Dowden chosen as Warriors' 2020-21 female Senior Student-Athlete

The San Diego High School Sports Association annually honors a male athlete and a female athlete from each San Diego Section member school as a Senior Student-Athlete. Paris Dowden was chosen as Fallbrook High School's female Senior Student-Athlete for 2020-21.

"It was a privilege and I was really happy to at least play sports this year and I had a lot of fun and I'm glad that my senior year was a good one," Dowden said.

Dowden played water polo and swam for the Warriors. Sean Redmond is Fallbrook's girls water polo coach and also the Warriors' girls swim coach.

"Absolutely awesome and exciting," Redmond said of Dowden's award. "I think that's fantastic and a great representation of the work she's done for all four years."

The award is given to seniors based on athletic, leadership, and academic criteria. "She wasn't just a leader in the games and leading the team that way but also out of the pool," Redmond said. "She led the girls in taking ownership of their playing."

Dowden was a team captain for both the water polo team and the swim team as a junior, and she was also a captain of those two teams as a senior. Redmond has expectations of his captains. "She exceeded them," he said.

Dowden is a lifelong Fallbrook resident who was born at Camp Pendleton Hospital. She attended Bonsall Elementary School and Sullivan Middle School prior to beginning her Fallbrook High School years in 2017. As a freshman she made both the water polo varsity and the varsity swim team.

Her Fallbrook High School aquatics experience preceded her participation as a team member. Dowden is the fourth of five children, all girls, and all five have played water polo and swam for the Warriors. Cassie Dowden graduated from Fallbrook High in 2010 and Kierstin Dowden graduated in 2014. Taylor Dowden graduated in 2016, and as a senior she was both the Valley League girls water polo player of the year and the Valley League girls swimmer of the year. Ava Dowden was a 2020-21 freshman.

Paris Dowden did not participate in any organized sports other than swimming or water polo prior to high school or while at Fallbrook High School. Dowden was 10 when she joined the Fallbrook Associated Swim team and began playing water polo when she was in seventh grade.

As a freshman in 2018, Dowden won the 100-yard freestyle race at the Valley League championship swim meet and was also part of the winning 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relay teams. At the 2019 league meet, Dowden won the 100-yard breaststroke, was second in the 100-yard freestyle, and was on the second-place 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard freestyle relay quartets.

No league meet was held in 2020 due to the coronavirus shutdown. Dowden and her younger sister were both on the winning 200-yard freestyle relay team in this year's league meet.

Any swimmer or relay team who wins the league meet is automatically an all-league first team selection while the second-place swimmers and relay teams receive all-league second team status. The league water polo coaches select the all-league players for that sport. Dowden was on the Valley League second team as a freshman and was a first-team choice as a sophomore and junior.

The all-league selections follow the season. The 2020-21 water polo season did not start until April 29, and Fallbrook's season ended June 12 with a loss in the CIF Division I quarterfinals. The Warriors' first-round game June 8 against West Hills was a 12-7 overtime victory which was thus Dowden's final win as a Fallbrook High School player and also became Dowden's favorite Fallbrook High School aquatics memory.

"The other team was winning pretty much first through the third quarter and in the fourth we caught up," Dowden said. "It was really intense."

Unless tournament rules specify otherwise, a tie at the end of regulation results in two mandatory overtime periods. Dowden won the sprint to start the first overtime, and the Warriors had a 5-0 scoring advantage in the fifth and sixth quarters. Dowden scored two of those five overtime goals. "That was really fun," Dowden said. "Our team had really good endurance towards the end, and that's what made us stand out."

Dowden considers the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breaststroke to be her favorite swimming events. Those positive memories weren't limited to the meets. "I loved practices a lot," she said. "I loved the competition."

Jocelyn Jones was on Fallbrook's swim team for three years. Dowden and Jones often swam the 100-yard freestyle together, and they finished second and third in this year's league meet. "I wouldn't be as fast as I am without her competition," Dowden said.

Her senior prom was Dowden's overall favorite high school memory.

Bill Richardson is the Fallbrook boys coach for water polo and swimming. Richardson is also an art teacher, and his art class was Dowden's favorite class at Fallbrook High School.

Azusa Pacific University is in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Dowden will continue her athletic career with the Cougars.

"I'm just fortunate to have such a hard-working team," Dowden said. "It was a good privilege to play."