For junior Reid Richardson, swimming runs in his blood.

His mother, Heather, swam collegiately at the University of Kansas and even won state in her sophomore and senior year for the Jayhawks. In Richardson’s freshman year, his mother suggested joining the swim team.

He took her advice and hasn’t looked back since.

Richardson immediately grew a strong love for the sport during his freshman year in 2017 and continued his involvement into his sophomore and junior years. 

“University of Michigan and University of Arizona have been some schools I’ve really been looking at,” stated Richardson, “I would like to continue swimming and try to get Division 1 in the future.”

Getting to a D1 school is no easy feat, and Richardson is working behind the scenes to set himself apart from his competition.

“I do lots of extra work while nobody is watching,” said Richardson, “Mainly working out on abs because they are important for swimming.”

Richardson has shown massive promise in his brief swimming career and stands out above the crowd, recently scoring a second place finish in the boys’ 100 yard freestyle at the team’s second meet at the Campus Boys Invite. He even qualified for two state events in just his sophomore season last year.

“Oh! he’s amazing!” said Cadin Tinich, sophomore. “I can honestly see him getting Division 1 in the future.” 

Richardson is known throughout the team for his speed in the water, and doesn’t act any differently during meets than he does in everyday life according to teammates. 

“He really doesn’t change much during meets,” said Tinich, “He’s honestly a really good guy.” 

Richardson has strong plans for the future and would like to continue swimming even after high school and into college. 

“If I got into a D1 school, I would like to try to get fast enough to compete at an Olympic level,” said Reid. “But if that doesn’t work out, I’d really like to work in architecture.”