The University Interscholastic League made a number of changes last year, making competition a little easier for those in Conference 4A.
In the past, 4A swim and dive competed in a combined division of 4A and 5A. New regulations allow each classification to compete at district, regional and state contests individually, allowing smaller schools the opportunity to advance with like-sized schools. The Wimberley High School Texans, as members of the 4A conference, have been able to benefit from this.
The Texan team has very few competition- tested swimmers, but each one has shown improvement with meet experience. Returning sophomore Cassidy Davis, in particular, made great strides for the team, according to Coach Jill Johnson.
“Cassidy and Memphis (Wells) were our only returning members of last year’s team,” Johnson said. “They’ve taken the group under wing and shared leadership and competitive spirit with their team. I’m so appreciative of what they’ve done this season.”
“I’m so proud of all of these athletes,” she added. “They put in the time, effort, practice and made sacrifices to be part of this season.”
After losing two outstanding swimmers and graduating another six, this season had the earmarks of a rebuilding campaign. Instead, the girls finished their district meet in third place, qualifying six swimmers in two relays and five individual events. Wells qualified for the regional meet with a third place finish in both the individual 200-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke. The gentlemen’s relays fell short of moving on, but the young men scored personal bests in individual events, continuing to show growth and a heart to compete.
The ladies advanced in two relays. The 200-meter, individual-medley squad made up of Zorah Schwalb-Stang, Brooklyn Bursiel, Jovi Messerli and Davis finished third while the 200-meter freestyle relay of Charlotte Woodward, Messerli, Bursiel, and Davis came in second. Moreover, Schwalb-Stang went to the regional meet in the individual 100-meter backstroke. Davis was district champion in both the 100-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter individual medley. The women’s team finished district in third place overall — a significant achievement for a team loaded with young talent.
“If you’d told me this is how we’d end the season, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Johnson said. “We have a piecemeal team that came in green, learned to compete, and showed it was in them to do great things. I couldn’t be more proud.”
Johnson commented on the nature of 4A teams competing together.
“There was such camaraderie among the district teams,” she said. “They were cheering for each other, cheering for other teams, and enjoying the meet together. It’s an amazing atmosphere.”
At the Region IV meet held last week, each of the Texans finished in the top sixteen of their events.. The top eight qualifiers swam in the finals, competing for a berth in the state meet while the second eight competed in a consolation swim, gaining valuable big meet experience. Most swam personal bests during the competition.
A few of those personal bests were astonishing. In a sport where times are usually bested by tenths or even hundredths of a second, some of the times were over two seconds better than previous marks.
Wells finished fourteenth in his two events wrapping up a successful career for the Texans as their lone senior. Schwalb-Stang finished fifteenth individually and was part of the 200 individual medley relay team that qualified ninth.
Davis finished fourth in the 200 individual medley but had the second fastest qualifying time outside of automatic qualifiers – those finishing in the top two positions in each of the four regions. Her time launched her into the state semi-finals at the Josh Davis Natatorium in San Antonio Thursday, Feb. 9. Davis’ qualifying time was quicker than one of the automatic qualifiers and hundredths of a second off of the pace of another meaning the sophomore has an opportunity to break into the finals with a good finish. She also advanced for the 100 yard breast stroke which surprised her according to Johnson.
With the points accumulated by relays and individual events, the Texan ladies placed tenth of the twenty teams at the regional event beating larger swim teams from the district like La Grange, Fredericksburg and Canyon Lake.
“The team did really good against larger schools with bigger teams,” shared Johnson. “They put in extra work and many swam personal bests which is encouraging. I’m also being told by one of the local swim coaches that there are eighth graders in training that are excited to move up next season. It’s a great sign for next year with a team loaded with sophomores and freshmen.”
