By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — Five swimmers from the Metro area won gold at the Region VIII-6A swimming & diving meet Saturday at Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center to qualify for the UIL state meet.
It was a record setting night in the finals portion of the meet for Brownsville Hanna senior Quinten Deysel and Los Fresnos senior Evyn Garcia, who both advanced in individual races. Deysel swam a 21.85-second race to win the 50-yard freestyle and a 47.62 to take gold in the 100 freestyle. Both races resulted in Deysel breaking Hanna records that he previously held.
“I feel really great. I hit a PR for all my events, so that feels good, and I’m excited for what’s next. I couldn’t do it without my teammates, my coaches, my family and my girlfriend and everyone behind me, supporting me,” Deysel said.
Deysel was the anchor for Hanna’s 200 and 400 freestyle relays, which both placed third. He said it was a good night swimming for the last time in Brownsville, and he’s proud of how he represented the Golden Eagles in his time with the program. Now, Deysel has his sights set on putting Hanna on the map at state.
“I went to state last year, so I have more knowledge of what to expect and what kind of competition I’ll have, so I kind of know where I am,” Deysel said. “I’m glad I could have one more meet with my teammates and show them how to be a leader. I had so much fun the past couple of years swimming with Hanna, and it was amazing to be part of this team.”
Garcia won the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.28, setting a new school record and qualifying for state as an individual for the first time. He contributed an impressive final leg to Los Fresnos’ state-qualifying 200 freestyle relay, clinching gold with junior Jayden Crews, senior Efrain Mascorro and sophomore Israel Gomez.
Gomez had a strong swim as the third leg to close the gap between Los Fresnos and then-leader Laredo Alexander, and Garcia rocketed past Alexander coming off the final turn to punch his team’s ticket to state.
“I went to state my sophomore year on a relay, so that was awesome, but I didn’t feel as accomplished because I didn’t go individually. Now that I am, I feel more accomplished,” Garcia said. “Every time before I race, I’m always super nervous. I say a little prayer then turn it on. Finishing to the wall (in the 100 butterfly), I felt like crying, because I knew that I won and I had so much joy.
“When I jumped in the pool (for the relay), I felt a weight on me to bring it back,” he added. “I hit a 21, which is my fastest time ever, so that was nice, and touching the wall and seeing my team happy and their faces glowing was awesome. It felt like a family. I felt at peace that we made it to state.”
Garcia also finished third in the 200 IM and was part of Los Fresnos’ third-place 200 medley relay. The senior said this season felt special because he was a leader on the team, and he was thankful for the hard work put in by his teammates and coaches that made the Falcons successful.
“I felt it was my responsibility to help my team go to state, so practice after practice I’d always drill in them that we need to do this, we need to do that. Thanks to my coach for having great sets and helping us through everything. He really shaped us for what we were able to do,” Garcia said.
Laredo Alexander clinched the Region VIII-6A swimming & diving championship with a score of 348. Laredo United took gold in six of the 11 swimming events and finished second with 319 points. Los Fresnos (283) was third, followed by Mission High (221) and Brownsville Hanna (188) to round out the top five.
Weslaco High senior Nathan Parker finished second in both the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.89 and in the 100 backstroke with a 58.25. He could advance to state if those times are among the eight fastest overall that didn’t automatically qualify in their respective event from the eight regional meets.
Region VIII-6A Meet
Thursday and Saturday
Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center, Brownsville
Boys
Team Results
1, Laredo Alexander, 348; 2, Laredo United, 319: 3, Los Fresnos, 283; 4, Mission High, 221; 5, Brownsville Hanna, 188; 6, PSJA North, 154; 7, Weslaco High, 149; 8, Edinburg High, 106; 9, Harlingen High 104; 10, Harlingen South, 31; 11, PSJA High, 26; 12, Laredo Nixon, 25
Individual Results
200 Medley Relay
A Final: 1, Laredo United A (Gonzalez, Emiliano 11, Martinez Jr., Oscar J 12, Gonzalez, Alex I 10, Martinez, Joel O 12), 1:40.62. 2, Laredo Alexander A (Grana, Jose P 12, Mendiola, Jorge 11, Martinez, Joel 12, Pena, Cristobal 11), 1:41.61. 3, Los Fresnos A (Garcia, Evyn 12, Dominique, Hernandez 11, Crews, Jayden 11, Mascorro, Efrain 12), 1:43.56. 4, Weslaco High A (Parker, Nathan 12, Sander, Henry 11, Sander, George 10, Valadez, Noah 12), 1:46.81. 5, PSJA North A (Cerda, Sebastian A 11, Suarez, Mark 12, Alvarado, Jacob 12, Cerda, Christian 11), 1:55.07. 6, Harlingen High A (Rocha, Jonathan 11, Ramos, Rolando 10, Cruz, Joshua 10, Cantu, Kristopher 09), 1:58.28. 7, Mission High A (Rodriguez, David 11, Borrego, Ramiro 12, Sanchez, Cristian 11, Cordova, Gabriel 11), 1:58.81. 8, Brownsville Hanna A (Del Bosque, Lorenzo 11, Fuentes, Mauro , Abarca, Juan 11, Lovett, Jeremiah 10), 2:12.18.
200 Freestyle
1, Gonzalez, Emiliano, Laredo United, 1:46.74. 2, Chinchilla, Diego, Laredo Alexander, 1:49.58. 3, Pandal Ledezma, Rodrigo, Laredo United, 1:51.75. 4, Morris, Nicolas, Laredo Alexander, 1:53.20. 5, Deleon, Hector, Mission High, 2:03.23. 6, Borrego, Ramiro, Mission High, 2:05.24. 7, Cruz, Joshua, Harlingen High, 2:06.16. 8, Serna, Julio, Los Fresnos, 2:06.77. B Final: 9, Armstrong, Justin, Harlingen South, 2:07.00. 10, Santisteban, Bonoso, Los Fresnos, 2:09.41. 11, Cerda, Sebastian A, PSJA North, 2:11.00. 12, Cordova, Gabriel, Mission High, 2:12.02. 13, Hernandez, Ethan, PSJA North, 2:12.05. 14, Gonzalez, Daniel, PSJA North, 2:12.11. 15, Cantu, Alex, Edinburg High, 2:18.06.
200 IM
A Final: 1, Martinez Jr., Oscar J, Laredo United, 1:58.95. 2, Mendiola, Jorge, Laredo Alexander, 1:59.01. 3, Garcia, Evyn, Los Fresnos, 2:03.53. 4, Vega, Eloy, Laredo Alexander, 2:03.92. 5, Martinez, Joel O, Laredo United, 2:08.57. 6, Guerra, Hilario, Mission High, 2:15.56. 7, Salazar, Tranquilino, Los Fresnos, 2:18.37. 8, Sander, George, Weslaco High, 2:21.86. B Final: 9, Suarez, Mark, PSJA North, 2:24.78. 10, Gomez, Israel, Los Fresnos, 2:30.04. 11, Ramirez, Zachary, Edinburg High, 2:35.48.
50 Freestyle
A Final: 1, Deysel, Quinten, Brownsville Hanna, 21.85. 2, Pena, Cristobal, Laredo Alexander, 22.23. 3, Crews, Jayden, Los Fresnos, 22.75. 4, Rodriguez, Ricardo, Brownsville Hanna, 22.93. 5, Villarreal, Warren, Edinburg High, 23.11. 6, Martinez, Joel, Laredo Alexander, 23.74. 7, Valadez, Noah, Weslaco High, 23.87. 8, Cerda, Christian, PSJA North, 25.32. B Final: 9, Oldham, Spencer, Laredo Nixon, 24.48. 10, Rodriguez, Gael, Mission High, 24.56. 11, Camarillo, Samuel A, Laredo United, 25.83. 12, del Angel, Adalberto, Mission High, 27.55.
100 Butterfly
A Final: 1, Garcia, Evyn, Los Fresnos, 54.28. 2, Martinez, Joel O, Laredo United, 55.69. 3, Gonzalez, Alex I, Laredo United, 55.96. 4, Crews, Jayden, Los Fresnos, 56.27. 5, Morris, Nicolas, Laredo Alexander, 58.70. 6, Mendez, Nelson I, Laredo United, 1:00.45. 7, Kowalski, Michael, Brownsville Hanna, 1:02.79. 8, Ibanez, Vincent, Edinburg High, 1:05.31. B Final: 9, Rocha, Jonathan, Harlingen High, 1:05.15. 10, Cantu, Alex, Edinburg High, 1:14.12. 11, Sanchez, Cristian, Mission High, 1:17.52. —, Alvarado, Jacob, PSJA North, DFS.
100 Freestyle
A Final: 1, Deysel, Quinten, Brownsville Hanna, 47.62. 2, Parker, Nathan, Weslaco High, 49.89. 3, Pena, Cristobal, Laredo Alexander, 49.99. 4, Villarreal, Warren, Edinburg High, 52.06. 5, Martinez, Joel, Laredo Alexander, 52.28. 6, Grana, Jose P, Laredo Alexander, 52.70. 7, Valadez, Noah, Weslaco High, 53.23. 8, Deleon, Hector, Mission High, 53.93. B Final: 9, Gomez, Israel, Los Fresnos, 53.88. 10, Rodriguez, Gael, Mission High, 55.01. 11, Camarillo, Samuel A, Laredo United, 57.29. 12, Hernandez, Ethan, PSJA North, 57.49. 13, Cerda, Christian, PSJA North, 57.75. 14, Gonzalez, Daniel, PSJA North, 57.83. 15, Cordova, Gabriel, Mission High, 58.68. 16, Sanchez, Cristian, Mission High, 1:03.97.
500 Freestyle
A Final: 1, Pandal Ledezma, Rodrigo, Laredo United, 4:59.11. 2, Chinchilla, Diego, Laredo Alexander, 5:07.52. 3, Garza, Santiago, Laredo Alexander, 5:19.07. 4, Salazar, Tranquilino, Los Fresnos, 5:32.72. 5, Guerra, Hilario, Mission High, 5:40.76. 6, Muniz, Isaac, Laredo United, 5:43.59. 7, Santisteban, Bonoso, Los Fresnos, 5:59.27. 8, Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Jasiel, PSJA North, 6:38.56. B Final: 9, Ramirez, Zachary, Edinburg High, 6:06.67. 10, Gutierrez, Hector, Los Fresnos, 6:07.41. 11, Gomez, Ryan, PSJA High, 6:31.72. 12, Lovett, Jeremiah, Brownsville Hanna, 6:33.42. 13, Juarez, Emmanuel, PSJA North, 7:09.48.
200 Freestyle Relay
A Final: 1, Los Fresnos A (Crews, Jayden 11, Mascorro, Efrain 12, Gomez, Israel 10, Garcia, Evyn 12), 1:31.18. 2, Laredo Alexander A (Mendiola, Jorge 11, Pena, Cristobal 11, Vega, Eloy 11, Martinez, Joel 12), 1:31.74. 3, Brownsville Hanna A (Rodriguez, Ricardo 11, Hernandez, Moises 12, Kowalski, Michael 11, Deysel, Quinten 12), 1:32.19. 4, Weslaco High A (Parker, Nathan 12, Sander, George 10, Sander, Henry 11, Valadez, Noah 12), 1:35.98. 5, Mission High A (Borrego, Ramiro 12, Deleon, Hector 10, Guerra, Hilario 11, Rodriguez, Gael 10), 1:39.19. 6, Laredo United A (Gonzalez, Alex I 10, Gonzalez, Hugo A 12, Mendez, Nelson I 11, Pandal Ledezma, Rodrigo 12), 1:39.75. 7, Edinburg High A (Cantu, Alex 11, Cantu, Leo 11, Salinas, Bryan 10, Villarreal, Warren 10), 1:40.53. 8, PSJA North A (Suarez, Mark 12, Gonzalez, Daniel 12, Hernandez, Ethan 9, Cerda, Christian 11), 1:44.78. B Final: 9, Harlingen High A (Cantu, Kristopher 09, Petree, Reagan 09, Ramos, Rolando 10, Zoerner, Eli 09), 1:47.04.
100 Backstroke
A Final: 1, Gonzalez, Emiliano, Laredo United, 54.38. 2, Parker, Nathan, Weslaco High, 58.25. 3, Morris, Diego, Laredo Alexander, 59.26. 4, Gonzalez, Alex I, Laredo United, 59.38. 5, Grana, Jose P, Laredo Alexander, 1:01.22. 6, Rocha, Jonathan, Harlingen High, 1:03.56. 7, Izaguirre, Luis, Los Fresnos, 1:05.05. 8, Cerda, Sebastian A, PSJA North, 1:05.13. B Final: 9, Ramirez, Fernando, Los Fresnos, 1:07.86. 10, Rodriguez, David, Mission High, 1:13.53. —, Alvarado, Jacob, PSJA North, DFS.
100 Breaststroke
A Final: 1, Mendiola, Jorge, Laredo Alexander, 1:00.26. 2, Martinez Jr., Oscar J, Laredo United, 1:00.36. 3, Oldham, Spencer, Laredo Nixon, 1:05.05. 4, Dominique, Hernandez, Los Fresnos, 1:05.23. 5, Rodriguez, Ricardo, Brownsville Hanna, 1:06.16. 6, Sander, Henry, Weslaco High, 1:06.29. 7, Vega, Eloy, Laredo Alexander, 1:06.61. 8, Borrego, Ramiro, Mission High, 1:08.97. B Final: 9, Suarez, Mark, PSJA North, 1:09.71. 10, Sander, George, Weslaco High, 1:10.00. 11, del Angel, Adalberto, Mission High, 1:19.87. —, Cano, Ricardo, Edinburg High, DQ.
400 Freestyle Relay
A Final: 1, Laredo United A (Gonzalez, Emiliano 11, Martinez, Joel O 12, Pandal Ledezma, Rodrigo 12, Martinez Jr., Oscar J 12), 3:20.76. 2, Laredo Alexander A (Chinchilla, Diego 12, Morris, Nicolas 12, Morris, Diego 10, Grana, Jose P 12), 3:25.90. 3, Brownsville Hanna A (Kowalski, Michael 11, Najera, Ricardo 11, Rodriguez, Ricardo 11, Deysel, Quinten 12), 3:26.69. 4, Mission High A (Guerra, Hilario 11, Deleon, Hector 10, Cordova, Gabriel 11, Rodriguez, Gael 10), 3:39.95. 5, Los Fresnos A (Mascorro, Efrain 12, Gomez, Israel 10, Gutierrez, Hector 12, Salazar, Tranquilino 11), 3:42.46. 6, Harlingen High A (Cruz, Joshua 10, Cantu, Kristopher 09, Lopez Nunez, Julio 09, Rocha, Jonathan 11), 3:49.23. 7, PSJA North A (Hernandez, Ethan 9, Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Jasiel 9, Gonzalez, Daniel 12, Cerda, Sebastian A 11), 3:55.96. 8, Harlingen South A (Pimental, Frank 10, Rodriguez, Frankie 9, Scogin, Austin SO, Armstrong, Justin 12), 3:58.51. B Final: 9, Edinburg High A (Ibanez, Vincent 12, Cantu, Leo 11, Cantu, Alex 11, Ramirez, Zachary 12), 3:58.54.