BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
The McAllen Rowe girls swim team placed fifth at Harlingen CISD Winter Invitational on Saturday with 169 team points. The Lady Warriors finished behind district rivals McAllen High (first place with 324 points) and McAllen Memorial (second place with 291).
As next month’s district meet looms, however, Rowe coach Amy Gallegos isn’t concerned about the possibility of missing the girls crown for the first time in four years.
“It’s all part of the process,” Gallegos said. “I know some of the other teams kind of view us as a mystery right now, because we’ve had some injuries, but I’m alright with that. I know that when the time comes, my girls will be ready.”
Ina Te is one Rowe swimmer who is working her way back into top form after suffering an injury to her biceps during a strenuous workout. Despite competing at less than full strength, Te won gold in the Girls 100-yard freestyle in 58.18 seconds after placing second in the 50 freestyle in 25.98.
Though she earned podium finishes, Te is aiming for improved times with an eye beyond the district meet.
“I’m working towards regionals,” Te said. “So I’m just working on getting any practice that I can up until then. I’m not totally worried right now. I just know what times I have to be at in order to get to the state meet.”
Te’s teammate Daniella Santos finished second in the 100 butterfly (1:06.10) and third in the 200 freestyle (2:14.49). Both Te and Santos participated in the Lady Warriors’ 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay, placing second in both instances.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Santiago Destefano’s high school career started in intimidating fashion. The Edinburg Vela freshman made his swimming debut at Harlingen as a member of the boys 200-yard freestyle relay competing alongside McAllen High and McAllen Memorial.
“I was really nervous,” Destefano said. “I was going up against a lot of good competition, and I wanted to come out here and swim well. I didn’t know how well we were going to do, but when I got out of the pool and saw my split time, I knew we had a chance.”
And that chance became school history for Destafano and his teammates. The SaberCats relay team placed first with a time of 1:50.44, beating second place by just under three seconds and setting a new school record.
Swimming alongside Destefano was older brother Arturo, a sophomore, Justice Free and Eddie Velador. All four have been swimming for several years on various clubs, a rare trend for Edinburg teams which do not have middle school and club programs. Despite the budding youth for the SaberCats, coach William Oullette hopes the new faces bring more than fast times to a young program.
“It’s hard for a freshman to set an example for a junior or senior,” Oullette said. “But for those who are humble enough and who are egoless, they could hop on that bandwagon. I’m hoping that a lot of this youth tends to spread that discipline and spread that focus and spread that passion for us that we need to be successful and grow as a swimming family.”
NEXT UP
Two swim meets will be held in the Valley on Friday and Saturday. A pre-regional meet will be held at the Margaret C. Clark Aquatic Center in Brownsville while other Valley teams will participate in the Pharr invitational at the Pharr Aquatic Center.