Senior Aimee Quinlan began swimming competitively at the age of six and has not stopped since. Rising early and spending the afternoons swimming with her competitive swim team, Long Island Aquatic Club (LIAC), has become the routine for Quinlan. This drive and determination are what has led Quinlan to qualify for states for the past three years.
Quinlan entered high school with the goal of making states. “Watching swimmers qualify and compete at the state meet always seemed so amazing to me since it’s such a fast and competitive meet, and ever since it was always my dream to go to this meet,” she shared.
The dream to compete at the states meet pushed Quinlan to continue to work hard in the pool; however, she was still shocked when she first qualified in the 100-meter backstroke at Divisions, the first championship meet before Counties, sophomore year. “I had been working towards this goal all season. After my race, I looked at the clock and saw that I went the exact time I needed to qualify, which was 1:00.42,” Quinlan recalled. She also recalled her excitement of finally seeing her hard work payoff and being able to have the opportunity to race with the best in the state.
Coach Dorothy Amitrano expressed her pride of having the opportunity to coach Quinlan. “Aimee is one of the special athletes that as a coach I was proud to coach. Each year she made States, she improved her time, which is very unusual. As a coach, it’s the highest event a swimmer can get, and I was blessed to see her accomplish her goals in 10th, 11th, and 12th grade!” Amitrano commented.
Quinlan swam a time of 59.61 in the 100-meter backstroke at the Division meet of this fall’s swim season. This time not only qualified her for the state meet once again but replaced the school record for the 100-backstroke event.
She competed at States Nov. 17 and 18 in Rochester, New York. The meet groups Nassau County into one team called Section VIII, turning what were competitors throughout the entirety of the season into teammates. “This is one of my favorite parts of the meet since we all get to take the bus and compete together, and it’s really a bonding experience,” Quinlan shared on her experience in being part of the Section VIII team. Quinlan dominated the first day of the meet, allowing her to make finals in the 100-meter backstroke and have the opportunity to compete the next day.
Quinlan also speaks highly of her time on the LHS varsity swim team. She speaks of the team’s comradery and the support the team has given her. “I’ve met some of my closest friends on this team, and, overall, I really love how close we are as a team, especially because I think it’s pretty rare for a whole team to get along as well as we have during the past four years,” Quinlan said.
Teammate and senior Elizabeth Charpentier spoke highly of Quinlan’s contributions to the team: “Aimee is a great teammate and captain. She is always encouraging us during practice and is so fun to be around. She is an amazing swimmer, and I know she is going to do great while swimming in college!”
Quinlan will continue swimming next fall, joining Fairfield University’s Division-I swim team. Swimming Division I has also been a goal of Quinlan’s, and achieving this goal has once again allowed her to see the payoffs of all the early mornings and hard practices she has pushed through. Quinlan said she was so proud to see her hard work payoff: “Swimming is such a big part of my life; I always knew that swimming in college was the ultimate goal and that to get scholarship money would not only help pay for college, but it would also mean that all the years I spent working towards this goal would pay off.”
