Ex-cheerleader is a star for Downey

Two, four, six, eight, who does Kendall Graham appreciate?

Wickman. Wickman. Carly Wickman.

When it came time to announce his 2011 Shining Knight award winner, Graham, the Downey girls water polo coach, left little room for debate.

The choice was easy.

It had to be the cheerleader.

Wickman, then a sophomore, didn't just embody the spirit of the sportsmanship award, she was a Shining Knight, trading in her suit and swim cap for pom-poms every Friday evening.

"I don't do MVP awards. I do what's called the Shining Knight," Graham said. "Being that person means leading the team, being a team player. She does all of that.

"She's always the one cheering everyone on, being supportive of everyone on the team. That's just her personality."

Wickman still leads from the front, reprising her role as the Knights' leader this fall. Only she's retired the pom-poms and halftime routines and made a full-time commitment to water polo.

Downey is 5-4 and in third place in the Modesto Metro Conference, and Wickman has been nothing short of dynamic.

She has 25 goals in league play, but it's her versatility and strength that have given weight to her overnight success story.

She's fast enough to attack from the wings. Strong enough to bang with the area's toughest holesets. And dangerous in space as Downey's point person.

"There were a lot of things I was looking forward to with cheer. I would have been varsity had I made it," said Wickman, thanking her cheer coach Glenda Hyde for the opportunity to test polo.

"I had to decide if I wanted to focus (on my future) or have fun. With water polo, I have a better chance of getting some sort of scholarship, which would take me farther in life. It was hard, but I'm starting to realize I made the better choice."

She was a tough sell, until she found herself in San Diego for her brother's water polo tournament the summer before her sophomore year.

Suddenly, "go team" meant so much more to the bubbly 16-year-old.

"Being with the team, seeing my brother with his team. The team dinners. Going to the beach together. It made me think, 'OK, I kind of want to try this.' "

A strong gene pool and swimming base have fueled Wickman's ascent.

Her father, Art Wickman, played polo at Davis High in the early 1970s, and Downey coaches Tim Vesey and Graham agree, the younger Wickman is the school's top swimmer.

Wickman swims year round with the Modesto Sharks and qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section frosh/soph swim championships the last two years.

She works double time to make up for deficiencies in experience and knowledge of the game. Wickman often prods her coaches for advice and pointers, and even reviews film of her play.

Swimming, though, is the great equalizer.

"There's nobody right now of any of the teams we play that can match her speed," Graham said. "Speed is a lot of her game.

"The stronger you are at swimming, the easier it is to play water polo. Learning the game, learning water polo and its rules and strategy … having swimming as your strength is 85 percent of the game."

Even as a sophomore, with a full-time commitment to cheerleading, Wickman was the class of the lower levels.

Her ability to hold off multiple defenders, cut a line through the pool and control the holeset made her a must-have talent.

Only Graham couldn't have her. Her time commitments prevented her from playing varsity. The games and practices conflicted with one another, Graham said.

"She was so far beyond that" level, said Graham. "I'd have to pull her back after the first quarter — there was nobody that could catch her."

"If she wasn't cheering, she would have made varsity," he later added. "She is the fastest swimmer on the team. Even last year, she would have been faster than any varsity player.

"For coming into a sport completely brand new, this is exceptional."

James Burns is the Regional Sports Content Editor of The Modesto Bee and Merced Sun-Star. He can be reached at jburns@modbee.com or (209) 578-2324.