All-Area Girls’ Swimmer of the Year: Success is no idle boast for Burroughs’ Wilson

Burroughs High swimming coach Jacob Cook remembers running into Maya Wilson prior to the swimmer’s freshman season with the Indians.

“She had a brother [Chad] who swam here and she stopped by our meet against Burbank a year ago,” Cook said. “I had heard some things about her and she came up to me and introduced herself and said, ‘Hi, I’m Maya, nice to meet you.’ Then she said kind of casually, ‘I plan on breaking all the school records when I come here.’

“When I heard that, I was a little skeptical, but once I saw some of her times from some of her club meets, I really started to think that she could actually do it.”

Wilson said those comments to Cook were not something that stemmed from arrogance or self-promotion.

“Oh not at all,” said the 14-year-old Wilson. “I was just having some fun with it and really it was just positive thinking. It was really more of a goal for me and something to shoot for once I got there.”

Turns out, Wilson’s prediction was more than just an idle boast.

The freshman embarked on a season of success the likes of which have never been seen before in the history of the Burroughs program. Wilson broke five individual Indians records, captured a Pacific League title in a thrilling head-to-head matchup, moved through CIF Southern Section competition and culminated her season with a berth in the state meet.

“It was amazing to see what she was able to do this past season,” Cook said. “It’s also pretty amazing to see someone who is so talented at such an early age and see how far she got in her first season. To be able to get to state as a freshman was a very big accomplishment.”

It was because of those accomplishments that Wilson was selected the 2017 All-Area Girls’ Swimmer of the Year, as voted by the sportswriters of the La Cañada Valley Sun, Burbank Leader and Glendale News-Press.

Wilson, who trains with the Rose Bowl Aquatics National team under the direction of coach Jeff Julian, not only displayed her talent in her inaugural high school campaign, but also showed her versatility as a swimmer, setting new marks in freestyle events from the 50-yard race to the 500, as well as breaking a record in the butterfly.

Wilson established new Burroughs marks in the 50 freestyle (25.00 seconds), the 100 freestyle (52.89), the 200 freestyle (1:51.93), the 500 freestyle (5:04.66) and the 100 butterfly (1:00.32).

“She didn’t break the other records because she didn’t swim the races,” Cook said.

“It felt pretty good to get those records,” Wilson said. “The great part about it is it was so much fun to be able to do it with my teammates. Swimming this year for Burroughs was so much different than club swimming. For me, it was a great experience and it’s a lot more relaxed than some of the club meets that I swim in.”

A self-proclaimed perfectionist, Wilson has a drive that motivates her to continually push herself to improve. That drive includes working out twice a day, beginning with a 5 a.m. training session. In addition, she makes time for her studies, as she is enrolled in several honors classes.

“She is very motivated and she works very hard to have the success she’s had,” Cook said. “She does double-days most days and she is very serious about school, as well. She has that internal drive that you just can’t teach.

“Sometimes her mom will tell her, ‘You can take today off, you’re really tired and just take the morning off and sleep.’ But she tells her ‘No, I can’t take it off, I have to go.’”

Wilson said if she hopes to stay one step ahead of the competition, she must maintain a strict workout regimen.

“I am very competitive, so I have to try and get that edge through my training,” Wilson said. “I’ve always been pretty serious with swimming because I always wanted to win and try my best.

“My main motivation is wanting to do well in the sport and waiting to achieve greatness, I guess ... I also really want to swim in college, so I want to work toward that and hopefully I will be able to achieve that.”

Wilson made the most of her first appearance in the Pacific League finals in early May at Burbank High. The freshman rolled to a victory in the 500 freestyle in 5:04.66.

In the 200 freestyle, Wilson faced a tough challenge from fellow freshman Gabi Icheva of Crescenta Valley. Trailing through the first half of the race, Wilson made a move in the second half and won the race by nearly a second in 1:51.93. Wilson’s time was less than two-tenths of a second off the Pacific League record of 1:51.76 set in 2013 by All-American and All-Area Girls’ Swimmer of the Year Heather MacDougall of Crescenta Valley.

“At the dual meet against their school I actually tied [Icheva] in the 200 free, the same race,” Wilson said. “Going into the race, I knew what I had to do. I was more proud of my time and that I was able to drop than winning the race.”

In late May, Wilson took part in the 2017 CIF State Swimming and Diving Championships at Clovis High. She swam to a 25th-place mark of 1:53.50 seconds in the 200 freestyle preliminaries. Wilson was the only area girls’ swimmer to advance to a CIF Southern Section Division II championship race and was the only area swimmer, boy or girl, to accept a bid to the state championships.

In the CIF Southern Section Division II final at the Riverside Aquatic Complex, Wilson placed eighth in the 200 freestyle (1:52.67) and was seventh in the 500 freestyle consolation final (5:07.89).

“She just has so much potential and she’s only starting to show what she can do,” said 2017 All-Area Boys’ Swimmer of the Year Trenton Julian of Glendale High, who trains with Wilson at Rose Bowl Aquatics. “She has a good mix of both talent and hard work and she’s starting to push to new levels now.

“Although she’s still developing as a swimmer ... I can’t wait to see what she is going to be able to do in the next few years.”

Although her initial high school season is over, Wilson is spending her summer training and competing. In July, Wilson, along with Trenton Julian, will be going to Croatia to train and will also be competing in the National Club Swimming Assn. meet in Indianapolis in August.

“I know sometimes it’s tough to fit everything into a day, but I just have to push through it,” Wilson. “Swimming is what I want to do and I will always give it my best no matter what.”