BY ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Swimmers and divers from Hanna and Brownsville Veterans Memorial enjoyed standout showings Friday at Brownsville’s annual City Meet at Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center.
Hanna won the girls division with 274 points while Brownsville Veterans captured the boys division decisively with 309 points. The Golden Eagles were second in the boys team standings (232.5 points) and the Lady Chargers were the runner-up team in the girls division (257 points).
Rivera’s boys and girls were the defending team champions, and this year they each finished third with 252 points for the Lady Raiders and 222.5 points for the
Rivera boys. Eight schools participated in the meet.
Hanna coach Sam Perez said the City Meet competition is unique in that it’s not quite as pressure-packed as the district and regional meets that are a month or so away. Still, everyone strives to be a city champion in the festive atmosphere of the Brownsville-only meet, he said.
“It’s always exciting to see who’s the best of the best in town and to watch our guys and girls step up and just compete against the ones (from other schools) we see every day at practice,” Perez said. “We did amazing today. I’m proud of our swimmers and divers. We’ll be working hard during the next few weeks in preparing for (the) District (32-6A meet on Jan. 27).”
Double-winners in individual events for Hanna on Friday were senior Gloria Orta (girls 200 individual medley and 200 breaststroke), sophomore Nadia Gutierrez (girls 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke) and freshman Quinten Deysel (boys 50 and 100 freestyles).
“I was excited to win my events and become a city champion,” Orta said. “I knew I needed to have a really good swim because I was surrounded by some really good girls. I’m glad it really went well.
“I’m excited for district and regionals — it’s the last shot I’ve got (as a senior),” added Orta, who advanced to the UIL state meet last season for Hanna. “We went to state as a relay last season and this year I’m trying to make it to state individually. I hope it goes great. I’m looking forward to the (district and regional) races to come.”
Added Deysel, “It felt great today. I had some really good times. It was just a really good meet for me. It takes a lot of practice to swim really well. You have your whole team there supporting you, so that’s really fun when you do well.”
Other individual event winners for Hanna were Italy Garcia (girls 1-meter diving), Jose Santos (boys 500 freestyle) and Matthew Lovett (boys 100 backstroke),
“I feel I’ve gotten better every year, so I’m looking forward to the future,” said Lovett, a sophomore. “In general, every time I get first I feel like it’s an accomplishment for me because, in a way, by doing that I beat myself. I always try to improve and beat my previous time. Whenever I’m swimming, I visualize me swimming against an older version of myself. Every time I finish first like today, I become a new me (with a better time), and that means a lot.
“I would say to all swimmers to always strive to beat yourself,” Lovett added. “In the end what matters most is beating yourself and achieving something (by getting a new personal best in your event). It’s all about self-fulfillment (and achieving your goals by improving).”
Brownsville Veterans had its share of winners, particularly in the relays as the Chargers and Lady Chargers won a combined three relays — two for the boys and one for the girls.
A double-winner for the Brownsville Veterans boys was Adrian Fierro (100 butterfly and 100 breastroke). Fierro, just back from a national meet in Mexico earlier this week in Guadalajara, normally swims the 50 and 100 freestyles. He said it was a boost to triumph in individual events he doesn’t usually swim at meets. He also swam on two winning relays Friday.
Fierro, who recently signed to swim in college in Florida, topped a school record by clocking 55.14 seconds in the 100 butterfly.
“I wanted to change up my events today because I just came back from nationals in Mexico (on Wednesday and I was ninth in the 50 freestyle),” Fierro said. “I was feeling a little tired today, so I didn’t want to swim my regular events because I want to be at my full potential when I do them. I tried something new at this meet.
“We won (the boys team title Friday), so that was pretty good,” he added.
Other individual event winners for Brownsville Veterans were Daniela Santillana (girls 50 freestyle), Nicolas Alvarez (boys 1-meter diving) and Daniela Chapa (girls 500 freestyle).
St. Joseph Academy finished fourth in the girls standings (147 points) and fifth among the boys teams (100 points). Individual winners for SJA were Jessie
Hainley (girls 100 and 200 freestyles) and Esteban Gonzalez (boys 200 freestyle).
Another individual event winner Friday was Rivera’s Kyle Shea (boys 200 individual medley).
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess