Six-year-old Amy Prestinario couldn’t have imagined what her first competitive dive into the pool would ultimately lead to in the years ahead. At 6, she just loved the smell of chlorine, the feel of the pool deck under her toes, and the unique freedom of life underwater. More than 20 years later, she still gets a little shiver of childlike joy when poised to compete at a Masters meet, because connecting “little” and adult Amy are infinite meters of laps, endless hours of training, and an unquenchable competitive drive. That competitive drive, coupled with the unconditional and enthusiastic support of her parents and brother, helped Prestinario make an impressive name for herself in the swimming world. Take one look at the Naperville Central swimming pool’s wall of State Champions and Prestinario’s name stands out in an accomplished pattern: State Champion in 200 Individual Medley (2005 & 2006); State Champion in 500 Freestyle (2006); State Champion in 200 Medley Relay (2004 & 2005). These state championships are even more impressive for the manner in which they were won. In 2006, she took her championship medals by .14 seconds in each of her races, and her 2004 & 2005 relay victories set new IHSA state records. She remembers vividly the exhilarative celebration of the team state championships that capped her freshman and sophomore years, the police escort through downtown Naperville for their triumphant return with their first ever state title, and the narrow, hard-fought 1.5 point victory over Neuqua Valley the second time around to secure back-to-back conquests. It’s the stuff that every young athlete dreams of – and Prestinario was committed to making her individual and team dreams come true. “Just having [the support of teammates, relatives and fans] behind me and knowing that no matter what happens, they’re going to still love and support me kind of gives me that little push at the end,” Prestinario said in an 2007 interview with Danielle Gardner of The Naperville Sun. That supportive push propelled Prestinario’s success throughout her career at Naperville Central. As a freshman, she placed 3rd and 5th respectively in the 200 IM and 500 Freestyle at the IHSA State Finals, becoming the first freshman in NCHS history to qualify in both events and place in the Top 6 at state. As a sophomore, she placed 2nd in the 500 Free and 1st in the 200 IM at the state meet. All told, she collected 5 sectional titles, 5 state titles, and 2 team championships, becoming the only swimmer in school history to qualify for the state finals in every individual event for all four years, scoring in each of her races.Coach Jon Carlson reflected on her unique talent and technique, sharing, “Her streamlining is extraordinary when she’s moving through the water […] Mentally, though, is where she really excels. She’s able to call on reserves in the last 12 yards when everybody is struggling and goes into a little overdrive mode.” Prestinario is the first to laud Carlson for his tremendous influence and support. “Coach Jon was especially instrumental in shaping not only my swimming career in high school but the person I am today. He had such a sense of knowing exactly how to motivate each and every one of us in different ways, but always reminded us that there was life outside of swimming and just instilled in us such strong values and morals,” she said. “There was never a day that went by in my swimming career that I didn’t think about the way Jon shaped me. He really taught me what a phenomenal coach looked like (I always felt like I compared every coach to Jon) and reminded me how to be a kind, selfless, caring person, in and out of the pool.” After high school, Prestinario took the lessons from Carlson, the memories of her teammates, and the support of her loving fans to the University of Notre Dame, where she swam for four years. As a member of the Fighting Irish squad, she was a 4-time Notre Dame Monogram winner, a coach-selected member of the Notre Dame’s Rosenthal Leadership Academy, and a captain in her senior year. She was part of the record-setting 800 Free Relay team and earned 13 All-Big East honors in 7 events throughout her career. As a senior, she was a vital relay member who swam on all three distances of the freestyle relays as well as both medley versions. She was named Notre Dame’s Most Improved Athlete in her junior season and graduated with more than 9 Big East Championship top-3 finishes in 6 events. In addition to her Notre Dame accolades, she was a World Championship Trials participant in 2009, swimming the 200 Individual Medley, and qualified for the 2012 US Olympic Trials in 2 events (100 Butterfly and 100 Freestyle). She graduated with dual degrees in Psychology and Sociology.Prestinario’s love for competitive swimming didn’t end with graduation. She continues to swim for the Chicago Athletic Club team and is the current Illinois Masters Swimming State record holder in both the 50 and 100 yard freestyle, 50 and 100 meter freestyle, and 50 meter butterfly. She was the Masters National Champion in 2016 in the 50 meter Freesyle and 50 meter Butterfly, and again in 2017 in the 50 meter Butterfly. She currently works as a campus recruiter for IBM and loves being back on college campuses and talking to students about opportunities once they are done in school: “I love being able to help guide the students to a career and help with their transition from college to ‘real world’ especially student-athletes. I understand how difficult that transition can be.” Prestinario takes that mentoring perspective a step further in her advice to current NCHS student-athletes, saying, “Really find what you love, find what you are passionate about and only continue to do that for as long as you feel that way about that sport.”It is very evident that Amy Prestinario is as passionate about swimming as she was at six; after all of the records, medals, and glory, that might actually be her most beautiful achievement of all.