By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
Los Fresnos enjoyed the best finishes by its girls and boys teams out of all the Rio Grande Valley schools entered at the Brownsville ISD Pre-Regional “Snow Case” Friday and Saturday at Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center.
The Los Fresnos girls finished second with 225 points behind team champion Laredo United (235 points). Rounding out the top five finishers for the girls were Laredo Alexander (224), Tuloso-Midway (180) and Harlingen South (162).
Laredo United also won the team title for the boys, amassing 426 points compared to 259 for second-place Tuloso-Midway. After that came Alexander (217), Los Fresnos (176) and Weslaco High (163).
Los Fresnos coach Jaime Perez said the showings by his swimmers at the meet were encouraging, but added his girls and boys must continue to work hard and improve for the most important meets that come early next year.
“We’re a work in progress at this point,” Perez said. “The good thing is we still have time (to improve). We’re just going to continue to work smart and work hard.
“The competition was good at this meet, and it’s only going to make us better,” he added. “We’ll continue to strive to be the best that we can be. I”m excited (about our prospects).
“Today (our showing) was not where we want to be, but it’s a step in the right direction. We do have a lot of work to do, but I’m proud of my athletes. This was a good opportunity to see where we stand. We’ll continue to set our goals, and continue to strive to do well (in the pool and) in the classroom as well.”
Los Fresnos boasts swimmers who are used to winning. The Falcons have won district nine straight years. The Lady Falcons have captured district titles seven out of the last eight years.
Top performers for the Falcons included Robert Waters (first in 50 freestyle and fourth in 100 backstroke) and Luis Ozuna (second in 200 freestyle and third in 100 freestyle). Both swam on the Falcons’ 200 freestyle relay that placed second with Nathaniel Braun and Nate Layva also swimming legs on the relay.
For the Los Fresnos girls, the top performers were Reiana Apacible (second in 100 breaststroke) and Citabria Barrales (third in 200 individual medley). Both swam on the Lady Falcons’ third-place 200 medley relay with Emily Rodriguez and Maria Manongas.
The Lady Falcons also took third in the 200 freestyle relay with the team of Rebeca Osuna, Sarah Villarreal, Rodriguez and Manongas.
Other individual event winners from the Valley for the boys were Harlingen South’s Justin Diaz (200 individual medley and 100 backstroke), Weslaco High’s Brock Bloomquist (500 freestyle) and Sharyland Pioneer’s Marc Rodriguez (1-meter diving). Bloomquist was also second in the 200 individual medley.
Weslaco High’s boys won two of three relays.
For the girls, individual event winners from the Valley included Harlingen South’s Camille Lizada (100 butterfly), St. Joseph Academy’s Jessie Hainey (100 freestyle) and McAllen Rowe’s Jenny Wyna (100 breaststroke). Hainey also placed third in the 200 freestyle. Lizada also took third in the 100 backstroke.
Hanna, which finished sixth in the boys team standings with 127 points, was led by Quinten Deysel, who came in second in the 50 freestyle. Also, he was fifth in the 100 freestyle.