When three former water polo players from Monta Vista High School looked out over the waves pounding San Francisco Bay on Sunday morning, they could only think of one thing: sharks.
“I kind of assumed that I would die,” said Sonika Singh, a 17-year-old Cupertino resident who swam 1.5 miles from Alcatraz to San Francisco on Sunday.
Singh and two fellow Monta Vista graduates, 17-year-old Nicolet Danese and 19-year-old Andrew Stewart, participated in the swim portion of the 31st annual Escape from the Rock triathlon in honor of their late coach, Ron Freeman, and to raise money for the Ron Freeman Aquatics Scholarship.
The triathlon is hosted by Enviro-Sports and was open to 400 registrants.
Freeman, who died of a heart attack on Jan. 21, was a coach, mentor and hero to many of Monta Vista’s aquatic athletes.
Singh has tendinitis in her shoulder, and she didn’t think she’d be able to finish the race. “(But) Mr. Freeman always said it doesn’t matter what place you finish, it just matters that you finish,” she said.
Singh finished third in her age group and 10th overall among women, while Danese finished second in her age group and fourth overall among women. Stewart finished first in his age group and 10th overall among men.
The friends were incredibly nervous on the 4:30 a.m. drive to the race, Danese said. They kept up a macabre banter about becoming shark bait, trying to psych themselves up. When asked what words of wisdom their former coach would have given them, Danese said he probably would have joked about getting eaten by a shark.
The start of the race involved a stomach-dropping five-foot jump from the boat that ferried competitors to Alcatraz. Clasping hands, the three friends plunged into waters hovering around 62 degrees.
“The swells were a lot bigger than I expected them to be,” Danese said. “Right at the beginning, it was super-claustrophobic because 400 swimmers were trying to find their rhythm.”
But every time Danese came up for air, she spied a break in the clouds — a lone spot of light giving her encouragement.
“That was Ron,” she said.
When Danese met up with Stewart at the finish line, both were close to tears. “But we were too tired to cry,” Danese said.
The athletes have raised $2,000 for the scholarship so far, but their goal is $5,000.
For more information on the scholarship, go to www.swimmingforfreeman.bbnow.org.
Contact Jane J. Lee at 408-920-5064.
