It takes some of us years to realize our talents.Finding the thing we love, the thing we are naturally good at, is an important search for all of us, though it may take years to reveal itself.

While it might have taken Animas High School sophomore Haley Benjamin a bit longer than her peers to figure out what she’s good at, it didn’t take long for anyone to see that she’s a natural.

At 15, Benjamin is already a decorated swimmer for the Durango Swim Club. She’s been crowned twice as a Colorado state champion.

As a 14-year-old, she set a record at an NCAA Division II university’s pool that still stands.

She’s been to Junior Nationals and is pushing toward qualifying for the Olympic trials this summer in the 400 freestyle. The most amazing thing about Benjamin is that she hasn’t even been swimming for five years. She’s just getting her feet wet.

“I kind of just stumbled upon it because I had a friend who swam at the time, and I just started going with her when I was about 11,” Benjamin said. “I started going to meets and I realized that this is something I like to do. When I started really enjoying it, I began improving and learning more. I don’t want to say it was easy for me, it was just something I was able to do naturally.”

At the 2014 Western Slope Championships, Benjamin won the 400 Individual Medley, 200 freestyle and 100 freestyle. She was also the 13-14 year-old state champion in the mile swim and the 500 meter freestyle.

In the same year, at age 14, she broke the 500 freestyle record at Colorado Mesa University’s pool. The record she broke was held by a collegiate swimmer, and none of the NCAA Division II women swimmers have bested her effort since.

“My dad pointed out the time and told me to go for it,” Benjamin said. “I thought he was just joking around, but when it was over and I actually broke the record, I didn’t know what to think. I’d never done anything like that, so it was neat. They took my picture and I have a plaque up there.”

In 2015, Benjamin qualified for the Swimming Junior Nationals in San Antonio. For someone with a lot of raw talent, but a bit light on experience, the trip was about much more than results in the pool. Benjamin was just getting comfortable on the bigger stage.

“I just remember everyone being so serious and I think the nerves affected me a bit,” said Benjamin, the daughter of Arin and Gwin Benjamin. “It was like a professional meet with the stands full of people and nobody was messing around. By the time it was over, I realized that these were the types of meets that I wanted to be at so I better start taking it a bit more seriously.”

Along with her state championship mile time and Colorado Mesa pool record, she has been selected to the Colorado All-Star Team and is a zone, sectional and Junior National qualifier.

Earlier this year, she was asked to attend an invite-only meet at the University of Denver, where she placed second in the 200 butterfly and first in the 400 and 800 meter freestyle.

“The consistency of her work ethic is something really special about Haley,” Durango Swim Club head coach Alex Martinek said. “She doesn’t miss a practice and if there’s any a time when we don’t meet as a team, I know she’ll be putting in the work on her own. Her technique is perfect and she loves to race. She just gets it.”

Benjamin and the Durango Swim Club will be in Arizona this weekend for an open water race, but an upcoming meet in Colorado Springs will play a role in whether she goes to the Olympic Trials in Omaha later this year. No matter what happens, Benjamin knows she’s where she belongs.

“I think a lot about what my life would be like if I never discovered swimming,” she said. “When it gets tough, it’s easy to convince myself to stick with it because swimming is just what I’m good at.”

jfries@durangoherald.com

Behind the scenes

Who is your favorite athlete?: Olympic gold medalist swimmer Katie Ledecky.

Where in the world would you most like to visit?: Fiji.

What is your favorite sports movie?: I like the ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries.

What song do you listen to before a meet to get pumped up?: Anything by AC/DC or Aerosmith I like classic rock.

Who is your celebrity crush?: Eddie Redmayne.

Which teacher had a lasting impact on you?: Ms. Aupperle. She was probably the coolest teacher I had in grade school.

Do you have a nickname?: Benji.

What is your favorite vacation spot?: Carpinteria, California. It’s a small beach town.

What is your favorite childhood book?: Matilda.

Do you have any hidden talents?: I used to play the violin, but I’ve been drawn to the piano lately.