Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Xin "Julie" Xiong '20 really didn't even want to swim the 200 individual medley at the Titans' meet Feb. 10 against Canterbury.
Julie, though, agreed to Coach Dan Moran's request and swam the event. With that decision came, eventually, her name being added to the school record board.
Julie set a pool mark in the 200IM, touching the wall in a time of two minutes, 15.02 seconds, topping the record of 2:15.52 set last year by Ania Axas '19.
"I tried to improve the previous meets," Julie said. "My time (has been getting) better and better but I didn't think I'd break the record. When I broke the record I was really surprised about that."
Julie has been a great addition to the team this season. Along with proving to be a strong swimmer, she's brought the other intangibles coaches like to have.
"Julie has had a great season," Coach Moran said. "She works hard every day. She's focusing on distance. Julie and Ania play off each other very well in practice. She also works well with the boys. It's been a good relationship, Julie's benefitting and we're benefitting, too."
"Having Julie has helped our team," Ania added. "I was glad she beat my record and proud of her. She's been working hard. We push each other."
Originally, compared to her club in China, Julie didn't think she was doing enough swimming at WMA. Soon, though, she was encouraged to attend morning swim. She did, and she saw her times begin to improve.
"Waking up (early) in the morning is a hard decision, but my teammates were doing that," Julie explained. "They came to morning practice, so that encouraged me to go to morning practice. I feel like Ania encouraged me the most."