City High freshmen to watch

IOWA CITY - A look at some of the top freshman at City High.

KELSEY LAW

Kelsey Law has been playing volleyball since the second grade. While her classmates have been getting used to high school, she has been playing varsity volleyball. Law has a dedication to the sport - she practices three hours a day - she hopes will help her continue to succeed. Being one of the youngest members of the Little Hawk team phased her at first and she admitted she still gets nervous easily in her young career.

'I think (the older players) don't get as nervous in the games, and when the coaches yell at me, I still get a little freaked out,” Law said.

Even with her nerves and youth, Law said she is an all around player who brings a positive attitude to the team.

'I think I have a pretty positive attitude, I know I'm not the best player, but I feel like I help keep us up and going,” Law said.

Since she was open-enrolled to City, Law said she didn't know many people at first, but playing varsity volleyball has allowed her to become friends with the older girls on the team.

'Meeting all the seniors and sophomores and juniors who have all been super nice to me and has really helped me,” Law said. 'It's helped me even in school just seeing them in the halls and saying ‘hi' has helped me meet new friends.”

ESTI BRADY

Not many high school runners can say they have run a half-marathon. Esti Brady is different.

At 11, Brady ran a half-marathon in 1:34.39. Three years later, Brady switched to running 5Ks and has made a statement on Coach Tom Mittman's varsity squad.

'I've been proud of how I've been doing, I've been doing well,” Brady said. 'I've been on the varsity team every race, and on the team I usually rank between fourth through seventh, and I still have my whole high school career to run.”

Although Brady is an experienced runner, getting acclimated to the world of varsity athletics was a shift for her.

'My training this year is a lot different than any running I've ever done,” she said. 'I've never run six days a week before. My training has definitely, definitely helped me this season and has been a cool learning experience as well.”

Despite Brady being one of the youngest runners during a race, her sharp focus doesn't reveal her age easily.

'Most of the time my mind will focus on other runners,” she said. 'Get to this landmark, that person. I tell myself to keep moving forward even when I'm hurting. I focus on my breathing, and my form; the little things to keep me from falling apart.”

Brady's motivation for running comes after a race.

'Once I finish running, all of the hurt and hard work I put in feels so worth it,” she said. 'The feeling of accomplishment makes me want to just go out and do it again.”

The freshman ran a 19:58:6 at the state meet and helped her team win third place. Looking forward, Brady hopes to continue to be a part of the varsity team, avoid injury, improve her times and would love to place within the top 15 at state her senior year.

FORREST FRAZIER

Forrest Frazier's height and broad shoulders make many think he is a college athlete. But he's a freshman in high school who swims eight or nine times a week, does Crossfit, adds another hour of his own workouts and sticks to a strict diet to keep his body in top form.

The Little Hawk swim team will gain a valuable asset with the addition of Frazier. He is inspired by the upperclassmen on City's swim team and looks forward to what he can add this winter.

'It's inspirational to see somebody stick with the sport,” Frazier said.

Throughout Frazier's young life he's done one thing incredibly well - break records. The swimming phenom holds 17 records throughout various age groups and races, with the most recent coming in the 200 breastroke in the 13-14 year old age category this February.

Frazier swims for IFLY during the club season and hopes to continue his success into his high school career.

He wants to carry his success into high school by not only making it to state, but also winning at least one race as a freshman. However, Frazier understands he's young and needs to train hard to make these dreams a reality.

'I'm gonna achieve them by staying focused on what I need to do and working hard,” Frazier said.

ADAM ENGELBRECHT

The beautiful game is the best thing to happen to freshman Adam Engelbrecht. Soccer has taken the 5-foot-11 freshman all around the world. His club team, Iowa City Alliance, recently traveled to Denmark and Sweden to attend Danish professional soccer team FC Nordsjælland's camp.

Engelbrecht has been playing soccer for nine years and is working on his strength to improve his physicality for the school season. He hopes to earn a spot on City's varsity squad this coming spring.

'(I'm) going to the gym, I'm doing strength training with (P.E. teacher Cory) Connell right now and that's going pretty good,” Engelbrecht said of what he's doing in the offseason to prepare for the school soccer season in the spring.

Engelbrecht said he wants to eventually play soccer at the collegiate level.