Beach, he had only been swimming for one year, and he placed 50th out of 130 people. For him, it was a learning experience and motivation to get better.

“It shows you that even though you thought that you were the best, there’s still people that are better than you. So it was an eye-opener,” he said.

Last year his family made the move to South Florida, and he landed at SBHS not knowing it was a marine magnet school he was excited to see that a marine biology class was a science option. After looking over the course card, now he is a student involved in the marine biology program and next year will take ACE Marine 1. Williams is planning to get into the outboard marine program.

“The one thing I don’t like is that I can’t go to the highest level of the class because you have to be in the class for a year. So, I’m essentially stuck at where I am,” said Williams.

For college, he wants to study both marine engineering and marine biology because he wants to be an on-field marine biologist.

“My plans are to continue swimming in college and also do marine biology and marine engineering,” he said.