Southern Lehigh diver, Sonali Sareen competes as the only member of the diving team

Isabelle Johnson, Social Media and Web Editor

March 11, 2024

Sophomore Sonali Sareen dives into the water at the SLHS vs. Central Catholic meet.

Despite the tremendous success of Southern Lehigh’s swim team in the past, the diving team has had no members for many years; however, last year, sophomore Sonali Sareen joined the team and discovered her passion for diving.

“I have always found the sport interesting,” Sareen said. “It is also very unique compared to other sports.”

The diving team is coached by Frank Donnelly, who previously coached the team for over ten years. They practice Monday through Saturday at Emmaus High School since Southern Lehigh does not have its own pool.

Sonali is an excellent asset to the diving team and to the swim team as well. At meets, diving counts toward the overall score for the team. Without any divers in recent years, the Southern Lehigh swim team had to make up for the points lost in diving.

“The teams that had divers would automatically get the points because we had nobody to do it,” senior Genevieve Fry said. “Then we would be down points, which would cause swimmers more stress to make sure that we could get the win.”

However, now that Sonali is on the team, she can gain points in the diving sector.

Throughout swim meets, the diving section occurs after the 50 freestyle and before the 100 butterfly. Each diver completes five dives and judges score them on a scale of one to ten. With Sonali being the only diver for Southern Lehigh, there is a lot more pressure placed on her than on divers from other schools with more teammates to dive along with them.

“I feel like I have a big responsibility as the only diver,” Sareen said. “Sometimes I feel an immense amount of pressure, but most of the time, I’m not too worried because I have the support of the swim team.”

Having more than one diver would allow the diving team to score more points individually, which would help the score for the entire swim team. Sonali hopes that over her years of high school, she can promote the team to gain more members, all with different backgrounds and skill levels.

“To promote the diving team, announcements could be made during the time of winter sport sign-ups,” Sareen said.

After years without a diver, Sonali Sareen has been a great addition to Southern Lehigh’s swimming and diving team, scoring not only points, but more team spirit too.

“We all get excited for her, and she is a part of our team, so it is really cool to cheer her on,” Genevieve Fry said. “It is also cool to see how she has improved within the last year to the point where she can score significant points for the team.”

About the Contributor

Isabelle Johnson, Social Media and Web Editor

Throughout her time at Southern Lehigh, Isabelle Johnson has been a dedicated student-athlete and active member of her community. After spending three years with The Spotlight and becoming the social media and web editor, Izzy will graduate in May. She is excited to enter the next chapter of her life and plans to attend Lafayette College. There, she will major in neuroscience and swim for their Division I program. At Southern Lehigh High School, Izzy has most been involved with the high school swim team. She was a varsity swimmer for four years and qualified for the PIAA State Championships during her junior and senior seasons. “I think I'm just really proud of the team in general and being able to form so many bonds with everyone,” Johnson said. “I'm really proud of all of the progress we made as a team because I feel we have always worked really hard together, and we've made so many strides.” As a swimmer, Izzy mainly competes in sprint events and specializes in freestyle and butterfly. One of her biggest accomplishments on the swim team was breaking the individual school record in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.80 seconds. Beyond her own success, Izzy also contributed to the team through her leadership as one of the captains. Although Izzy was nervous to initially step into the role of captain, she is thankful for the lessons it has taught her about collaboration and mentorship. “I really enjoyed getting to help new swimmers. There were people who were finding their way and swimming, and I liked to be there as a voice for them or just to give them someone to talk to,” Johnson said. “Being captain also taught me a lot about being actively involved in sports instead of just being on the team.” In addition to her involvement with sports, Izzy is a member of Teen Counselors, National Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America, and Student Council. Activities such as Teen Counselors have played a vital role in helping Izzy decide what career path she wants to pursue. As a naturally friendly person, she loves getting the opportunity to work with kids as an SLHS Teen Counselor and wants to continue that by becoming a pediatric speech pathologist. “I want to pursue that because I think it would be a fun way to work with kids,” Johnson said. “It also seems really interesting to learn more about the brain and how speech works.” Izzy is most excited about the opportunity to dive more into neuroscience when she arrives at Lafayette University. Although she was able to take interesting science classes in high school, she is looking forward to more specific coursework to her career aspirations. Even more impressive than her ample extracurriculars is the positivity Izzy brings to the people surrounding her. It is evident to anyone that meets her, but no one knows this better than her close friends. “She is the one person I can call at any time if I need something and she would be there in a second,” senior Grace Robinson said. “Her positive energy could brighten anyone’s day.” In addition to her warm nature, Izzy’s perseverance is a testament to her strength. Whether bouncing back from a broken foot during the height of swim season, or managing a difficult course load, Izzy always finds a way to pull through. “One thing that I admire about Izzy is her perseverance. No matter what obstacles arose, Izzy’s grit has propelled her through them,” senior Brianna Wasem said. “She has overcome many challenges that most people wouldn’t overcome.” Izzy’s friends are also in awe of how dedicated she is to her many different activities. “Izzy is the kindest, most understanding person who is always there to support her friends,” senior Elizabeth Vezenov said. “She is optimistic, dedicated, and hard working in everything she does, all while managing Type I diabetes.” Izzy’s friends agree that her fun-loving personality is another huge part of the person she is. “My favorite memory with her is our beach trip last summer and just spending time watching TikToks and laughing,” senior Genevieve Fry said. What Izzy will miss most about high school are the friendships she has made over the past four years. Although heading off to college is a bittersweet experience for her, she chooses to look at the bright side. Her senior quote perfectly sums up her outlook on graduating high school. “I chose ‘the best is yet to come’ by Frank Sinatra for my senior quote. I really like that quote. I feel like it is fitting because I'm sad about graduating, but I also just remind myself there's so many more chapters after this,” Johnson said. “ I'll just have to keep moving on and know there'll be more experiences and more room to grow, so I feel like that's like a good code to live by.”