Student Spotlight: Junior Olympian AliMarie DePrez

When you think of youth national-level athletes, you may imagine teenagers working dozens of hours each week to perfect their craft. While this level of achievement and dedication may seem distant, the CHS campus is actually home to one of these star athletes. AliMarie DePrez is an incredibly accomplished water polo player who has been an essential component not only to the success of her school and club team but on a national and international stage.
DePrez, a junior, started playing water polo when her family introduced her to it. She has been playing for about eight years and started when her older sister was competing in high school.
“My sister started in high school when I was younger, and my parents put me in it too,” said DePrez.
DePrez has had her fair share of accomplishments at the national level. She recently traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil to play water polo for the youth national team, in which she helped her team win the Pan American games for the US team. She scored one goal in a winning effort to beat Brazil’s youth national team 14-2.
On her team, she plays center defender. Her main responsibility in the game is to make sure the opposing center is not a scoring threat. This helps the team by nullifying the most prominent attacking player on the opposing team. In addition to the sport itself, she enjoys the connections that have resulted from it. Her favorite part about water polo is becoming closer to her teammates.
“I love the team dynamic of [water polo],” said DePrez “Out here at Claremont, we do a lot of team bonding.”
Outside of the pool, DePrez enjoys other activities and hobbies, such as reading. She is also a part of the CHS swim team, qualifying for CIF this year. Her future plans include playing Division I water polo in college. Some notable people she would like to shout out are her mom, for taking her to all of her games, her dad, for being her coach, and her boyfriend, for supporting her and being her number one fan.
AliMarie has been a great player and teammate for CHS. The Wolfpacket and CHS wish her the best of luck in future competitions!