Carstyn Lesser is a typical seventh grader. She loves hanging out with friends and family. She is also a competitive swimmer who set a personal goal to break a record in at least one event; this summer she broke four.

Carstyn has been swimming for as long as she can remember, starting on a competitive swim team when she was 6.

Swimming is in her blood – her mom, grandfather and great aunt were all competitive swimmers in college and even in the Olympics. “My grandfather is one of my best friends, and he really taught me how to love swimming,” Carstyn said.

Currently Carstyn swims for The Village at Castle Pines summer neighborhood team, the Village Stingrays, whose meets are held locally. The team practices at the Canyon Club pool. She also swims at the club level for the Denver Swim Academy (DSA), competing all along the Front Range and across the country.

Carstyn is in the pool every day for practices and multiple times a day during the summer to accommodate both teams. She explained, “Swimming is my time to unwind and just clear my mind of everything else that I have going on in life and with school.” Freestyle is her favorite stroke.

With a goal to always keep improving and performing at her best, Carstyn had a specific swim goal since she was a little girl: to see her name on the record board at the neighborhood pool. “I knew I had a great chance since my times were pretty strong coming over from DSA,” she said about this year’s Stingray summer season.

And she was right. Carstyn broke four records. “I was so happy and proud of myself for reaching my goal. I am even more surprised now that I got four of them!” she exclaimed. It will hit home as reality after the record board is updated and she sees her name four times. Carstyn has records in backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and medley relay.

The Lesser family’s living arrangements are a little complicated, with Carstyn and her dad living in the Village, her mom close by in Centennial, and stepmom and two stepbrothers in Phoenix. The Lessers make the long-distance family work, splitting time and commuting between Colorado and Arizona. One reason for the unusual arrangement is so the kids can pursue their passions. One of her stepbrothers plays competitive soccer on a successful western states team. Carstyn feels blessed because of her atypical family. “Our family has a little bit of everything, and it keeps us all going 24/7, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said.

Beyond swimming, Carstyn is a dedicated student with a 4.0 grade point average. She attends Campus Middle School in the Cherry Creek School District, closer to her mom’s house. She knows the importance of hard work and good grades to reach her career goal of being an anesthesiologist.

“I love our home in the Village. It is so beautiful here, and I love seeing the wildlife in our neighborhood on a daily basis,” Carstyn concluded.

 

 

By Celeste McNeil; photos courtesy of Mica Lesser