by Greg Valley
Sophomore Danielle Berish may have all the records in the pool, but she is not one to point them out. Coming from a family of triathletes, waking up at 6:30 am is the norm. Berish has disciplined herself to excel in both the classroom and the pool and boasts a 3.9 GPA.
Berish arrived at Chamblee last year and quickly made an impact on the swimming team along with friends Katherine Schlichting and Karla Zientowski.
Together, these three freshmen, along with then-junior Liz Westby, rallied together to set a new school record in the 200 Freestyle Relay.
Berish proved her skill at the DeKalb County Championship, where she placed 1st in the 50 Freestyle and 3rd in the 100 Free. She advanced to the States Championship, where she placed in the top 16 in those same two events and was also named the Most Valuable Swimmer on the Chamblee team.
She continued to train at Dynamo over the summer, even traveling to Irvine, California, to compete against the Nova Aquatics team. When not in California, she gave swim lessons and helped her summer-league team, Hampton Hall, win the 200 Medley Relay County title with a new County record.
She came back in the fall and ran cross country for her second season, helping the girls place 2nd in the County, 2nd in the Region, and 5th in the State.
After cross country was complete, she headed back to the pool where she helped set new school records in the 200 and 400 Freestyle Relays.
In 2002, she finished 2nd in the County in both the 200 and 100 Freestyle and was 5th in the 100 Freestyle at State. Berish was also recently named a Georgia All-Star Swimmer.
By the end of the season, Danielle and her friends had taken thirteen seconds off the 400 Freestyle record and four off the 200 Freestyle Relay. She recently smashed the 50 Freestyle record and has her sights set on lowering that record further next season and eventually getting the 100 Freestyle time by graduation. Commenting on high school swimming, she states, “I really enjoyed [this season]. High school swimming is more fun for me.”
Coach Buffy Wyrosdick says of Danielle, “She’s an exceptional swimmer with a great deal of talent, dedication, and determination.”