Photo credit: Michael Roustemis

LEADING THE WAY | From her encouragement at practice to having the ability to race together at States, sophomore Mia Melhelm cherishes the moments she has shared with Avery Beal. “My favorite memories with Avery from swim, have been how supportive and comforting she has always been, and having the opportunity to swim at States with her,” Melhem said.

After 14 years in the pool, senior Avery Beal has decided to take her academic and athletic talents to Oakland University. Along this 14-year journey, she has had many accomplishments like placing 3rd and 4th in the state for her 2 individual events for swimming. Through the support she received from her family and teammates and her lifelong dedication to the sport, Avery Beal feels confident in her ability to jump into the deep end and continue going for gold. 

During his three years as Avery Beal’s coach, Christopher Trepanowski noticed Beal’s confidence in the pool. According to Trepanowski, her passion and experience inspires the rest of her team. 

“Avery leads a lot by example,” Trepanowski said.  “She has a lot of experience doing what she does and she uses that experience to help others learn new skills and to motivate them to work hard and to be their best selves.” 

Despite all of her present medals and trophies, Avery Beal didn’t always have the same love for swimming that she does now.  In fact, it took her a while to finally decide to give it a chance. 

“I started swimming lessons when I was 3 years old,” Avery Beal said. “Ironically, I hated the idea of them but my parents continued to put me in them. Eventually, I grew to enjoy the sport and really started to see a future for myself.”

Rooting for her older sister, freshman Hadley Beal believes her sister can make it to the Olympics for swimming. From seeing her sister excel, Hadley Beal wants to follow in her footsteps to become a professional swimmer.

“I feel great about Avery going to college for swimming and I’m super proud that she is going D1, I can’t wait to see her time drop and hopefully see her in the Olympics one day,” Hadley Beal said. “I plan to follow in her footsteps by going D1 someday also.” 

The different level of training between high school swim and collegiate swim is exponential, according to Avery Beal. To succeed in her next step, Avery Beal is planning to strengthen both her mind and body.

“Physically, I have been preparing with more weight room practices and pushing myself to harder expectations during practice,’’ Avery Beal said.  “Mentally, I have been envisioning my future and some big goals I will be reaching towards as I get closer to college.”  

To Avery Beal, being involved in a sport is not all about exercise, it’s also about coming together and building relationships with teammates.  She views it as a chance to create a strong team chemistry as well as an opportunity to keep striving to be better.

“Regarding the team itself, I enjoyed becoming close with all the girls and seeing everyone progress,” Avery Beal said. “Individually, I enjoyed being able to rise through the years and eventually become a captain of the team. I have also really enjoyed realizing my potential within the sport and being able to help my team achieve greatness.”

  Although Avery Beal is taking her talents to college, she is leaving behind a legacy of hard work and dedication that girl’s swim will both remember and admire. 

“For the girls that know her, I mean they’re not going to forget her, and that drive and that passion that she has that’s something that is definitely going to stick with them,” Trepanowski said. “Her success that she’s had in the pool that’s gonna stick around for a long time too.”