JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — As McAllen Memorial swim coach Roxanna Balducci watches her squad in the pool, she doesn’t have to worry about the boys.
“I have a lot of seniors, and so with them, it’s just a lot of fine-tuning,” Balducci said.
The fine-tuning is occurring at various meets throughout the Valley before district competition begins after the New Year.
“I’m looking to improve their turns, the breakouts, the sprints in the finish,” Balducci said.
Memorial senior Brian Holmes has been impressive thus far in the young season. At the City Champs swim meet on Nov. 4, Holmes won first place in 100-meter freestyle with a time of 51.6. That mark is currently best in the Valley. Holmes also helped lead the Mustangs first place in the 200-yard medley relay.
“(Holmes) has been huge for us,” Balducci said. “He’s done a really good job.”
The City Champs meets doubled as a chance for Balducci to evaluate her nebulous crew of freshman girls.
“It was giving us some idea of how these kids are coming along,” she said. “I had a very small girls team last year, but these kids are real gun-ho and are fired up and keep improving.”
One such freshman is Hannah Bradford. Bradford placed first for Memorial at City Champs in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 57.93, beating second place by more than six seconds. Bradford also finished first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:05.95 and helped the team win the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Megan Blevins, another freshman, finished third in both the 200-yard freestyle and 250-freestyle.
“She’s spot on,” Balducci said. “She looks good.”
Despite Bradford’s success, many of Memorial freshman girls are still getting acclimated to the basics.
“They’re still getting used to two straight hours of practice,” Balducci said. “They’re getting used to getting up at five in the morning, keeping good grades while swimming, practicing all four strokes as opposed to just one like they did in middle school.”
Memorial’s next meet will be a Nov. 15 date in Brownsville, followed by a Nov. 21 trip to Corpus Christi.
“We’ve got to see where everyone tends to excel,” Balducci said. “Because they’re not sure what they’re good at either. But the kids are getting adjustments made and doing well.”