Tori Novak is one of the most influential people on the swim team and has been swimming for John Carroll throughout her three years of high school.

Tori is a junior this year, making her one of the student leaders of the swim team. She is looked up to by her teammates and is a skilled swimmer.
Fellow junior swim team member, Manna Hollin, said, “Tori has been a great inspiration for all of us. Even outside of the sport, she is a kind person who looks out for the team.”
Tori has been swimming competitively starting when she was just seven years old. Although she started even earlier just swimming, she said, “I wanted to be able to swim all year at a more intense level than just the summer team.”
Swimming may seem simple; however, the competitions have lots of different aspects. It is both an individual and a team sport because you win points individually, but you win from all of the points gathered as a team. This makes swimming a lot different from just team sports, which is one of the things that makes it special to Tori.
She said, “You train hard to get better and swim faster, but you wouldn’t always be able to do it alone. Having teammates who pushed me to come to practice and work hard helped me want to work even harder. By doing your best, you also benefit your team’s success both in and out of meets.”
With the team aspect, Tori has always felt like it has pushed her to do better. This is one of the reasons she is so inspiring to others. Being able to be an amazing swimmer individually and still be a part of the team is what her teammates have said makes her the great leader she is.
Swimming competitions work differently than other sports. Tori said, “Swim competitions are mainly won by how many points can be earned for your team. The swimmers who place high in the event that they are swimming in, usually earn points for their team. The more events your team can win or place high in, the more points you earn. The team with the most events won or points by the end of the meet wins.”