Name: Lori Cliff

Grade: Senior

Sport: Swimming

Achievements: Cliff started swimming in the fourth grade by joining a club team. She has been doing club swimming since then, as well as school swimming throughout all her years of high school. With her club teams, Cliff has swum at meets, such as New England Seniors and New England Age Groups. Cliff’s team came in ninth place at New England Age Groups and second place at New England Seniors out of 12 teams. For the Wayland High School swim team, Cliff was a DCL all star her freshman and sophomore year and helped her team both years win first place at the state championship. Her junior year, Cliff and the high school swim team came in second place at states.

Sports Idol: Cliff’s sports idol is Peyton Manning because she admires how he doesn’t solely focus on his football career; he occasionally participates in Saturday Night Live and does various commercials. “I love the way he treats the game as something so serious, but it’s not his entire life. When he steps out on the field, he’s trying to be the best he can, and he’s one of the best athletes out there,” Cliff said.

Favorite memory: Her favorite memory was from last year when her school swim team won an annual meet in Rhode Island. They were trying to win against the Weston team and for a while it didn’t look like Wayland was going to win. It came down to the last relay, which Cliff was in. It was really hard for Cliff, and they ended up losing the relay but winning the meet. “It was fun because everyone was going crazy,” Cliff said.

Quote: “I love swimming because of the hard work it encourages. I love it because you can’t fake your way to winning. If you put in the work, you do well and talent only gets you so far. I appreciate the hard work, and I enjoy putting in the work and hanging out with my friends.”