By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
Coming off of a top-10 finish in the 2019 University Interscholastic League Class 5A state meet, Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s Nico Alvarez will look to earn a spot on the medal stand in his second trip to Austin.
“I’m most excited to end (my career) off on a high note,” Alvarez said. “I’m not nervous, I’m mostly excited.”
The senior placed seventh out of 16 entrants to reach the Class 5A finals last season. Alvarez said he and Chargers diving coach Mark Schlatter have been working to improve his flexibility and technique in the hopes of retaining his spot on the all-state first-team, which includes the top eight finishers.
Schlatter believes consistency has been the hallmark of Alvarez’s success.
“Really, towards the end of last year, (Alvarez) just got to where he was so steady,” Schlatter said. “He really has maintained that, which is the key. A lot of divers are up and down in their scores and performance. He has just been steady. If he does poorly on one (dive), he just keeps going… The pressure doesn’t seem to bother him.”
Joining Alvarez in qualifying this year will be junior swimmer Daniella Chapa, who will be competing in the 500 freestyle and is the first girl to qualify for state in school history.
“I’ve been swimming since I was 8 years old,” Chapa said. “So it’s really cool to accomplish that.”
Chapa set a personal-best at 5:50.26 on Feb. 1 at the Region VIII-5A meet in Corpus Christi.
“She’s been really focused,” Chargers swim coach Frank Sanchez said. “Her training that she’s done has been to where she’s had some really tough sets. I think that made a big difference. Plus, she does some club and afterschool swimming, and that helped quite a bit.”
Sanchez said he knew when Chapa dropped three seconds off of her individual medley time at the regional meet that she was setting herself up for a big improvement in the 500 freestyle.
Chapa tried shorter events like the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle at the start of her high school career, but she soon realized her path to state qualification was better suited to the longer distance.
“I’ve always been better at long distance more than sprinting,” Chapa said. “I’ve always wanted to make it to state in the 500.”
The Class 5A swimming & diving prelims are set to start at 10 a.m. Friday, and the 5A finals are slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.