MARK MOLINA | STAFF WRITER
For the Los Fresnos Falcons and the Brownsville Veterans Memorial swim teams, this week will be about defending titles at their respective district meets.
The District 32-5A will begin today at the Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center in Brownsville, starting the diving portion at noon and the swimming portion Friday at 11 a.m., while the 32-6A meet will be held in its entirety Friday at the Weslaco Aquatic Center with the diving portion at 9 a.m. and the swimming portion no earlier than noon.
For the Los Fresnos swimmers, the theme of the district meet will be streaks as the Falcons — led by eight seniors — aim for their 10th straight district crown, while the Lady Falcons look to secure back-to-back championships after having a four-year streak snapped in 2017.
Los Fresnos head coach Jaime Perez said his team has prepared diligently and looking to ride a wave of momentum into Friday.
“We’ve been preparing for this meet all year and both our boys and girls are coming off big meets this month at the McAllen New Year’s Classic,” Perez said. “So we’re ready to compete. District is always really competitive because it features several strong aquatic programs, each with their own standout swimmers who will be looking to make big waves this Friday.”
Returning for Los Fresnos are 2018 state qualifiers Sarah Villarreal and Luis Osuna.
Villarreal qualified to the state meet in the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle, while Osuna competed in the 200 and 500 freestyle as well as the 400 freestyle relay.
“We take everything one meet at a time,” Perez said. “But this is a big meet because it allows us to move on to regionals, which allows us the opportunity to compete for a spot at state. At the end, that’s our ultimate goal, but we do have a strong district. So our goal is for each and every one of our swimmers and divers to earn a personal best and move on to regionals.”
Over in District 32-5A, the Chargers and Lady Chargers are in defend mode and head coach Frank Sanchez said he likes what he has seen from his swimmers in the weeks leading up to the district meet.
That’s been important as the Chargers coach says it’s harder to stay on top than it is to get there.
“The last couple of weeks have been really good practices and we have been working really hard,” Sanchez said. said. “It think when you have a championship it’s almost harder to defend it than having to achieve it. The team knows what pressure is on them, but I tell them just to relax, have fun and let the cards fall where they may. I think with the conditioning that what have been doing for the last couple of weeks, we’re going to be fine. I think it’s going to come down to everyone just doing their part and swimming at their best level. It’s going to be very competitive with a lot of great teams and that’s a great thing.”
The Chargers diving team is primed for a big day, especially from Nico Alvarez, who set a Harlingen CISD Aquatic Center pool record in the boys 1-meter diving at the Winter Splash Bash on Jan. 11 with a final score of 348.35. Not far behind was teammate Carlos Pereira in third place with a 298.75.
“Nico broke the pool record in Harlingen and seems to be really confident, but Carlos is right behind him as far as points go,” Sanchez said. “Both of those boys I see scoring really high and doing very well. I think with the diving, that’s something that has been overlooked. These boys have been working really hard and I hope they do very well at the meet.”
The top eight places will score at the district level with the top six moving on to the regional meet.