BY NATHANIEL MATA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
Sharyland High swimming had a strong second day of the UIL 5A Region VIII Meet at CCISD Natatorium Saturday.
The Rattlers weren’t district champions a week ago, but now they’ll send more to state than anyone else in District 31-5A. The Rattlers boys finished in second as a team with 224 points, behind juggernaut Flour Bluff’s 481.
Sharyland’s 200 yard medley team of Farias-Ramirez, Marco Rivera, Alvaro Garza and Javier Moreno Suarez earned silver. They finished less than a second after gold medalists Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial.
Senior Marco Rivera, who also qualified for state individually with a sliver in the 100 backstroke, will make his first appearance at the state meet.
“It’s just the best feeling that I’ve ever felt, really.” Rivera said. “To be able to finish off my senior year in Austin, Texas, instead of in Corpus Christi is an amazing feeling. To have my brothers next to me is quite outstanding. I wouldn’t ask for anything else.”
After a finish so close, Rivera knows his team will work hard to improve in the coming weeks.
“It’s really motivating, because the first-place team wasn’t too far ahead of us, milliseconds really. It really pushes all of us. Makes determined to work if we want it,” Rivera said. Rattlers coach Tina Jensen knew her team would be strong in the medley, but it took her swimmers some time to buy-in.
“I don’t think they believed that they were as strong as they were, but they knew with the talents that they had individually, and the way that they work together, that they could pull it off,” Jensen said. “I think they began to realize it a couple of months to go in the season. That’s the relay I thought they were going to stand the greatest chance at.”
Luciano Farias-Ramirez advanced in two individual events, the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. He earned silver in both of those events.
Farias-Ramirez, a junior, is making his second trip to regionals. He feels he can still cut time for the meet in Austin in both the butterfly (53.21) and backstroke (53.58)
“In the butterfly, there’s a lot of room for improvement,” Farias-Ramirez said. “I definitely know I can go faster at state, and I’m shooting to get at least top eight. In the backstroke, same thing. It was too close of a race, less than a tenth of a second. It was an intense race. Honestly, I know what I have to fix, and I’m shooting for the top three.”
Sharyland High’s lone state advancer on the girl’s side is senior diver Sandra Valdez. She is coming off of a fourth consecutive district title, and this will be her third time diving at state. Roma will also send a swimmer to state: senior Manuel Tello. The district 31-5A 200 freestyle champion swam to a second-place finish Saturday. His 1:52.64 was good for silver, and a berth at the state meet on Feb. 17.