Diamond Bar High School senior Ashlyn Woo has been raised into a life full of swimming, having been introduced to the sport as a toddler at the tender age of three and swimming competitively at six.

She has competed at multiple swim meets as part of the DBHS team this year, bringing home two placements at the CIF Division 1 Hacienda League Finals. At the event, Woo placed third out of 10 swimmers in the 500 Free with a time of 5:51.65, breaking her personal record by 1.39 seconds. She also earned CIF consideration with a fifth place finish out of 24 swimmers in the 100 Breast category in 1:10.36.

“Having a positive mental attitude is what makes you a better swimmer,” Woo said via Instagram. “Anyone can drop time and go fast, but learning how to be positive even when you don’t go fast and being positive around teammates is what sets you apart.”

Since starting competition as a child, Woo has shaved off time by practicing six days a week for years.

“It was an hour of practice a day six days a week. As I got older, the practice times got longer from one hour to 1.5 hours to two hours, still six days a week Monday-Saturday,” she said.

As a swimmer for the DBHS team this year, Woo has dropped her time in her main event, the 100-meter breaststroke, at every single swim meet.

“Honestly, I can’t imagine my life without it. Swimming has been such a big part of my childhood and high school career. Being a student athlete is and will always be a part of my life,” Woo said. “Swimming is a part of who I am as a person and it’s what makes me, me.”

The student athlete said she believes that swimming has had a profound impact on her mindset and outlook on life.

“I think it [swimming] has definitely changed my mindset when going into races… I push myself to go faster by telling myself that I will go certain times,” Woo said. “Sometimes I drop and sometimes I don’t, but I remain positive regardless because swimming is always about growth.”

Next school year, Woo will be swimming for Chapman University in Orange County.