Sandra Valdez is a nurturing spirit who is always cheering for others. As a cheerleader that is part of her job.
Now she has a legion of classmates cheering for her.
Valdez is a two-sport athlete who fights asthma.
It flaired during her first appearance on the Jaguars’ swimming and diving team. Her 100-yard freestyle debut turned into a scary rescue when an asthma attack shut down her airways.
Valdez was saved by her teammate Mario Medina, a sophomore swimmer for the Jags and a lifeguard in the city of San Diego.
“She looked up and said, I can’t breathe,” he said. “She took two more strokes and went into a vertical position. As a lifeguard I know that means she is a distressed swimmer.”
Medina dove in and pulled Valdez to safety.
“I took off everything that was dragging me and jumped in the water,” he said. “I had to get Sandra out of the water. I used my instinct and then I had help from two other lifeguards that came in. We managed to get her breathing back to normal.”
Though they were both members of the same team, Valdez and Medina had yet not met. The episode forged a close friendship.
Medina said he likes to support everyone on his team and he was glad he could help Valdez.
“It just ended up being that I was there for her,” he said. ¨I did not know much of anyone on the team before then. Sandra is very nice, very funny, open, super joyous and always there for everyone.”
Valdez said she has always had difficulty breathing.
“I have had it since I was little,” she said. “My doctors told me it will not go away. In my physical for the swim team I was recommended to get an inhaler, but sometimes I still have trouble breathing. It is just because of my asthma.”
Swim coach Matt Ustaszewski said he values Valdez’s determination in the pool, especially given that she is new to the sport.
“She overcame her fears and she loves it now,” he said. “She is a good athlete and a big part of this team. It is pretty unique for a college team to have an inexperienced athlete who has never done this before. Even though she is new to the sport, she digs it now.”
Karina Reynoso, a sophomore swimmer for the Jaguars, recruited her athletic friend, even though Valdez had never swam competitively.
Reynoso said her friendship with Valdez started at Hilltop High and is very special.
“We are very close friends,” she said. “It is a blast being across the pool with her. She makes it very fun. I crack up every day with her.”
Valdez said that if it was not for Reynoso, she would have never gotten into swimming.
“My friend Karina has been into swimming since she was little,” she said. “She was talking to me about it and I was like, I would do it, but I’m not good at it. She said a lot of people join and they get good.”
Reynoso said she was happy to convince Valdez to join.
“I just kept telling her how fun it would be to be in the swim team,” she said. “She asked me, Should I do it Karina? and I was like, Yeah, just go for it. She was here the very first day of practice, ready. She ended up knowing everybody on the swim team and it is pretty cool to be with her.”
Valdez has been a cheerleader since high school and is a cornerstone for the Lady Jags.
She is a double major in psychology and nursing.
“I like competing and I like cheering,” she said. “I am learning how to control my breathing better. I know I get tired easily, but I am still working on that.”
Valdez said she hopes to keep improving as an athlete.
“I want to keep getting good,” she said. “I will probably do both sports next year too. I always count my breaths and I always have my inhaler now.”
Reynoso said she was worried by her friend’s mid-race asthma attack.
“It happened so fast I was scared,” she said. “I was cooling down when I got out I saw a bunch of people running towards the pool. That was when I saw she was on the floor with Mario. I ran over there, but at the point she was feeling better.”
Medina said his new friendship with Valdez is one for the storybooks.
“She is a great swimmer and a very kind person,” he said. “I hope we can continue swimming for a long time.”
Valdez said she is looking forward to a bright future.
“All I can say is that when I have a family and a career, I want to give my family everything I did not get,” she said. “My mom has always taught me that no matter how people treat you, you have to always be there if someone needs you. I always want to be that good person. I see myself always working hard in everything I do.”