Whiz Kid of the Week: Marina Preiss Swims in Nationals for the Third Year in a Row

Name, age: Marina Preiss, 14

School:

Achievement: Marina has individually qualified for national tournament all three years she has been on the Hurricane Swim Team at the .

Key To Awesomeness: Marina is currently in Fort Lauderdale, FL for the YMCA National Championships for her individual events, the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle. She is also competing in the 200-yard free relay with three other Hurricane team members.

Marina joined the Hurricanes in seventh grade, and made it to Nationals for her 50-yard freestyle and 50 backstroke.

Last year, when she was in eighth grade, she made it for the 50-yard freestyle and 200-yard free relay team that she currently swims on.

Hurricane captain and fellow relay team member, Mikayla Mott, said “Marina is one of the strongest swimmers on the relay team,” although she is the youngest.

Now, as a high school freshman, Marina has been going to nationals practice twice a week at 5:30 in the morning right before school and Saturday practice from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Marina’s aquatic interests go beyond competition. She has been helping her mom out with Adaptive Aquatics since she was in fifth grade. It is a program to help mentally and physically disabled children and adults feel comfortable in the water.

Marina said Adaptive Aquatics “helps you learn how hard life can be for other people and it helps you build patience.”

She also helps her mom teach the synchronized swimming team, the East End Syncro Swans, on Fridays and Saturdays. Additionally, she recently took a waterfront life guarding class at the YMCA.

Out-of-water, she participates in Inclusion Recreations at East Hampton High School, a program that helps raise money for the Special Olympics. Members also go play games and interact with special education students in the high school. She said, “We learn that no one is really different, we all have things that make us different.”