When Strawberry Crest senior and standout swimmer Saige Starford was asked to attend the Fall Sports Awards in the School Board auditorium last week, she was under the impression her swim team was going to be receiving an award.
It was a ruse contrived by her coaches and parents to get the star athlete to the event, where she was ceremoniously presented with the Henry Hicks Memorial Award for Outstanding Swimmer-Girls.
“It came as a huge surprise,” said Starford. “My mom told me I was going to represent the school so when I received the award I felt so honored and just very grateful because I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my coaches.”
Starford is a Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Swimming State Finalist in 2022 and 2023 for the 50 and 100 freestyle, has been a swim team captain for three years and is the school’s Swim and Dive Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2022 and 2023 for scoring the most points during the swimming season.
She is also the current school record holder for the 50 and 100 freestyle and was awarded the Schwarzkopf Leadership Award from West Point Society for juniors and seniors demonstrating exceptional performance in athletics, academics and leadership.
In addition to participation in athletics, she also is in the school’s IB program and currently has a 6.1 weighted GPA and a 3.8 unweighted GPA. She plans to attend West Point in the fall.
It may seem like she’s juggling a lot of responsibilities, but Starford said the time she spends swimming doesn’t feel like work. “Swimming is fun and I look forward to going to practices,” she said. “It’s definitely something I’m going to stick with for the rest of my life.”
Her father swam for the University of South Florida when he was in college. Now in his 60s, she still sees him swimming every day. “He’s the one who got me into swimming and is such a huge role model for me,” she said.
Saige’s mom, Brenda Starford, couldn’t be more proud of her aquatic family members. “Saige works really hard and tries her best,” she said. “She pushes her body, she pushes herself past her previous limits and delivers big each time.”