Varsity swimmer Haley Jonns competed against higher competition in her first season of Spartan Girls Swim and Dive of her high school career. 

Jonn has been swimming for eight years on the Superior Whalers Swim Team, and her family was her inspiration to get into swimming. 

In one of her years with the Whalers, she attended the Junior Olympics in Houston, Texas, where she swam the 100 backstroke and the 200 freestyle. Jonns stated that this is one of her favorite swim memories that she has.  

Jonn’s motivation is the key to her success. 

“Haley’s work ethic is good; motivation comes from goals and what you want for yourself,” Bill Punkyo said, the head coach for the girls swim and dive team.

A focus this season for the team is setting goals in order to improve personal motivation for this season. 

“It’s different swimming at the high school level then it is at the YMCA or some other level. They have to learn what that means and learn how to focus so that the practice has a very direct relation to the performances and races. That’s something that Haley and the other girls have really started to discover this year,” Punkyo said.

Not only does Jonn’s motivation come from goals, but from her teammates as well. Being a freshman can cause a lot of pressure when swimming against older athletes. 

“Everyone is just thinking about how I am a freshman on varsity,” Jonn said. 

As a result of this, Jonn’s teammates are always there to calm her down and get her ready for her races. 

Even though Jonn is swimming against older athletes, that doesn’t stop her from earning wins and reaching goals. Jonn states that dropping time is something that she has been proud of and is still working towards this season.

During the home meet against Cloquet on Sept. 18, Jonns was able to bring home a win in the 100 backstroke, and helped secure the win for the 400 freestyle team.

On Sept. 25 with a rival win against Duluth Denfeld, score 93-84, Jonns accomplished it again and was able to secure a team win in the 400 freestyle