WESLACO — Harlingen High’s Jacob Vincent picked up diving as a junior. Now a senior, Vincent is the District 32-6A diving champion.
Vincent and his Cardinals teammates competed against divers from Los Fresnos, the only other school with divers in the district, on Thursday at the Weslaco ISD Aquatic Center to begin the district’s swimming and diving championships. The swimmers take to the pool at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, also at the Weslaco ISD Aquatic Center.
Vincent posted a score of 353.75, beating Los Fresnos’ Diego Viera and Carmine Navarro. Viera finished second with 226.55, and Navarro took third at 210.60.
“I feel good,” Vincent said. “Appreciative of my coach and ready to go to regionals.”
District is a steppingstone for next week’s regional meet, Los Fresnos head swimming coach Jaime Perez said.
Divers like Vincent and Los Fresnos senior Evangeline Wrinkle use the district meet to figure out and tweak dives with the goal of reaching state. Both Vincent and Wrinkle feel like they have a good shot at making state.
Wrinkle looked dejected at the Class 6A Region VIII meet last season at the Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center. She had a rough day in the pool the day before, her relay was disqualified, and that led to her bombing her first dive the next day, she said.
Wrinkle is ready for redemption.
“I told myself that I needed to work harder and be more consistent,” she said. “I did.”
The senior is also set to swim. Wrinkle is competing in the 200-yard medley relay and the 100-yard butterfly. It is going to be the same challenge at the regional meet next week in Laredo, where Wrinkle has to dive and swim on the same day.
“I know what happened last year … I am more prepared,” Wrinkle said.
Wrinkle was joined on the podium by teammates Lane Halford in second and Anahi Garrido in third. Harlingen High’s Jovanna Vincent finished fourth.
The Falcons have won the last 14 boys district titles and the last nine girls district titles, but like Perez said, district is just a steppingstone, even more so this season with only five teams in the district. Personal-best times are key when the swimmers take their lanes Saturday.
“I am really excited for all of the swimmers in our district, because everybody is stepping up and that is going to show on Saturday,” Perez said. “The one thing I want from athletes is a personal best. If they did that, they did their job. That is what we are shooting for.”