SOL Boys/Girls Swimming Notebook (1-5-17)

Swimmers from Bensalem, CB South and Cheltenham are featured in this week’s notebook.

National Conference

Peace Senkungu, Bensalem
Anyone who knows Peace Senkungu must wonder when the Bensalem senior sleeps.
In addition to being the captain of the girls swim team, she is the president of the Varsity Club, runs cross country and spring track, is a member of the National Honor Society, the Reading Olympics, the Multi-Cultural Club, the Yearbook and plays mallet percussion in the band.
She also volunteers at St. Mary Medical Center and helps out the children’s program at her church, Neshaminy Valley Baptist.
“In order to do all the things I want to do I got better at time management,” she said. “It’s a great life lesson not to procrastinate.”
The Owls have had their struggles but have two wins so far this year.
“We just broke our losing streak last year, so for us to have two wins is really exciting,” she said. “Half of our team is new swimmers. We had a lot of new people come out for intramurals and a lot of them stayed, which we really needed.
“I really enjoy mentoring the new swimmers. When I went from just doing swim lessons to trying to swim competitively it was a big adjustment, and I want to help them with that.”
She is undecided on a major but is leaning toward pre-med or biology and has been accepted by West Chester, Temple and the University of the Sciences. She is waiting to hear from George Washington, Lehigh and Penn State.
“I can see myself continuing to swim on a club team or intramurals,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to give it up.”

Continental Conference

Dan Han, Central Bucks South
It was his father’s honest assessment that led Dan Han to swimming.
“I used to play soccer but my dad told me I wasn’t very good at it,” the Central Bucks South junior said. “I wanted to pick up another sport so I chose swimming, and I think I did the right thing.”
He has been swimming since age seven but has been a more serious swimmer since age 10, when he began USA swimming.
His top events are the 50 and 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly and he aims high.
“I would like to final at states in the 100 freestyle and 50 free,” he said. “That would be my big goal. I didn’t get to states last year because I didn’t have a good district meet but that was a learning experience for me. I swam with the big boys and it was a lot of fun.
“This year I’ll have more of a feel for it and hopefully better results.”
He would like to swim in college but hasn’t chosen a school or major.
“I still have time to work that out,” he said. “Right now I’m concentrating on our team and this season.   
“I’d like to see us continue to grow as a team. I don’t care about the scores so much as I want us to be a solid team.
“I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season. I think we’re going to do really well. The best part of the end of the season is looking back at all the progress we’ve made and this year when we look back I think we’re going to see a lot.”

American Conference

Morgan Sloan, Cheltenham
Morgan Sloan was a swimmer as a youngster, but the sport can be stressful and she took a break.
“Swimming really is a grind and I stepped away from it,” she said. “That turned out to be the best thing for me. In those couple years off, I really matured and when I decided to come back to it, I was ready.”
She has been a member of the Cheltenham squad all four years of high school and this is her second year as a team captain.
“My goals are to be an encouraging team leader, drop time and keep a positive outlook especially this year because it’s my last year on the team,” she said. “I’m very appreciative of the label of captain and I take it seriously. I try to push myself even more than I did before.
“I’ve dropped a lot of time in the 500 freestyle and my goal for that is to be under six minutes and I think I can do it.”
“For our team, I’d like to see us have a really good record, and I want the girls to learn how to motivate themselves.”
In addition to swimming, Sloan is also a member of the girls lacrosse team and is the chairperson for Cheltenham’s Mini-Thon, which raises funds for pediatric cancer.
She would like to major in political science and has been deferred by her top choice, Michigan, and accepted by Vermont. She is also considering Penn State and Pittsburgh.
“I definitely want to swim club in college,” she said. “It’s a great way to stay in shape and meet people and I still want that feeling of being part of a team.”