Amador Valley High School Rylee Hutchinson (’26) recently committed to the University of Southern California (USC) for swimming. She’s been swimming since she was eight, when she first asked her parents to enroll her in a swim team.
Origin
“I started at this little country club, where I went for swim lessons, and I used to see all the big kids practicing. And eventually, I asked my parents if I could join a swim team, and they said yes. That’s kind of how I got started,” said Hutchinson.
Hutchinson says that her commitment and love for the sport initially sprung from the time swimming gave her to decompress.
“I love to swim because, being in the water, that’s kind of my escape. I feel like if I have a hard day, or go through a rut in swimming. I can use that time to think no matter what. I find it very calming,” said Hutchinson.
Hutchinson was the first-ranked female swimmer at Amador for the 23-24 school year, her sophomore year on the team. Since the start of the 24-25 swim season, she’s already climbed to the 23rd rank in the Pacific Swimming division. She attributes her success to her persistence and dedication to the sport.
“I’m so proud of Rylee for her work ethic. I see all the work that she puts into practice and her commitment to swimming every single day,” said Ella Min (‘26).
Reflection
Hutchinson has experienced many happy memories during her years swimming, but some stand out more than others.
“When I won NCS, I think that was one of the happier moments, because I was going through a lot during that period and just not improving. So I think that helped me admire pushing through the hard times and persevering because [swimming] is a really hard sport and the time commitment is not always rewarding,” said Hutchinson.
The structure of swimming, with its repeated sets with short intervals, makes it different from many other sports.
“I think the hardest part is probably the time commitment. I think people downplay the hard work that everybody puts in–it doesn’t matter what level you are, you still have to practice for hours and hours on end. And the hard thing about swimming is that you can’t take a break,” shared Hutchinson.
Now officially committed to USC, Hutchinson looks forward to continuing her swimming career.
“I chose to commit to USC because [of] the balance of academics and athletics that the school provides. Along with that, I really, really love the coaching staff, and the passion they have for the school. Swimming is really important to me for college, so I looked for a program that would have the best of both worlds, and USC was kind of the one that stood out the most to me,” said Hutchinson.
