Larsen readies for state swimming

FAIRFIELD - For Fairfield swimmer Willow Larsen, the fall of 2020 has been a season of firsts. The Trojan freshman joined her first high school team, swam in her first regional meet, and will now be competing at her first ever state meet.

After spending all year chasing a state qualifying time in the 100-Yard Backstroke, Larsen finally broke through at the Regional Swimming and Diving Meet on Saturday in Pleasant Hill, swimming a personal best 59.88 seconds to give her a fast enough time to swim at the state meet this weekend.

'I've been wanting this all year,” Larsen said. 'This is what I've been working for, so when I finally got the time, I was relieved and excited.”

It was one of the biggest moments in Larsen's swimming career, which began when she was nine-years old. She says she started swimming after watching her cousins, who were decorated in the sport, and slowly but surely rose to the top of her age group.

'I wasn't very good when I started off,” Larsen said. 'When I was around 12, I started getting to the top, and seeing that I could really be good.”

But the road to state had a few bumps. Larsen had always pictured herself going to state in the 100-Yard Breaststroke, but knee problems have recently forced her to try something else.

'Last year when I went to watch the girls' state meet, that's what I wanted to do,” Larsen said. 'This year when I started out, they just hurt so bad that I couldn't do it.”

But Larsen's backstroke has made leaps and bounds. Coming into the year, her best time was a 1:01.99, but she shed a full two seconds over the course of the year.

Of course, she couldn't have done it alone. Larsen says head coach Brittany Winslow has pushed her a lot this year to get her to where she needs to be, and the older girls on the team have been a big boost. Senior Clare Else and junior Grace Sobaski even came out to swim with Larsen on Monday when their seasons had already ended. 'They really made it easy to come onto the team,” Larsen said. 'They made it really welcoming, and I fit in right away.”

Larsen will swim on Friday in the 10th event in the state preliminaries. She says her goal coming into this year was to make the state meet, but now her eyes are set on a Top-16 qualifying time. If she hits that, she'll swim again Saturday with a chance at the state title.