Ryan Webb set for national swim stage but keeps Yuma community even closer

Yuma Catholic's Ryan Webb is gearing up for the Shamrocks swim season and a trip to the Junior Nationals in December.

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - It's no secret that Yuma Catholic swimmer Ryan Webb is lightning fast in the water.

She recently qualified for the 50 meter freestyle race for the Winter Junior Nationals after competing in the Futures championship in Justin, Texas, and to say she did well would be an understatement.

The Yuma Catholic junior got in second with a blazing fast time of 26.60 seconds, only behind D1 Texas A&M swimmer Kailey Kennedy.

While she loves to compete in the water, Webb is also passionate about growing the swim community and spreading the word about the sport she loves.

"I feel like swimming is the kind of sport that anyone could do," Webb said. "I think the best thing that came from this club is just being able to reach other people and share the love for the sport that we have, with them."

Even after everything she has achieved in the water, it's easy to tell how humble she is as she talks more about the community and her support system than her own success. It's a trait head coach Brock Amon has also noticed.

"Ryan Webb, she's obviously a special person, a special swimmer, and everybody's really excited, but for me, I'm really excited for the swim community in general for Yuma," Amon said. "It takes an entire community to kind of support that and develop an athlete to kind of achieve that kind of level of swimming."

And one of Webb's biggest supporters was on hand to see her amazing finish at the Futures Championship in Texas.

Even during one of her biggest achievements, she wasn't thinking about herself.

"Touching the wall and like seeing that I got 2nd and hearing my coach cheer, it was like an indescribable feeling," Webb said. "I feel like I was more happy for my coach that she got to be there and witness it because the past couple of times that I placed in a meet, she wasn't there to watch it, and so being able to like have that experience with her there this time just made it like 1000 times better."

Now Webb turns her attention to the Yuma Catholic swim season, where she will perform not only for herself but the shamrocks, helping elevate a young program that has already accomplished so much in a short amount of time.