BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
The McAllen High swim team kick-started the season in podium-topping fashion Saturday during the RGVSCA Split Meet at McAllen Rowe High School. Behind 10 gold medals, the boys and girls took home first place for their respective team efforts.
That’s nice for McHi coach Jared Kaminski, but he’s realistic about his team’s prospects after one meet.
“For the boys, it was as expected for this point in the year,” Kaminski said. “For the girls, it was better than we had hoped overall. However, we didn’t really see any perfect swims. We saw a lot of very good swims and a lot of good times. Everything still has work to be done though.”
Kaminski’s to-do list includes shoring up turns, perfecting strokes and honing in on the blocks.
“This early in the year, oftentimes I’m just trying to see who’s giving effort,” he said. “I’m watching their legs to see how much they’re kicking. It all begins with effort.”
Sophomore Shaine Casas gave effort in the boys 100-yard backstroke, setting a new school record with a time of 52.85 seconds. Despite swimming into history, Kaminski said Casas was mostly unfazed by his time.
“He knows that school records aren’t the goal,” he said. “They’re nice and it’s great to get them, but he knows that they aren’t the goal. The goal is to get to state and compete at the state level against better competition.”
Casas’ teammate Errol Lizzotte knows about competing against better competition after having swum in the state meet a season ago. Lizzotte, a senior, won gold Saturday during the boys 50 freestyle (22.95) and the boys 100 butterfly (55.66). In order to keep up against the better teams in Texas, though, Kaminski is taking his team to The Woodlands this weekend to expose them to faster times.
“In the Valley, Shaine is swimming against the clock in his events,” Kaminski said. “At this meet, there will be eight or nine other kids that are just as fast or faster than he is. He’ll have someone else to compete against.”
Sophomore Shelby Swanson helped anchor the girls team, winning gold in the girls 500 freestyle (5:41.85) and silver in the girls 50 freestyle (26.95).
SETTLING IN
McAllen Memorial coach Tim Nelson is still getting used to his team and the Valley. Nelson takes over for former coach Roxanne Balducci, who retired during the summer.
Although the Mustangs are under new direction, the results were familiar during Saturday’s meet at McAllen Rowe. The boys teams placed fifth while the girls placed third. Jorge Vasquez won gold in the boys100 backstroke (1:05.20). Stacia Benitez did the same in the girls 100 freestyle (57.68) while Hannah Bradford finished first in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.99).
Ethan Plummer won gold in the boys 1-meter diving with 107.6 points.
DIVING STRONG
While La Joya ISD’s swim teams await the opening of a new swimming facility that’s under construction, La Joya High’s diving team continues to be a strong point for the Coyotes.
During Saturday’s meet at McAllen Rowe, Eddie Barrera placed second in the boys 1-meter dive with 98.20 points and Daisy Segundo placed third in the girls 1-meter dive (68.70).
