This swimmer's path to the podium started in Russia. Now, she owns South's record board

Only months before her junior year began, Kseniia Luniushina left Russia with her father to come to the United States with war on the horizon.

They had to leave their mother/wife and sister behind in their home country in hopes of finding safety for her father and a new opportunity for Kseniia.

Her father, Aleksey, who had served in the Russian military, didn't agree with the war against Ukraine. To avoid getting drafted, he said he had to leave Russia. But while thinking of his safety, he also considered Kseniia's future. The father asked his daughter if she wanted to come with him, and she said yes.

At that time, there weren't flights to the U.S. from Russia. So, Aleksey and Kseniia crossed the border to Finland. Had they waited another day, the border would've shut down, and neither of them would've been allowed to leave.

The father and daughter made their way to family in Pennsylvania. Kseniia didn't know the language and had no friends.

She joined the swim team at East Stroudsburg South, and with the help of her teammates, her coach and her new community, Kseniia's resolve helped her endure the change and break down barriers, and now her name is all over the school's record board.

Now, she'll have a chance for a storybook ending — a state title in Lewisburg.

Russian roots and a love of swimming

Luniushina found her love for swimming in her native Russia, where she lived with her parents, Aleksey and Olga, along with her sister in Moscow. She was 7 years old when she was first introduced to the sport.

"I had missed a step in my house, and I fell down the stairs," Luniushina said. "The fall hurt my back, and the doctor advised me to start swimming to help recover."

For the next few years, Luniushina competed in swimming, shooting and track, in a format similar to a triathalon. She didn't fully commit to competitive swimming until she was 12 years old, but she remembers the grind she endured as a Russian athlete.

"It was hard because I used to practice a lot," she said. "I used to travel an hour and a half from my home to the pool. So I was really exhausted every day."

According to her father, Luniushina attended a sports-focused institution like an American prep school, such as IMG Academy in Florida. She would train multiple times a day, and her coaches were harsh.

"There were times when she was bullied," her father, Aleksey, said via his sister, who translated. "Kseniia was frequently told, 'You're not good enough,' and she was even threatened to be kicked off the team."

She continued to train in her native Moscow, where she began her high school years. But as Russia would go to war with Ukraine, her life would soon change, and it was her father who served as a catalyst.

"Even though we are Russian, we are against this war," Aleksey said. "I previously served in the Russian military. And even though you don't have a contract, if war breaks out, they will have a draft. That includes men who previously served.

"I didn't want to be a part of that. I didn't want to kill people."

Before the decision to leave was made, Aleksey contacted his sister, Natalia Kostromina, who lived in the United States. She encouraged her brother to leave sooner than later because of the fear that Russia would close its borders.

"Aleksey told me, 'That's OK. Don't worry sis, I'm going to be fine. I'm going to call you in one month'," Kostromina said. "Then a week later he calls and asks me, 'Can you help us come to America? We have visas but we don't have money.'"

Aleksey and Kseniia came to America, where they lived with Kostromina in East Stroudsburg for five months and filed for asylum, which grants protection from persecution.

"We have a small house, but we made it happen," Kostromina said, an East Stroudsburg resident since 2017 after moving from Brooklyn and immigrating to the U.S. in 2001.

Kostromina is also responsible for keeping Kseniia in East Stroudsburg — Aleksey wanted to move to New York for a new job and a school for his daughter.

Instead, Kseniia enrolled at East Stroudsburg South High School a month after the academic year started in 2022, preparing for a new life in the United States.

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Adjusting to a new school: 'You're fast, you're Russian, and I'm scared of you'

Kseniia was shocked when she first arrived at South — her old school was a fraction of the size of her new one, and she was surrounded by a lot of new elements she wasn't used to.

"It was terrifying," Kseniia said. "It was a lot of new people, new faces, new language, new everything."

Joining the swim team was a similar situation. Her new teammates knew that she was Russian, but the language barrier made it difficult for both sides. Until one day, Kseniia had a conversation with another swimmer who eventually became her best friend, Lucia Sadura.

"I asked Lucia, 'What did you think of me when you first me met?' And she said, 'You're fast, you're Russian and I'm scared of you'," Kseniia said with a chuckle.

Lucia remembered when Kseniia first joined the team, along with how difficult it was to break the ice.

"We technically met in October when she first joined the swim team," Lucia said. "But because of the language barrier, she didn't talk much. I think she knew enough English to have a conversation, but she just didn't want to. So she was quiet for a while.

"We didn't really talk until around January because we all went out for a team bonding event, so she had to talk to us."

What also helped break the ice was when Lucia and Kseniia found out they liked the same artist — Drake, whom Kseniia was a fan of before she moved to the U.S. The Canadian rapper helped build a bond between the two swimmers, but there were still some growing pains before they became as close as they are today.

"I have friends that I've known for at least 10 years, and I've only known Kseniia as long as she's been in America. So she used to get upset because I knew so many people, and I would try to introduce her, but then she would become shy and say, 'They don't know me' or 'They don't like me,'" Lucia said. "I had to explain that my other friends have just known me longer and they're trying to know her.

"We stopped hanging out for a bit, then we started again because I told Kseniia, 'Even though we haven't known each other as long, you're still one of my best friends.'"

Lucia and Kseniia have been inseparable since, from having sleepovers to lifting at the YMCA, where both girls are on the club team. The friendship helped Kseniia adjust to life outside of the pool, but inside the pool is where she formed her bond with South swimming coach Samantha Munford.

"I had a bad experience with my woman coach in Russia," Kseniia said. "And I was scared that it was going to be the same thing here. But we started talking and getting to know each other, and now we're besties.

"She's like my swim mom, and I'm her swim daughter."

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Breaking barriers and breaking school records in the pool

Munford had a late introduction to Kseniia because she was on maternity leave. She talked to her assistant, who said that Kseniia was a "solid swimmer" at first glance during intramurals. The head coach was conservative since her experience taught her that some students think the swim team is for recreation and not competition. Still, Munford was happy that a competent swimmer was joining the team. She finally saw Kseniia at the next intramurals, where her impression was a lot different.

"I saw her swim two laps, and I thought to myself, 'Solid is a gross understatement,'" Munford said. "I told my assistant, 'She's gonna be our best swimmer, and she might be the best swimmer in the district, hands down.'"

It was a challenge for both Kseniia and Munford at first, as they had to work through the language barrier. In the beginning, Kseniia only swam backstroke and freestyle, but that was because Munford thought that was all she wanted to do.

"I think that was the biggest hiccup from last year," Munford said. "But I knew as soon as she got in the pool that she certainly had a shot of winning the district and competing in state in whatever event she chose to swim."

Munford prints out her workouts, and until Kseniia could read them on her own, the coach had to use Google Translate to explain to her student-athlete the workout plan. The same goes for when Munford called out an instruction during practice — Kseniia would look at her blankly to indicate her confusion.

"It was definitely an adjustment period," Munford said. "Even the swim language and culture is different. There were times that she held back in the beginning because she was getting used to the clock, knowing when to go and when to rest."

But Munford's hunch was correct. In Kseniia's first season swimming for the Cavaliers, she broke six total records — four individual and two relays — and was the district champion in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke.

The only people who had more fun winning than Kseniia were her teammates, who became glued to the clock the past two years, anxious to see if she would break another record. Her teammates and coaches would congratulate her and support her through all the ups and downs, something she didn't get in her home country.

"Kseniia tells me how, 'Everyone in the school knows me,'" Kostromina said. "She says, 'During morning announcements, they say my name and that I was in a competition, and I won. People that I don't even know come up to me about my wins.' It amazed her."

The support continued outside of the pool as Lucia helped her learn more English words — some good ones and not-so-good ones — along with other American staples like "High School Musical." Lucia even found herself challenged to explain the English language.

"I feel like I forced her to pick up English because I spoke to her like a regular person, not a foreigner," Lucia said. "She would ask me to slow down and explain what a word meant, and I would have to use words she knows to explain a word she doesn't know. That was hard for me; I've never had to do that before.

"Honestly, teaching her led me to learning more on my own, which has helped me."

Fast forward to this season, and Kseniia now holds every individual team record in school history, another pair of district titles, and is committed to swim collegiately at Marshall University. She had other offers, including one from Penn State, but she felt comfort at Marshall because she knew a swimmer there — a Russian swimmer.

"I am very proud of my daughter," Aleksey said about his daughter's successes. "I'd be proud even if she did not achieve those things. And I'm proud of this country and its people for their support, regardless of where a child comes from."

Kseniia has proved her resolve to endure a life-changing experience, and at the state championship, she gets to display it for the whole world to see.

PIAA swimming championships

When: Wednesday, March 13 to Saturday, March 16

Where: Bucknell University

Going for gold: Kseniia will compete in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard freestyle.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: East Stroudsburg South swimmer's journey from Russia