BROWNSVILLE — It all comes down to this from Brownsville Veterans Memorial swimmer David Perez.
Perez’s long-term goal has always been to swim at the next level, he said.
“Hopefully I can find the right school for me,” Perez said. “I definitely do not want to go to a really small school. It is go big or go home for me. I really want to go to a good swimming school, but I need to prove to those schools what I can do.”
Perez competes in the Class 5A UIL meet today with teammate and fellow senior Ivanna Rodriguez.
Perez and Rodriguez, the only state qualifiers from Brownsville this year, both train at Brownsville Aquatics Swim Club when they are not training with Brownsville Veterans Memorial and head coach Mark Schlatter.
On paper, no other swimmer from the Rio Grande Valley has a better chance of touching the podium then Perez.
Perez has the third-fastest seeding time on the psych sheet in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 57.97 seconds. Perez is ranked first in his heat in the prelims.
The senior stressed the importance of picking up a good lane in the leadup to the regional meet and he followed it up by crushing the regional field, beating the closest competitor by nearly four seconds in the 100 breaststroke and nearly six seconds in the 200 IM.
The only boy in the Valley to bring home two individual regional wins has shredded multiple records this season, including a record in the 500 freestyle, a Brownsville city record that had stood since 1999. The senior set out to pad his resume by picking up as many personal records, pool records and overall fast times in any event.
Walking on at Texas A&M is an option — and a dream as well — for Perez, but whatever happens to the senior, the pool has set him up for success in whatever he chooses.
“I think the dedication aspect of it has always helped me,” he said. “Not just in the future, but now it is helping me keep up with school. I do not feel right not swimming. I like to keep a balance of things. I think that helps me be more productive and more efficient.”
Rodriguez missed out on qualifying in the 50 freestyle by 0.06 seconds at the regional meet but bounced back to pick up a lane in the state prelims in 100 freestyle.
The senior won multiple youth championships while swimming in Mexico before sitting out her junior year. Rodriguez became a captain this season for the Brownsville Veterans girls swim team.
The pair is set to swim in its prelims late Friday evening in Austin.