Sophomore first baseman Alaina Larson spends her summers as a lifeguard.

Metro State softball player Alaina Larson, 20, was a part of a team effort that saved the life of a 7-year-old girl at Aztlan Recreation Center swimming pool on Aug. 7.

Larson, along with three other lifeguards on duty that day, will be honored at 10:30 a.m. Friday by the Denver Police Department. The location has not yet been determined. 

“It’s nice when kids like that think fast,” says Lee Ragon, who works at the center and is an instructor trainer for the Red Cross and Denver Aquatics. “A ‘bravo’ for them.”

A lifeguard for the last two summers, the human performance and sport major just this past spring received emergency response recertification through her required Emergency Response class with Assistant Professor of Human Performance and Sport Kas Parsons.

The 7-year-old has not been confirmed to be there, but Larson hopes she will be. “I’m really relieved and happy. I’d really like to meet her. The last time I saw her, she wasn’t looking good.”