T ATHLETES
SWIMMING
Mackenzie Atencio is just fine calling herself a
name that many students might find to be just a little
bit demeaning. “My hobbies?” Atencio questioned.
“Well, I like writing and reading. I’m really just a
nerd.” She’s also pretty darn talented. Atencio leads
a very talented Mustang swim team that hopes to
secure its 11th consecutive Jefferson County League
title. A breaststroke and individual medley specialist, Atencio has committed to swim collegiately at
Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. “I just
love it there,” she said. “The campus is beautiful.
It has great academic and athletic programs, and I
know I will be able to reach my full potential.”
Name: Mackenzie Atencio
Grade: Senior, Class of 2015
GPA: 4.25 (weighted)
Favorite Class: English
Sport(s): Swimming
Club Team: Jeffco Hurricanes
Event(s): Breaststroke (100 & 200 meters),
Individual Medley (400 & 200 meters)
Hobbies: Writing and Reading
Favorite Author: John Green
College: Indiana University-Bloomington
Top Athletic Moment: “Just being able to
commit and sign to swim in college is awesome.”
Expectations for this season: “Personally, I
would love to earn All-State in the 100 Breaststroke, which means I need to finish in the top
three in state. As a team, I’m excited to spend
time and make memories with my teammates.”
Why swimming?: “I started swimming when
I was five. Part of the reason was I just wasn’t
very good at anything else.”
MACKENZIE ATEN
CIO
Coach Annie Carpenter (on Atencio): “Mackenzie is
a great girl. She has an infectious laugh and smile and
has a way of making everyone feel welcome and part of
the team. She takes her events and training seriously, but
she’s not self centered. She always finds time to encourage and cheer for her teammates...I’ve never seen her
beat herself up or be down on herself. If she has a bad
race, she’s truly able to laugh it off and say, “Oh well,
there’s always next time.” And when she has an amazing
race, she’s humble and just grins from ear to ear.
Last year, there was a girl who talked a lot of trash about
Mackenzie. At the end of the season the other girl beat
Mackenzie in a dual meet. That lit a fire in Mackenzie to
train harder and swim smarter. She blew that girl away
at League and picked up the 1st team All Conference
title. However, she never sunk to the level of trash talking, she put it all into her swimming and came out on
top. Mackenzie is well liked and well respected by her
teammates and competitors. She’s a joy to coach.”