Lindsay Stenstrom has been following in the athletic footsteps of her family and insists there has not been any pressure.

Stenstrom's mother Lori is a former Valor Christian girls swimming coach and an All American and NCAA champion swimmer at Stanford. Her father, Steve, was a quarterback at Stanford and played five seasons in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers.

Her older sister Brooke was a five-time individual state champion and swam on two state title relay teams at Valor Christian and is a junior on the Stanford swimming team. Older brother Blake is a freshman football player at the University of Colorado.

Lindsay has a younger sister, Ashley who is a sophomore on the Eagles girls swimming team.

“I played a ton of sports when I was younger and almost pursued soccer but swimming was the one that my love of it never faded,” said Lindsay. “Sure, my mom and older sister swam and that created a foundation, but I fell in love with the sport and the water. My parents would have supported me no matter what I did.

“When I started at Valor, there was a little bit of that pressure because I was young and Brooke was so successful. As I got older I know I am going to have a family that supports me and I can still be me no matter how I perform, and who I am in Christ is far more important to me than who I am in the pool.”

Stenstrom won the Class 4A 50-yard freestyle state championship as a sophomore and swam on the Eagles' state title 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams last season. The 200 relay team set a 4A state record.

Key stats:

In times compiled by through Jan. 10 by PrepSwimCo, Stenstrom had the fastest time in the 100-yard freestyle of 51.01, the second best clocking in the 50 freestyle of 23.56 and 11th quickest time in the 100 backstroke of 58:05.

Coach's take:

“She is just very driven when it comes to swimming. She's a natural-born leader and has that personality to draw people to her. The improvement is a combination of being driven, working hard and that mental aspect of pushing yourself to the next level of wanting to see great improvement.”

— Melody Peotter, Valor Christian High School girls swimming coach

Q&A with Lindsay Stenstrom

Who is your favorite athlete and why?

Brooke Stenstrom, my older sister, or Blake Strenstrom, my older brother. Also my parents, which is a cliché, but they are really the people in my life that taught me what it means to be a Christ follower and to pursue athletics and pursue greatness.

What would be a perfect performance in swimming?

I would love to drop more time because last season wasn't as good as the season before because I was kind of battling a little bit of an injury. This season I've felt so much better. I've really got my grit and determination back just to race and have fun.

What do you like to do away from sports and school?

I love reading and watching movies and I lead worship at my school. I've always loved singing and hope to do that later in life. As a hobby goes, I've learned to play the piano.

What kind of music do you listen to?

I listen to worship music, country music or Disney music. I love Disney music. It really depends on my mood. I like old country.

What are your plans after high school?

I'm blazing my own trail. I chose UCLA and I'm going to swim there.