NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
MISSION — When he was a middle schooler, Sharyland Pioneer sophomore Trevor Heath thought he’d end up in full pads playing football for the Diamondbacks. Two years into high school, Heath is submerged in his new passion, winning gold in the pool and trimming time.
“I never really thought about swimming ever,” Heath said at practice this week. “I was in football for about two years. I always thought that was going to be my niche. My dad just said, ‘Hey, go ahead and try this,’ so I got in the pool, and I liked it. It was fun, and I didn’t really stop. It just kind of grew on me.”
Heath didn’t head straight for the sport’s popular events. Instead, he excelled at the most grueling races in a meet.
As a freshman, Heath won gold in the 200-yard individual medley, which includes each of the four swimming strokes, and the endurance-demanding 500 freestyle. This year, he won two more individual golds in those same events at the District 31-5A meet in Mission. Heath will attempt to advance to state as the Region 8-5A swim meet unfolds today and Saturday at the CCISD Natatorium in Corpus Christi.
The sophomore said that his dedication to his craft included trips to College Station for different camps.
“I started out by doing pure technique camps,” Heath said. “Then, I started doing more of the conditioning camps, and that’s what really got me to where I was. Even though during those condition camps I was having a really hard time to keep up with those people. I was swimming with people from all around. It pushed me to where I am now.”
The Pioneer boys swimming team is the benefactor of Heath’s ascension. During Heath’s freshman season, he was part of Pioneer’s first district championship team in program history, edging out Sharyland High by 11 points.
Heath swam the 200 IM in 2 minutes, 16.47 seconds at the 2017 district meet. This season, he completed the race in 2:06.75.
Pioneer swimming coach Arnold Perez said his success can be wholly attributed to his work ethic.
“He’s not afraid to work,” Perez said. “I’ve had a lot of kids in my career that are hard workers, but him and (Andrew) Adkins are a different breed. If I cancel practice, they’re mad. If something happens, weather comes in, whatever happens, the pool breaks down, they are honestly upset. They’ll come in on their own time on Sundays to swim. Just unheard of stuff.”
Heath’s freshman 500 freestyle times were 5:21.67 at the district meet and 5:19.58 at the regional meet. This year at district, he trimmed his time down to 5:02.11.
“I’ve definitely just been training a lot harder to get to where I am now,” Heath said. “I’ve done more camps, things like that, to get me ready for this year’s competition.”
Now, he’s quicker, and the Diamondbacks seem to be following suit. They won the district meet by 37 points over Sharyland High.
Adkins, a junior, won the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke, pitching in 18 individual points toward district championship.
“We had the target on our back, and everyone was trying to catch us, instead of the other way around,” Adkins said about coming into district as favorites.
Being a favorite heading into the regional meet is more difficult, but that’s exactly where Adkins is positioned in the breaststroke, boasting the top seed time at 1:04.11.
“There will always be a surprise up there, because everybody is going to drop time, of course,” Adkins said. “Nobody’s going to stay the same or add time.”
Heath is seeded outside of state qualifying positions in both events, albeit by mere seconds.
He enters the day seeded 1.65 seconds behind second place in the IM and four seconds behind a pair of Flour Bluff seniors in the 500 free.
Just a few days before leaving to Corpus Christi for the regional meet, Heath was in good spirits about the upcoming challenge.
“I enjoy the competition. Even if I lose, I love swimming against other people,” Heath said. “It just lets me know where I’m at and where I need to be to go on further. I have two more years in my high school career, and I’m so excited to see where I can go and do the best I can. I’m really hoping to see if I can final in state.”
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