Sports

Happy to be a tree

Jennifer Coon, Copy Editor

October 28, 2015

Senior Megan Byrnes, the 14th ranked recruit of the Class of 2016 for swimming, verbally committed to Stanford University in July this summer. Byrnes said that her choice of attending the university in Palo Alto in the fall was the best for her future, and it was the perfect fit of academics and swimming. Stanford, in her opinion, offers the best academics for her, which was more important than swimming, but it worked out that the Cardinal has a great swim team as well.

Byrnes first visited Stanford in April with Janet Hu, another asset of the Oakton swim team who graduated in 2014, and as she wandered around the campus, she knew that was where she wanted to go. She also went on a biking tour around the campus, and said the campus and pools were beautiful. Before committing to the Cardinal in July, Byrnes’s other choices were Cal, UVA, Texas, Florida, and USC.
Megan met the swim team in April on her first visit, and on a trip two weeks ago. Byrnes describes the team and the coaches as amazing, and some of her favorite people in the world. She is excited for next year, and especially can’t wait for the beautiful weather and “being tan all the time,” said Byrnes.

About the Contributor

Jennifer Coon, Copy Editor

As a veteran of the Oakton Outlook, Jennifer (right) has seen the paper and her skills evolve since the beginning of her time as a member of the staff. This year, Jennifer is a junior and copy editor of the paper for the second consecutive year. She is also one of the managers for the swim team and involved in many clubs with leadership positions, such as Oakton Swim Club. Some of her passions are writing and coaching for Special Olympics, and her goal for this year is to build a bridge between her interests and writing to give the Oakton community a glimpse into students at Oakton that are often left on the sidelines. By doing this, Jennifer hopes to achieve that the stigma around mental disabilities is reduced and students are more aware of this topic. In the future, Jennifer hopes to attend The Ohio State University as an English major with a minor in Professional Writing. Her favorite quote is the Special Olympics athlete oath: "Let me win. And if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."