Smalling has big plans

Aislinn Smalling If everything goes according to plan, Westlake High senior Aislinn Smalling will be attending Princeton this fall, pursuing a degree in neuroscience and psychology.

She'll also be swimming for the Tigers while trying to qualify for future Olympic Games.

"I want to study something that will get me in the field of sports medicine, because then I could combine my two loves- swimming and academics," Smalling said.

"I see so many swimmers get burned out or quit because of injuries that it would be very satisfying to help kids avoid that."

Last season, 18-year-old Smalling helped the WHS girls' swim team capture its first CIF championship since 1985 and in the process broke the school record for fastest time in the 200 IM with a mark of 1:49.88.

"The CIF championship was my proudest moment with Westlake because it was the first time in 22 years the girls' team had won," Smalling said. "It was an amazing experience, and only a few people are able to say that they were CIF champions in high school."

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers SUPER SWIMMER- Aislinn Smalling helped lead the Westlake High girls' swim team to last year's CIF-SS Division II championship. Westlake head coach Todd Irmas was thrilled to see Smalling break the record on the same day the Warriors won a title.

"When a swimmer becomes as good as she is, the slightest time decrease means a lot," Irmas said. "She went from a 1:51 to a 1:49, and that may only be two seconds, but to her it's a lifetime."

Smalling first began swimming at age 6, and by the time she was 10 she'd joined the CLASS Aquatics Swim Club. Irmas had already heard about Smalling by the time she came to Westlake and was looking forward to having her on the team.

"By her freshman year she was already flirting with AllAmerican status," Irmas said. "Her competitiveness and drive set her apart. Many people work hard on their swimming, but she just seems to have that extra getupand-go.

"In my 18 years of coaching at Westlake and Beverly Hills High, I've never seen a better swimmer in her events."

Beginning today, Smalling will try to prove she is one of the best swimmers in the nation when she competes in the National Club Association Junior Nationals in Orlando, Fla.

This June, Smalling will compete in the Janet Evans Invitational at USC. Although she'll be trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials, Smalling knows that making the cut will be extremely difficult.

"The Olympics are probably not realistic for me right now," Smalling said. "To make the Olympics you just have to be so fast, and there are already so many great swimmers in this nation. . . .

"The way I see it, if I'm swimming faster in four years than I am right now, then I'll be just as happy as if I made the Olympics," Smalling said.

Although Irmas agreed that the Olympics this year probably won't happen for his swimmer, he still has confidence in her making the Games in 2012.

"Certainly Beijing is too soon," Irmas said. "But she's going to be swimming at a great program in Princeton and in four years, who knows? If she stays with it like she has and is still enthusiastic about swimming, why not?"

Before Smalling attends Princeton, however, she's glad to be competing at WHS for one more spring.

"My club team is great, but I love competing at the high school level, too," Smalling said. "Club seems to become more and more about the individual and not as much about the team. At Westlake, I need to get first place because the team needs me to get first place."

In its attempt to repeat as champions, Smalling has noticed a more dedicated Warrior team.

"After winning CIF, more girls were joining a club team and coming to morning practices," Smalling said. "It's nice to see the girls get rewarded for all their hard work."

As for winning back-to-back CIF titles, Smalling said anything can happen.

"CIF is going to be interesting this year because of all the variables involved with it being an Olympic year," she said.

"Do we have a shot at winning a title again? Yes. Do other teams have a shot? Yes. I don't want to sound too confident that we're going to win it again, but I also don't want to dismiss it, either."