By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The Brownsville Veterans Memorial girls and boys swimmers and divers dominated the District 32-5A meet.
When the swimming events were done Friday at the Margaret M. Clark aquatic center, the boys and girls teams from Brownsville Veterans hoisted the district championship trophies. Because of COVID-19 safety protocols there wasn’t the usual trophy and medal presentation, but missing the flash didn’t make the wins any less meaningful.
“It feels really, really good. With everything going on, it didn’t have that pop to it … but they earned it,” Chargers coach Frank Sanchez said. “This is one of the most earned, I think, championships that these kids have ever gotten in the history of Veterans. With the obstacles and the challenges we’ve had, these kids have been working every single day. I give them a lot of credit. And to the parents, I give them a lot of credit for allowing the kids to come out.”
The Lady Chargers set the tone for their meet from the first event, taking gold in the 200-yard medley relay on the efforts of Leah Rodriguez, Daniela Chapa, Kaedee Errizuriz and Carolina Meza. The Lady Chargers continued racking up wins to accumulate 177 points and clinch the district title.
Brownsville Lopez’s girls finished second with a score of 115, and Weslaco East also found the podium with a score of 90. PSJA Memorial (53 points), PSJA Southwest (19), Brownsville Porter (10) and Brownsville Pace (6) rounded out the field.
Errizuriz, a sophomore, picked up four gold medals and was named the high-point individual for the meet. Along with partaking in the 200 medley relay, Errizuriz anchored the first-place 400 freestyle relay and won the 50 and 100 freestyle events.
“It feels really good because all the hard work and early mornings paid off. The whole team came together, and all of our hard work and the coaches’ hard work paid off today,” Errizuriz said. “I feel like I did really good, but hopefully by next meet I can do better. The relays (felt best), because I know we got to overlap some teams and that felt good.”
The Brownsville Veterans girls swept the 1-meter diving competition, with Makayla Schaelchlin coming in first, Karen A. Ortiz finishing second and Vanessa Lerma taking third.
The Chargers’ lone diver, Jaime Galindo, finished second behind PSJA Memorial’s Jose Vasquez in the boys 1-meter dive.
The Chargers comfortably clinched the boys title with a score of 143. PSJA Southwest took second with 98 points, and Weslaco East finished third with 81 points. Brownsville Lopez (74), PSJA Memorial (70), Brownsville Pace (13) and Brownsville Porter (3) closed out the standings.
Both Brownsville Veterans 400 freestyle relay teams closed the meet on a high note with victories. Adrian Rodriguez, Seth Sweeney, Daniel Fierro and Diego Gonzalez comprised the boys relay team and were some of the swimmers Sanchez said stood out through the meet. The coach also was impressed as freshmen Frida Munoz, Mia Marin and Keyla Rocha pitched in for the wins.
Sanchez believes the strong swims his teams showcased Friday have them feeling confident heading into the regional meet to be held Feb. 5-6. He was proud of his swimmers but also praised the competition for making this a district meet to remember.
“Hat’s off to everybody, for every team to have brought somebody to come swim, that’s awesome,” Sanchez said. “Everybody’s going through this pandemic, and I cannot congratulate every single team enough, and the kids for coming out and doing their best. It could’ve been anybody’s win today.”
District 32 5A Meet
Thursday and Friday
Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center, Brownsville
Team Results
Boys
1, Brownsville Veterans Memorial, 143; 2, PSJA Southwest, 98; 3, Weslaco East, 81; 4, Brownsville Lopez, 74; 5, PSJA Memorial, 70; 6, Brownsville Pace, 13; 7, Brownsville Porter, 3.
Girls
1, Brownsville Veterans Memorial, 177; 2, Brownsville Lopez, 115; 3, Weslaco East, 90; 4, PSJA Memorial, 53; 6, Brownsville Porter, 10; 7, Brownsville Pace, 6.
Individual Results
Girls 200 Medley Relay
1, Brownsville Veterans A (Rodriguez, Leah 12, Chapa, Daniela 12, Errizuriz, Kaedee 10, Meza, Carolina 10), 2:15.12. 2, Weslaco East A (Soliz, Hailey D 09, Soliz, Kailey N 09, Camarena, Lissette 12, Gonzalez, Janet I 09), 2:23.82. 3, Brownsville Lopez A (Gonzalez, Frida 10, Duran, Viancy 11, Rodriguez, Lesly 10, Almazan, Hailey 12), 2:43.11. 4, PSJA Memorial A (Caballero, Alma 9, Espinoza, Biance 11, Garcia, Adriana 11, Trevino, Vanity E 12), 2:43.91.
Boys 200 Medley Relay
1, Weslaco East A (Jimenez, Carlos G 11, Leal, Dimitri R 12, Blas, Joshua 11, Leal, Nathaniel G 09), 1:52.78. 2, Brownsville Veterans A (Fierro, Daniel 9, Sweeney, Seth 12, Gonzalez, Diego 11, Rodriguez, Adrian 12), 1:52.88. 3, PSJA Memorial A (Garza, Andres 11, Espinoza, Joaquin 9, Vasquez, Jose 12, Rodriguez, Heriberto 12), 2:06.51. 4, Brownsville Lopez A (Delgado, Raul 12, Longoria, Hiram 12, Vieyra, Jesus 12, Gonzalez, Juan 12), 2:09.03. 5, PSJA Southwest A (Mendoza, Hector 11, Nava, Carlos 11, Castillo, Pedro 10, Morales, Max 11), 2:33.66.
Girls 200 Freestyle
1, Meza, Carolina, Brownsville Veterans, 2:30.52. 2, Rodriguez, Leah, Brownsville Veterans, 2:44.92. 3, Lopez Adame, Valeria, Weslaco East, 3:05.60. 4, Hernandez, Karmen, Brownsville Lopez, 3:11.21. 5, Camarena, Lissette, Weslaco East, 3:12.10. 6, Cardenas, Angie, Brownsville Lopez, 3:15.79. 7, Martinez, Aisha, Brownsville Lopez, 3:31.23. 8, Reyes, Eliza, Brownsville Lopez, 3:31.56.
Boys 200 Freestyle
1, Uria, Mauricio, PSJA Southwest, 2:08.72. 2, Fierro, Daniel, Brownsville Veterans, 2:16.52. 3, DeLeon, Jeremy, Brownsville Veterans, 2:21.66. 4, Delgado, Raul, Brownsville Lopez, 2:26.12. 5, Vasquez, Jose, PSJA Memorial, 2:29.87. 6, Castillo, Pedro, PSJA Southwest, 2:38.57. 7, Mendoza, Hector, PSJA Southwest, 3:04.98. 8, Ruiz, Matthew, Brownsville Lopez, 3:07.35.
Girls 200 IM
1, Chapa, Daniela, Brownsville Veterans, 2:37.25. 2, Ramos, Karla, PSJA Southwest, 2:55.40. 3, Duran, Viancy, Brownsville Lopez, 3:17.16. 4, Rodriguez, Lesly, Brownsville Lopez, 3:17.30. 5, Marin, Mia, Brownsville Veterans, 3:19.07.
Boys 200 IM
1, Blas, Joshua, Weslaco East, 2:21.19. 2, Gomez Barrera, Francisco, Brownsville Veterans, 2:37.63. 3, Martinez, Matt, PSJA Memorial, 2:55.44. 4, Reyes, Ricardo, Brownsville Lopez, 3:19.66. 5, Longoria, Hiram, Brownsville Lopez, 3:31.98. —, Leal, Nathaniel G, Weslaco East, DQ. —, Espinoza, Joaquin, PSJA Memorial, DQ.
Girls 50 Freestyle
1, Errizuriz, Kaedee, Brownsville Veterans, 27.52. 2, Soliz, Hailey D, Weslaco East, 30.25. 3, Soliz, Kailey N, Weslaco East, 30.81. 4, Gonzalez, Janet I, Weslaco East, 31.06. 5, Davies, Ava, Brownsville Pace, 32.23. 6, Garcia, Isabela M, Brownsville Veterans, 32.46. 7, Rodriguez, Dannah V, Brownsville Veterans, 33.53. 8, Trevino, Vanity E, PSJA Memorial, 33.90. 9, Sauceda, Saleem, Brownsville Porter, 36.36. 10, Lopez, Ximena, PSJA Memorial, 39.30. 11, Caballero, Alma, PSJA Memorial, 41.92. 12, Mendoza, Aylah, Brownsville Lopez, 41.98. 13, Reyes, Eliza, Brownsville Lopez, 43.95. 14, Lopez, Fernanda, PSJA Memorial, 45.67. 15, Gaona, Valeria, Brownsville Lopez, 47.09. 16, Gomez, Sofia, Brownsville Lopez, 49.82. 17, Del Angel Raga, Edna, Brownsville Pace, 50.10. 18, Brenon, Sherlyn, PSJA Southwest, 50.47. 19, Cantu, Cinthya, Brownsville Porter, 51.59.
Boys 50 Freestyle
1, Velasquez, Issac, PSJA Southwest, 22.59. 2, Gonzalez, Diego, Brownsville Veterans, 22.98. 3, Rodriguez, Adrian, Brownsville Veterans, 23.82. 4, Leal, Dimitri R, Weslaco East, 25.06. 5, Jimenez, Carlos G, Weslaco East, 25.17. 6, Rodriguez, Heriberto, PSJA Memorial, 25.31. 7, Cantu, Max, Brownsville Pace, 27.75. 8, Castro Segovia, Josue, Brownsville Porter, 27.92. 9, Gonzalez, Juan, Brownsville Lopez, 28.57. 10, Nava, Carlos, PSJA Southwest, 28.65. 11, Huerta-Vela, Heri, Brownsville Pace, 29.32. 12, Galindo, Jaime, Brownsville Veterans, 30.04. 13, Del Angel Raga, Raul, Brownsville Pace, 30.37. 14, Cortinas, Jose D, Brownsville Pace, 31.51. 15, Ledezma, Alejandro, Brownsville Porter, 31.63. 16, Zavala, Aiden, Weslaco East, 31.64. 17, Flores, Fernando, PSJA Memorial, 32.43. 18, Torres, Leonardo, Brownsville Porter, 32.83. 19, Morales, Max, PSJA Southwest, 52.75.
Girls 1-meter Diving
1, Schaelchlin, Makayla, Brownsville Veterans, 267.10. 2, Ortiz, Karen A, Brownsville Veterans, 244.10. 3, Lerma, Vanessa, Brownsville Veterans, 242.55. 4, Garcia, Adriana, PSJA Memorial, 167.70.
Boys 1-meter Diving
1, Vasquez, Jose, PSJA Memorial, 261.70. 2, Galindo, Jaime, Brownsville Veterans, 220.30.
Girls 100 Butterfly
1, Camarena, Lissette, Weslaco East, 1:35.12. 2, Garcia, Adriana, PSJA Memorial, 1:36.45. 3, Marin, Mia, Brownsville Veterans, 1:41.35. 4, Granado, Vivian, Brownsville Lopez, 1:49.35. 5, Quiroz, Karla, Brownsville Lopez, 1:55.28. 6, Cardenas, Angie, Brownsville Lopez, 2:00.53. 7, Martinez, Dyani, Brownsville Lopez, 2:11.04.
Boys 100 Butterfly
1, Gonzalez, Diego, Brownsville Veterans, 56.70. 2, Salas-Garcia, Jorge, PSJA Southwest, 1:09.07. 3, Garza Garcia, Everardo, Brownsville Veterans, 1:09.91. 4, Vieyra, Jesus, Brownsville Lopez, 1:10.37. 5, Macias, Juan, Brownsville Lopez, 1:25.40. 6, Rodriiguez, Eloy, Brownsville Veterans, 1:42.12.
Girls 100 Freestyle
1, Errizuriz, Kaedee, Brownsville Veterans, 1:01.71. 2, Soliz, Hailey D, Weslaco East, 1:05.33. 3, Munoz, Frida, Brownsville Veterans, 1:12.32. 4, Garcia, Isabela M, Brownsville Veterans, 1:12.97. 5, Gonzalez, Frida, Brownsville Lopez, 1:16.34. 6, Velez, Teresa, Weslaco East, 1:17.54. 7, Davies, Ava, Brownsville Pace, 1:19.03. 8, Trevino, Vanity E, PSJA Memorial, 1:19.06. 9, Sauceda, Saleem, Brownsville Porter, 1:22.89. 10, Rocha, Keyla, Brownsville Veterans, 1:24.16. 11, Torres, Dalila, Brownsville Porter, 1:24.87. 12, Almazan, Hailey, Brownsville Lopez, 1:25.45. 13, Espinoza, Biance, PSJA Memorial, 1:26.40. 14, Lopez, Ximena, PSJA Memorial, 1:32.55. 15, Gomez, Daniela, PSJA Southwest, 1:34.11. 16, Gomez, Sofia, Brownsville Lopez, 1:48.53. 17, Gaona, Valeria, Brownsville Lopez, 1:52.84. 18, Del Angel Raga, Edna, Brownsville Pace, 1:59.07. 19, Lopez, Fernanda, PSJA Memorial, 2:04.21.
Boys 100 Freestyle
1, Velasquez, Issac, PSJA Southwest, 49.12. 2, Rodriguez, Adrian, Brownsville Veterans, 53.47. 3, Blas, Joshua, Weslaco East, 54.04. 4, Rodriguez, Heriberto, PSJA Memorial, 58.23. 5, Sweeney, Seth, Brownsville Veterans, 1:00.03. 6, Leal, Nathaniel G, Weslaco East, 1:03.17. 7, Castro Segovia, Josue, Brownsville Porter, 1:03.42. 8, Garza, Andres, PSJA Memorial, 1:05.11. 9, Gonzalez, Juan, Brownsville Lopez, 1:05.61. 10, Nava, Carlos, PSJA Southwest, 1:06.49. 11, Cantu, Max, Brownsville Pace, 1:09.94. 12, Huerta-Vela, Heri, Brownsville Pace, 1:09.98. 13, Ledezma, Alejandro, Brownsville Porter, 1:11.52. 14, Rodriiguez, Eloy, Brownsville Veterans, 1:12.17. 15, Flores, Fernando, PSJA Memorial, 1:15.47. 16, Zavala, Aiden, Weslaco East, 1:17.47. 17, Torres, Leonardo, Brownsville Porter, 1:20.87. 18, Cortinas, Jose D, Brownsville Pace, 1:25.42.
Girls 500 Freestyle
1, Chapa, Daniela, Brownsville Veterans, 6:11.90. 2, Meza, Carolina, Brownsville Veterans, 6:39.93. 3, Hernandez, Karmen, Brownsville Lopez, 8:53.77. 4, Granado, Vivian, Brownsville Lopez, 9:21.32. 5, Quiroz, Karla, Brownsville Lopez, 9:34.75. 6, Martinez, Aisha, Brownsville Lopez, 9:56.27.
Boys 500 Freestyle
1, Uria, Mauricio, PSJA Southwest, 5:52.40. 2, Garza Garcia, Everardo, Brownsville Veterans, 6:23.71. 3, Vieyra, Jesus, Brownsville Lopez, 6:55.35. 4, Castillo, Pedro, PSJA Southwest, 7:08.52. 5, Macias, Juan, Brownsville Lopez, 7:49.36. 6, Mendoza, Hector, PSJA Southwest, 8:06.52.
Girls 200 Freestyle Relay
1, Weslaco East A (Soliz, Kailey N 09, Camarena, Lissette 12, Gonzalez, Janet I 09, Soliz, Hailey D 09), 2:05.33. 2, Brownsville Veterans A (Garcia, Isabela M 10, Rodriguez, Dannah V 10, Marin, Mia 9, Munoz, Frida 9), 2:11.34. 3, Brownsville Lopez A (Rodriguez, Lesly 10, Duran, Viancy 11, Gonzalez, Frida 10, Hernandez, Karmen 12), 2:16.77. 4, PSJA Memorial A (Garcia, Adriana 11, Lopez, Fernanda 12, Lopez, Ximena 9, Espinoza, Biance 11), 2:38.97. 5, Porter High School A (Sauceda, Saleem 12, Cantu, Cinthya 10, Torres, Dalila 12, Lopez, Jennifer M 11), 2:41.51.
Boys 200 Freestyle Relay
1, Weslaco East A (Blas, Joshua 11, Jimenez, Carlos G 11, Leal, Nathaniel G 09, Leal, Dimitri R 12), 1:40.06. 2, PSJA Southwest A (Velasquez, Issac 11, Salas-Garcia, Jorge 11, Nava, Carlos 11, Uria, Mauricio 11), 1:42.47. 3, Brownsville Veterans A (DeLeon, Jeremy 11, Gomez Barrera, Francisco 10, Galindo, Jaime 12, Garza Garcia, Everardo 10), 1:53.76. 4, PSJA Memorial A (Garza, Andres 11, Flores, Fernando 11, Martinez, Matt 9, Rodriguez, Heriberto 12), 1:56.01. 5, Brownsville Pace A (Cantu, Max 12, Del Angel Raga, Raul 12, Cortinas, Jose D 12, Huerta-Vela, Heri 12), 1:57.55. 6, Brownsville Lopez A (Gonzalez, Juan 12, Longoria, Hiram 12, Macias, Juan 12, Ruiz, Matthew 10), 2:16.72.
Girls 100 Backstroke
1, Ramos, Karla, PSJA Southwest, 1:16.86. 2, Gonzalez, Janet I, Weslaco East, 1:22.84. 3, Rodriguez, Leah, Brownsville Veterans, 1:26.42. 4, Gonzalez, Frida, Brownsville Lopez, 1:33.81. 5, Velez, Teresa, Weslaco East, 1:39.59. 6, Almazan, Hailey, Brownsville Lopez, 1:40.98. 7, Torres, Dalila, Brownsville Porter, 1:43.77. 8, Rocha, Keyla, Brownsville Veterans, 1:45.14. 9, Caballero, Alma, PSJA Memorial, 1:50.52. 10, Mendoza, Aylah, Brownsville Lopez, 1:57.85. 11, Martinez, Dyani, Brownsville Lopez, 2:04.44.
Boys 100 Backstroke
1, Jimenez, Carlos G, Weslaco East, 1:05.73. 2, Delgado, Raul, Brownsville Lopez, 1:06.37. 3, Fierro, Daniel, Brownsville Veterans, 1:08.12. 4, Gomez Barrera, Francisco, Brownsville Veterans, 1:12.05. 5, Garza, Andres, PSJA Memorial, 1:20.59. 6, Reyes, Ricardo, Brownsville Lopez, 1:25.89. 7, Ruiz, Matthew, Brownsville Lopez, 1:41.32.
Girls 100 Breaststroke
1, Rodriguez, Dannah V, Brownsville Veterans, 1:37.01. 2, Espinoza, Biance, PSJA Memorial, 1:41.09. 3, Rodriguez, Lesly, Brownsville Lopez, 1:41.46. 4, Duran, Viancy, Brownsville Lopez, 1:41.88. 5, Munoz, Frida, Brownsville Veterans, 1:43.92. 6, Gomez, Daniela, PSJA Southwest, 1:46.68. —, Lopez Adame, Valeria, Weslaco East, DQ. —, Soliz, Kailey N, Weslaco East, DQ.
Boys 100 Breaststroke
1, Leal, Dimitri R, Weslaco East, 1:11.18. 2, Sweeney, Seth, Brownsville Veterans, 1:14.53. 3, Salas-Garcia, Jorge, PSJA Southwest, 1:14.75. 4, DeLeon, Jeremy, Brownsville Veterans, 1:19.47. 5, Espinoza, Joaquin, PSJA Memorial, 1:21.04. 6, Del Angel Raga, Raul, Brownsville Pace, 1:30.32. 7, Longoria, Hiram, Brownsville Lopez, 1:32.94. —, Martinez, Matt, PSJA Memorial, DQ.
Girls 400 Freestyle Relay
1, Brownsville Veterans A (Chapa, Daniela 12, Rodriguez, Leah 12, Meza, Carolina 10, Errizuriz, Kaedee 10), 4:21.00. 2, Brownsville Lopez A (Almazan, Hailey 12, Granado, Vivian 11, Hernandez, Karmen 12, Quiroz, Karla 12), 6:09.12. 3, PSJA Memorial A (Lopez, Ximena 9, Caballero, Alma 9, Lopez, Fernanda 12, Trevino, Vanity E 12), 6:38.55.
Boys 400 Freestyle Relay
1, Brownsville Veterans A (Rodriguez, Adrian 12, Sweeney, Seth 12, Gonzalez, Diego 11, Fierro, Daniel 9), 3:42.64. 2, PSJA Southwest A (Salas-Garcia, Jorge 11, Castillo, Pedro 10, Uria, Mauricio 11, Velasquez, Issac 11), 3:46.37. 3, PSJA Memorial A (Garza, Andres 11, Flores, Fernando 11, Espinoza, Joaquin 9, Vasquez, Jose 12), 4:29.30. 4, Brownsville Lopez A (Delgado, Raul 12, Macias, Juan 12, Reyes, Ricardo 9, Vieyra, Jesus 12), 4:42.29. —, Brownsville Pace A (Cantu, Max 12, Del Angel Raga, Raul 12, Cortinas, Jose D 12, Huerta-Vela, Heri 12), DQ.