Dedication drives PV swimmer to excel in sport

Posted by Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi | Feb 4, 2016 | Sports |

Navajo Times | Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi
Piedra Vista High School senior Dominique Tso (left) poses with her grandmother. Tso, Navajo, is the top swimmer for the Lady Panthers and has qualified for a number of events for the state swimming meet later this month.

FARMINGTON

When Dominique Tso was about seven years old she didn’t have the times to qualify for the finals in her state swimming events, but that didn’t stop her from trying.

She had a talk with her coach then turned around and shaved 18 seconds off in the preliminaries and made it to the finals. That will and determination would later define her young swimming career.

Tso’s longtime coach Todd Adams, assistant swim coach at Piedra Vista High School, said watching her go-getter attitude spoke volumes for her work ethic.

“It says that she wants to succeed,” Adams said. “When she decides she wants to be successful at something, she will. That’s how she’s always been.”

Now a senior captain on Piedra Vista High School’s girl’s swim team, Tso is still that eager swimmer those close to her remember her to be when she first started.

Her steadfast personality has earned her the top position on the team and one of the top positions in the state.

Tso said she started taking swim classes at the age of four at Farmington Aquatic Center and completed every necessary class to become an independent swimmer.

When classes finished, she said she wanted more.

“I wanted to be the first and only swimmer in my family,” she said. “In swimming there was very rare occasions where very Native Americans were swimming at the time.”