Swimmers share similar stories on way to State Meet

After reaching the State Championships in swimming his first three years of high school, senior Chris Rosser was more confident than nervous at last week’s Regional Meet. “I was kind of just calm and relaxed,” Rosser said. “I know what to do, I've been here and done this three times before, so I was very relaxed.” The regional meet was different than last year but Rosser knew he would be fine. Fo...

Senior Carlie Solomon dominated her events at the regional meet last week. She took home three gold medals and one silver. The four-time state qualifier is ready for her final high school swim meet. “I feel accomplished," she said. "I wanted to go to state as an automatic qualifier, and I did that." Even though Solomon has been to state all four years, she is especially proud of her work this year. Sh...

Junior Logen Black will be returning to the state competition to swim for the third time. He has been to the state championships every year. “It’s a goal for me to make it every year,” Black said. “It’s a good time and I want to get my fastest times there, so I work hard all year for that.” Stakes were high at regionals this year. This year was important to Black because it’s the seniors' l...

Last year, junior Logan Gonzales missed out on the State Meet by just a couple points of a second. This year, he is making the trip with 20 of his teammates.  “I definitely knew I was going to pull up to State after last year," Gonzales said. "I knew I was going to get faster this year." At region, Gonzales was part of the 200 free relay and the 200 medley relay, both of which advanced to ...

Junior Sean Kloesel will compete at the state level for the first time. He was on two of the relays that qualified for state at the Region Meet. He helped the 200 freestyle relay to a first place finish and the 200 medley relay to a third place finish. “I don't know how the state meet will go,” Kloesel said. “It's my first year of swimming, so I’m pretty hyped for it.” Kloesel, who was...

Sophomore Cece Sullivan started off her first year of high school strong as an alternate for state. However, she worked harder this year and qualified for state in all four events she competed in during regionals.  “I really wanted to do my best in the events,” Sullivan said. “I wanted to get better than or place how I was seeded, which I ended up doing for all except breaststroke.”  ...

Junior John Carr is ready for state. The team's lone diver qualified after scoring 280.55 points and finishing third in 1 meter diving at regionals.  He gained a lot of confidence during the district meet. “I was at the district meet when I broke my personal record, and I was like, ‘This could happen,’” Carr said.   Right before heading to State, he spent his time relaxing and trying not to think a...

Going into regionals, junior Morgen Dozier was confident that she would be going to the State Championships with a lot of her teammates. “This is the first time in my high school career that I was close to making State,” Dozier said. “I was second originally overall in the 200 IM, and then I think I was fifth or sixth overall in the 100 fly. And I was just super excited. I was so proud of our te...

After a strong district meet, sophomore Kendall Lockett thought that Region was going to be her last meet of the season.  “I thought that I wouldn’t have a chance at making State,” Lockett said. “I was excited but so nervous.” Lockett’s original goal for Region was to just final, whether it be A final or B final. Ultimately she placed in the top 16 for both the 100 backstroke and ...

With a successful swim season under him, senior Joe Stephenson qualified for state in all of his events. One event in particular, though, meant the most to Stephenson. He placed first in the 200 IM, helping him reach his state goal.  Stephenson was also part of the third place team in the 200 medley relay and a part of the second place team in the 400 freestyle relay. He also finished third in the 5...

Freshman Ava Bailey placed second in the 200 freestyle and first in the 500 freestyle at this year's regional meet. “I can say that I’ve been more nervous at meets before, but at region it was definitely shocking to see how far I’ve come with swimming,” Bailey said. “When I first got behind the blocks, all the nerves just kind of slipped away.” She raced as hard as she could, and m...

Senior Renee Alcala was clear-headed and confident going into the regional meet. Her confidence was rewarded with advancing to state for the fourth time in her high school career. “Going to this regional meet, I knew that the team had worked a lot on the relays and executing the perfect races to be able to get the regional title," Alcala said. “So we all went into that meet really confident...

Junior Hannah Dove had a strong Regional Meet, qualifying for the State Championships for every event in which she competed.  She helped lift the team to a first place finish in the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay. She also took silver in the 200 IM and fourth in the 100 butterfly. Dove has decided to not compete in the 200 IM so senior teammate Renee Alcala could qualify and compet...

As a freshman, Elena Amos was nervous at her first Regional Meet. But she was also excited and focused as she competed in the 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle. She dominated in the 50 freestyle (23.19), winning by almost a full second in front of the next. She also helped lead the 200 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay to gold medals. In the 100 butterf...

A returning state qualifier, sophomore Gabriel Fabrizio plans to capitalize on his experience going into state again this year. Being in this position already before, he knew a lot was on the line going into regionals. "Regionals is probably one of the scariest meets in the season, it's the one leading up to state, but my events all went as I expected,” Fabrizio said.  He helped the 200 medle...

At Regionals, junior Ian Maxwell participated in four events: the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, the 200 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay. In the 50 yard, Maxwell got 3rd place and in the 100 yard, he got 9th. He helped the 200 freestyle relay to a gold medal and the 400 freestyle relay to a silver.  Going into region, Maxwell had a sinus infection, which made him more nervous for his eve...

At his first region meet Hogan Anderson was nervous for his races. He was not eligible to swim at  region last year because he  transferred from Kingwood High School. He was ready for his opportunity this year. “My dad always gives me this pep talk before I swim,” Anderson said. “'Give 110%. You're stronger than you think you are.' That really helps me get into the vibes.” Anderson placed...

Just three months ago, sophomore Lucy Foltz was lining up to compete in the Cross Country State Championships. Now, she is preparing to cheer on her swim teammates as an alternate in the Swimming & Diving State Championships. At the Regional Meet last weekend, Foltz raced in the 200 IM and the 100 backstroke. “It was definitely a lot more stressful," Foltz said. "During prelims I didn’...

Freshman Marisa Chinen left her all in her races at the region meet and it paid off. She received 3rd place in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:08.61, qualifying her as an alternate at state. “It was really just a crazy moment,” Chinen said. “I was just like, ‘Oh my God. I just qualified.’ So it's just unbelievable.” In Chinen's first year competing at the high school level, she raced in the 200 fre...

As sophomore Korbin Johnson heads to his first State Championships, he remembers that he's not just doing this for himself but for his team.  “I think it's vital to remember that we're all a team,” Johnson said. “I think it’s important to remember that we’re all in this together and we all need to score points for each other.” At Region, he finished 4th in the 100 backstroke in ...