State champion swimmer made history with Tigers

While Warren Massimini likely has great things ahead of him in life, he’s already made his permanent mark at Hahnville High School.

Massimini became the school’s first-ever state swimming champion last November, winning the Division 1 200-yard freestyle event. He bested Jesuit’s Josh Armond by less than a full second (1:43.18 to 1:44.01) to cement himself as the state’s best in the event, and his skills didn’t go unnoticed: he earned a scholarship to swim at Loyola University, becoming Hahnville’s first-ever swimming signee.

He also finished as state runner-up in the 100-yard freestyle, while helping the Tigers’ 400-yard freestyle relay team take a third place finish, and its 200-yard medley relay team a fourth place mark.

Massimini said when his championship victory set in, the feeling was amazing.

“For it to come in my senior year, it was just incredibly rewarding,” he said. “It felt like all the hard work and training paid off.”

The win was certainly the result of years of diligent work on his craft. He began swimming when he was just five years old, when he engaged in summer league competition. After attending Archbishop Rummel in his freshman and sophomore years, Massimini transferred to Hahnville as a junior. He said the Tigers community quickly embraced him and offered great support of the swimming program, something he said was a bit new to him.

“At Rummel, it’s kind of like a lot of high schools in Louisiana … swimming isn’t considered a big thing,” Massimini said. “It was different when I came here. People were a lot more vocal. It was a huge improvement and you can’t help but be motivated to do your best when that’s the case. It made every day a really awesome experience.”Freestyle, he said, is the stroke he’s best suited for. “Definitely,” he said.  “You get in and you go.”

He said a basis for his success has been the development of mental toughness, which he believes is vital for anyone with hopes of becoming a strong competitive swimmer.

“It’s a matter of being able to go and keep trying when it gets hard,” he said. “In my sophomore year, I had to push through a little bit. Things dragged on a bit more and it got tougher. When it comes down to it, you’re going to endure pain and want to stop, but you have to keep pushing on, be it in practice or in the race.”

He’s already looking forward to hitting the pool at Loyola, where he plans to major in business. After that, he hopes to attend law school.

“I find law just so interesting,” Massimini said. “I like the arguments, finding the loopholes. It’s something I can get really into.”

As far as in the pool itself, he believes he has a lot to offer the Wolfpack. The Tigers would almost certainly concur with that.

“I’m excited,” he said. It’s been a long road and it’s good to finally be able to graduate. It’s all over now, and I’m looking forward to what’s next.”

 

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