By Roy Hess, Staff Writer
Next stop Austin.
With another strong showing, McAllen schools dominated the day and qualified a host of swimmers and divers for state at Saturday’s Region VIII-6A meet at Brownsville’s Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center.
There were some solid performances by competitors from the Brownsville area as well.
Among those qualifying for state in individual events from the Metro-area included Rivera’s Stephanie Castillo and Italy Garcia, Hanna’s Maya Athena Imperial and Natalia Davila, and Los Fresnos’ Luis Osuna. The Hanna girls also are sending a relay team to state.
The UIL state meet is Feb. 17-18 in Austin. The top two finishers in each swimming event at Saturday’s regional competition earned a trip to state along with the top three divers.
Castillo posted a second-place finish in the girls 100 freestyle. She barely missed another ticket to state with a third-place finish in the 100 backstroke.
“I was kind of scared and I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” said Castillo, a senior who is returning to state in the same event as before. “Now I’m going back for my second chance (to do well). I proved myself wrong today. Last year I was swimming 55 seconds (in my event) and this year I’ve been swimming 58s, so I wasn’t sure I would make it again. But I’m proud of myself and thankful for Coach (Ryan) Shea and Coach (Julie) Puckett for pushing me.”
Imperial, also a senior, qualified for state again in multiple events. She came in second in the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle, plus she swam on the Lady Golden Eagles’ second-place 400 freestyle relay with Davila, Gloria Orta and Nadia Gutierrez. Another Hanna girls relay with the same four swimmers finished third.
“I’m satisfied with my showings and very pleased to be going back to state (for the third time),” Imperial said. “I thank my family and everyone.”
Davila placed second in the 50 freestyle and third in the 100 butterfly, while Garcia was third in the girls 1-meter diving.
Osuna came in second in the boys 500 freestyle. He also was fourth in the 100 backstroke.
Also for Rivera, Adrian Flores finished third in the boys 200 freestyle.
McAllen High’s boys and McAllen Memorial’s girls captured regional team championships Saturday just like they did one year ago.
“I’m super proud of each and every one on our team,” said McAllen Memorial junior Hannah Bradford, who was named the meet’s outstanding female swimmer after winning the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke besides swimming on the Lady Mustangs’ first-place 200 medley relay. “I told my teammates coming into the meet that if they didn’t think they were the best swimmer out there, they had to give it their all because it’s the little points (in every event) that count in the end, so I’m really proud of every one of them. We did much better than expected.
“This type of showing (at the regional level) is a confidence booster for sure (going into the state meet),” Bradford added. “To have so many people coming with us to state is really exciting.”
The Memorial team qualified seven athletes in individual events plus a first-place relay for the girls and a first-place relay for the boys.
The Lady Mustangs won their team title with 286 points and edged out runner-up McAllen Rowe with 276. McHi was third with 235, Laredo Alexander fourth with 206 and Hanna fifth with 198.
McHi qualified five athletes for state in individual events plus swimmers in five relays.
The Bulldogs repeated as the top boys team with 378 points, outdistancing second-place Memorial with 333. PSJA Southwest was third with 193, Laredo United fourth with 186 and Los Fresnos fifth with 169.
The McHi boys were led by junior Shaine Casas, who was named the meet’s outstanding male swimmer after winning the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly while swimming on two first-place relays. Casas is coming off last year’s third-place showing at state.
“It’s a great accomplishment (to be recognized as the top male swimmer),” Casas said. “I work really hard. I’ve been busting my butt for a long time to get to this point. It’s finally paying off, but I’m not satisfied. I expect a lot of myself, so we’ll see what happens in two weeks (at state).
“It’s also a big accomplishment (to win the boys team title again), not only for me, but for our whole team together,” Casas added. “We’ve swam together since the summer and it’s been a long process. It’s great to repeat.”
Besides Casas, winners of individual events for McHi included Shelby Swanson (girls 200 and 500 freestyles), Thomas Wilkins (boys 200 and 500 freestyles) and Michael Moore (boys 100 freestyle). Also for the Bulldogs, Max Saenz qualified for state with second-place finishes in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
The Bulldogs produced state qualifiers in all three relays.
Along with Bradford, other individual event winners for Memorial were Robert Anaya (boys 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke), Stacia Benitez (girls 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke) and Patricia Rocha de Murga (girls 1-meter diving). Rocha de Murga was named outstanding female diver of the meet.
Earning trips to state with second-place finishes for Memorial were Caden Garza (boys 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly), Ruben Trevino (boys 100 freestyle) and Katherine De Leon (girls 1-meter diving).
McAllen Rowe was led by Ina Te, who won the girls 50 and 100 freestyles. She also swam on two first-place relays for Rowe.
Also qualifying for state from Rowe were Daniella Santos, second in the girls 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly; and Quintin Lorenz, third in boys 1-meter diving.
Selected as the region’s coaches of the year were Memorial’s Timothy Nelson for the girls and McHi’s Jared Kaminski for the boys.
La Joya High’s Vicente Martinez, winner of the boys 1-meter diving, was named the outstanding male diver of the meet. Teammate Eddie Barrera finished second in the event.
Top boys performers for PSJA Southwest included Joseph Velasquez, first place in the 100 breaststroke, and Joshua Velasquez, second place in the 100 backstroke. The Javelinas also qualified a relay for state with a second-place finish.
Meanwhile, no Brownsville athletes qualified for state at Saturday’s Region VIII-5A meet in Corpus Christi.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess