Anyone attending a Sedona Red High School swim meet this season will see Honoka Yabuuchi’s influence in every race — even when she’s not in the pool. 
The Scorpions senior designed the logos for the team suits this season. Her love of art goes back to memories of her late grandmother, when Yabuuchi was a young girl living in Japan.

 “I really like drawing and making art,” Yabuuchi said. “I’ve been drawing since I was pretty little. I lived in Japan when I was little and my grandma used to live very close. I went to her house every day and every day I drew her something that I did at the school. She liked it and it made me very happy, too.” 

Yabuuchi said that art is something she’d like to continue with after high school. A more short term goal for Yabuuchi is making the state meet at the end of this swimming season. Yabuuchi making it to state isn’t just a goal that she’s set for herself. Her teammates are also quite hopeful that it will happen. 

“She tries every single year to get to state,” teammate Dezra Dana said. “I want her to get to state more than anything. She hasn’t made it yet, but she really deserves to make it.” 

If Yabuuchi is going to make it to state, she has some work to do. She noted that her best event was the 100 breaststroke. In that, Yabuuchi needs to knock roughly seven seconds off of her current best time to qualify. Coach Dan Morse added that Yabuuchi can also possibly make it in the 500 freestyle and on a relay team. Whether the state meet is in Yabuuchi’s future remains to be seen. Her coach did note that if it comes down to her work ethic, Yabuuchi will be in good shape. 

“She was working a few jobs over the summer and still making it into training, still making morning sessions, doing doubles if she had to,” Morse said. “If she has to work, she’ll find a way to still get here and swim at a different time. She doesn’t miss a day of training. She’s just one of the toughest kids that I’ve coached.” 

Looking forward, Yabuuchi doesn’t yet know where she’s going to go for college after graduating.  As she looked back, Yabuuchi couldn’t help but note what an impact Sedona has made on her since she and her family moved from the Miyagi Prefecture of Japan half a decade ago. 

“I came to America like five years ago,” she said. “It’s very fun learning new things and a new language. I love Sedona too. Many people say that it’s a very small city and not many things are here. But I really love this city, this view. I love the people here. I love learning new things every single day.”  Yabuuchi has made a similarly strong impression on those around her. 

“She focuses more on other people than herself,” Dana said. “She’s so kind. That’s the first thing you think of when you think of Honoka is how kind she is.” 

That sentiment was echoed by teammate Andrew Tate, who said “Anybody that’s her friend doesn’t really realize how lucky they are.”