Ian Welch swims to success

Georgia Panagiotidis
Veritas Staff

Ian Welch swims in a recent meet.

Both referees hush the crowd. The slight smell of chlorine fills the area. One by one each boy steps onto the diving board. For a moment everything seems still. The water slows down to a point where it looks like glass that could shatter in an instant.  

One boy stands out among the rest. For a second he looks calm. He takes his starting position and waits for that sound he knows by heart. The buzzer goes off. He takes off with an enormous leap forward and the only feeling when he hits the water is that no one can beat him. He leaves the other five boys in his wake cutsting through the water like a knife cuts through cake.

In the second grade on the Weymouth Rec Team, RHS sophomore, Ian Welch discovered something that he loved. With the passion to learn, and determination to succeed, Ian has become a successful swimmer on the RHS swim team.

One goal Ian is sure to accomplish is to make States this year. In each meet he swims effortlessly in all three of his events, which are 1 Fly with a time of one minute and three seconds, 500 Free clocked in at five minutes and  five seconds, and  50 Free timed at twenty five seconds.

“Welches” as his swimmates call him, has  no traditions before a meet, but his favorite food which he enjoys the night before is spaghetti and meatballs. Even though he has no secret rituals, Leah DeCecco and Ian get ready for their meets by singing I’ll Make A Man Out of You from the Disney movie Mulan.

In his swimming career, Ian has had one coach make a lasting impression on him. His coach from his club team, Weymouth Waves, Susan. He says, “She helped me fix my strokes and helped me take my swimming to the next level.”

Ian’s idol is Olympic gold medalist, Michael Fred Phelps. He says, “Phelps is an amazing swimmer. He works hard and accomplishes whatever he wants to do.”

Ian Welch before a meet. photos by Georgia Panagiotidis

The sophomore has made an impressions on many of the students at RHS and on the swim team. Leah DeCecco says, “Ian is a very successful swimmer.” Captain, Lilly Margolis said, “He is a hard worker and he’s determined.”  

Ian is not sure what he wants to pursue after high school.  He says he has thought about business or engineering as majors. Kayla Frazer stated, “I definitely believe he will go places in his future.”

Out of the pool, Ian excels in cross country and track and field. His best time on the home course is five minutes and forty seven seconds. The fastest 5K he has run has been seventeen minutes and thirty six seconds. Also, for track his shortest time in the mile is five minutes and twenty six seconds. Along with the mile he runs the two mile with a time of eleven minutes and thirty seconds.

Some of his other interests are water and snow skiing. Ian is a great friend and has great sportsmanship. Sarah Margolis said, “Ian cheers for everyone and encourages everyone to do great and try their best.” She also stated, “He is a great friend because he is respectful, kind, sweet.” Sarah quickly added as she smiled widely,  “Ian is funny… occasionally.”

As every stroke quick slides through the water, he looks almost like a flying fish. He’s in the lead and nothing and no one can stop him. Tired and out of breath his endurance keeps pushing him forward. He finally passes the flags and every tired thought is pushed out of his mind as he sprints to the wall. Ian Welch has done it. He has won his race.