KAREN L. PUCKETT / special
“I’m not focused on the awards. I like to be with my friends and the competition, but I swim for the glory of the Lord.”
Lauryl Williams has been swimming for more than 12 years. Here, the Dorman swimmer tries to beat the competition, while below, she warms up with her teammates.
TIM LAMBKA / special
Lauryl williams Dorman senior swimmer TIM LAMBKA / special
L
auryl Williams holds the record in state swimming titles, and this month in Columbia she has a chance to add four more titles to the 13 she already won since the seventh grade. It’s not about the state records. “Those trophies will go away,” says her mother, Robyn. “If she’s not the person she needs to be, they won’t remember her, either.” The senior from Dorman agrees.
“I’m not focused on the awards, “ Lauryl says. “I like to be with my friends and the competition, but I swim for the glory of the Lord.” Lauryl has been swimming for more than 12 years although six of those years were not for competition. When her parents built a pool in their back yard, there was no need to swim at a club and her summer league participation came to a halt at the tender age of 6. A couple of friends got her back in the pool competitively at 12, when she began her swimming career at Dorman. Her career is expected to continue at the University of South Carolina
or Gardner-Webb University, the two colleges she currently is considering to attend next fall. “I might sign in November and I’ll go where God leads me,” Lauryl says. Her mother describes Lauryl as a natural swimmer and laughs when she says she can’t remember who even taught her to swim in the first place. “She probably took lessons at the athletic club. I don’t remember, “ Robyn says. “But she’s obviously a quick learner. God gave her a natural ability, and she has a lot of discipline.” Lauryl figures she spends at least 15 hours in the pool each week, often GAME DAY u OCTOBER 2011 33