Luciana Thomas
SENIOR / HAAS HALL ACADEMY, FAYETTEVILLE
OUTSTANDING PLAYER: GIRLS SWIMMING
>> WHY SHE WON
It’s only natural that Luciana Thomas, 18, developed a love for swimming — her parents both swam for Old Dominion University, and her brother Antonio and her twin sister, Martina, are also competitive swimmers. “I learned to swim before I could walk. My parents taught me with diaper dolphin lessons,” Thomas said. At age 9, she began swimming competitively for the Razorback Aquatic Club Aquahogs and has swum for Haas Hall Academy throughout her high school career. She capped off this year with four state championships, winning the 200-meter individual medley (2:03.68) and the 100 butterfly (55.40) and helping win victories for the school’s 200 medley relay (1:46.97) and 400 freestyle relay (3:47.65) teams. These accomplishments have earned Luciana recognition as this year’s All-Arkansas Preps Outstanding Player of the Year for Girls Swimming. “Luciana is an athlete who is dedicated to her craft,” said Rebecca Moll, swim coach for Haas Hall Academy. “She is a great scholar-athlete. Her drive is not only in the pool; it is in the classroom as well.” Thomas holds a weighted grade-point average of 4.2 and has committed to swim for the University of Notre Dame this fall. While Luciana is a swimmer, she does not let swimming define her life, said her mother, Stephanie Thomas. “She has dreams of being an international humanitarian and dreams of exploring the world and helping people,” Stephanie said. Luciana said she developed an interest in world culture at a young age. “My mom and her parents used to live in the Middle East, and I’ve always loved hearing stories about it from my grandparents,” she said. Luciana said she looks forward to her college career. “Notre Dame has some of the best academic programs, as well as a great swim program,” Luciana said. She plans a double major in political science and Arabic and hopes to someday work in an ambassadorial role.
I AM REALLY EXCITED and honored to be given this title. Our team did really well this season.” — Luciana Thomas, OUTSTANDING PLAYER OF THE YEAR FOR GIRLS SWIMMING