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10/01/2024 11:22 AMIsabel Torello has a lot on her plate, but no task seems too daunting for the senior from Guilford High School. Whether it’s competing for her high school and club swim teams, or instructing others in the pool, Isabel is consistently striving to be her best and never allows any one commitment to be less of a priority.
“She has an amazing head on her shoulders,” says Wesley Crozier, Torello’s swimming coach with the Soundview YMCA Stingrays. “It just goes to show that no matter what she does in life, she’s going to be successful. She’s 100% committed to her club team, she’s 100% committed to her high school team, she’s 100% committed to her academics, and she’s 100% committed to helping the community.”
Isabel is an All-Conference swimmer and Scholar-Athlete, but that’s not all. She’s also an impassioned instructor, dedicated to giving back to others to uplift the sport she loves. Isabel sees the success that competing towns like Amity and Cheshire have had in swimming and wants to raise the bar in Guilford, as well.
With assistance from the Guilford High School booster club, local YMCA, and others, Isabel helped usher in the start of a fifth grade learn-to-swim program in town. It’s part of her commitment to strengthening the sport of swimming in the years to come. Throughout the summer, she held both one-on-one and group training sessions for more than a dozen students attending Baldwin Middle School, in hopes that they’d find the same love for the sport that she has and stay involved as they inch closer to being in high school.
“I think it’s really important that in the coming years, we continue building the team to compete with bigger programs,” Isabel says. “Every Sunday, me and my (high school) teammates stay after to run the program. It’s really exciting because I’m a swim instructor all summer. We were trying to brainstorm ways to increase interest and numbers in coming years. Ultimately, this is what we decided to do.”
For Isabel, the benefit is two-fold. In addition to building team camaraderie, she is also passing along her wisdom to future athletes. At the moment, the Grizzlies girls’ swim team has roughly 20 members, which is only half that of Amity. For someone as dedicated as Isabel is, she wants to ensure that Guilford can finally be put on the map, competing against the best teams in the pool that the state has to offer. Additionally, she finds a sense of thrill in uniting her teammates for a common cause.
“I’m so passionate about the sport, and I love sharing my passion with others,” Isabel says. “It’s also exciting to see how the team comes together in a little bit of a different setting.”
Isabel certainly has a lot of experience on which to lean. She is skilled in several events, including the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 500 freestyle. A three-time All-Southern Connecticut Conference pick at Guilford, she’s also competed twice in the CIAC State Open. Additionally, during the club season, Isabel qualified for the YMCA National Championship. The accomplishments may go on and on for her, but the thing that truly makes it all possible is her round-the-clock mentality, working day in and day out to find new ways to improve her craft.
“She’s just incredibly consistent in both presence and attitude,” Crozier says. “The thing that sets Izzy apart is she shows up every day, and she’s on time every day. She has a ready-to-do-the-work attitude. She’s always prepared, physically and mentally.”
Swimming has taken Isabel to new heights, and she plans to continue her journey in the pool next year at Sacred Heart University. Isabel — whose other hobbies include reading, skiing, tennis, and hiking — chose the Fairfield-based school over Providence, Holy Cross, and Colby. Part of her thinking was she wanted to stay close to home, albeit not too close, to be able to stay connected with family.
“I have two little sisters (ages 10 and 15), so I definitely want to be close to them,” Isabel says.
But first, before she hits the books and becomes truly independent on a college campus, there’s still a season to play out. Guilford is currently 2-2 through its first four meets of the fall. Isabel says she has “only positive things to say” about her performance, though she is always striving to get faster. That’s a given. As the campaign goes on, Isabel hopes to keep her team focused and locked in at all times, on both a team and individual basis.
Crozier has seen Isabel shine in many different events in the pool, but there is one that stands out to him in particular when it comes to defining her skill set.
“Izzy has a little bit of speed and a little bit of longer endurance,” Crozier says. “You bring those two together in the 200, and it just works really well. She swims a pretty good 100, she swims a pretty good 500, and she swims a really good 200.”
Isabel is grateful for her success, but you won’t find her boasting about it. As Isabel continues to hone her abilities, she approaches everything with a humble attitude. That, Crozier says, is part of what sets her apart.
“She’s deserving of this recognition because of the amount of quiet work that she does all year long in the pool, the classroom, and in the community,” Crozier says. “It’s not something that she asks for at all. She does the right thing all the time. She’s amazing, she really is.”