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‘One stroke at a time’ Avon swimmer overcomes tragedy, makes a splash against the boys

AVON — Taking a few practice laps at her teams’ training pool on the CCSU campus, Avon High School swimmer Laura Pringle knows something about divin...

AVON -- Taking a few practice laps at her teams' training pool on the CCSU campus, Avon High School swimmer Laura Pringle knows something about diving in head first. That's because, this past season, many of Pringle's races took place against boys.

"For the high school season, we don't have a girls swim team so we do co-ed in the winter," said Pringle, who excels in the butterfly event. "So we swim against the boys."

Pringle was the only girl to make it to the All-State relay competition, according to her proud coach, Diana Cesaro.

"It's always been one of my goals to get one of the girls to be All-State," Cesaro said. "And she did it!"

Pringle's triumph was also met with tragedy. Her mother, Andrea, lost her battle with ovarian cancer in early February. Laura was determined not to miss the rest of the season.

"It has been a very tough couple of months," Pringle said. "But getting in the pool kind of helped me. For me it's one breath at a time, one stroke at a time."

Pringle will head to Burlington and swim for the University of Vermont in the fall.

She was honored at the Aquaturf in March during the All-State swimming banquet.

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