Pedro Cerino Rico said he thoroughly enjoyed competing in an USA Swimming zone meet Aug. 7 and 8 in Elkhart.
“It was a lot of fun. It was great because I got to see all the swimmers and how they swam,” the Seymour High School sophomore said. “There was a lot of good competition. I learned some things from watching other swimmers.”
Cerino swam the 50 and 100 freestyles and competed in the 13-14 boys age group.
His most successful event was the 100 freestyle, where he placed fifth with a time of 56:20.
“I had a great race,” he said. “I could have done better, but I’m happy with my results. My 100 time was a national cut.”
Cerino placed 20th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.37.
“He was representing the state of Indiana at this meet,” Seymour head coach Dave Boggs said. “I’m real happy he went. This will give him big-meet seasoning down the road.”
The zone meet was made up of swim teams from several Midwest states, and Cerino helped the Indiana team win the 10-team meet. Wisconsin was second and Ohio was third.
Cerino swam for the Seymour boys team last winter and helped the 400 freestyle place first in the Floyd Central Sectional and qualify for the state meet.
“I love swimming,” he said. “I like to compete a lot. Swimming is something I’m passionate about.”
Cerino said he likes swimming the freestyle sprints for the Owls. When asked about where he hopes to swim this coming winter, he said, “I don’t know. It depends on what coach Boggs wants.”
Cerino said he will be ready for the 2021-22 season when preseason conditioning begins in October.
“When the preseason starts, I’ll be there,” he said. “I’m ready to start conditioning again.”