This past weekend we traveled to Midland to compete with NCAA Division II in-state rival University of Texas at Permian Basin. We were on our bus at 6:00 AM and got home at 11:30 PM so it was a long drive out and a long drive back, but the meet was spirited and we swam pretty well. Some of our kids were really tired (training and academic testing last week) and that made our good swims even more pleasant to watch.
Our women topped UTPB by a score of 156 to 83. We won nine of eleven individual events and both relays, which pretty much tells the story of how the afternoon went. Christine Hoelterhoff, Kelly Holton, Mary Price, and Rachel Berude raced to a 1:54.85 win in the opening 200 medley relay and we never looked back.
We had three double even winners, including Melanie Gustafson (1000 and 500 freestyle), Lydia Jones (50 and 100 freestyle), and Ruth Hahn (1 and 3-meter diving). Mary Price won the 100 butterfly, Morgan Briggs took the 200 IM, and Kelly Holton captured the 100 breaststroke. TU closed out the meet with a win in the 200 freestyle relay. Christine Hoelterhoff, Meghan Varner, Mary Price, and Lydia Jones clocked a 1:42.64 - one of our best-ever November sprint relay times.
The Tiger men lost a in what was a heartbreaker, as UTPB slipped by us with a score of 121 to 116. They opened up the meet with a 1:38.87 to 1:38.97 win in the 200 medley relay. Close, but no cigar. The bummer is that FY sprinter Kevin Thomas went into the event's final wall with a body length lead, only to completely miss his turn. UTPB's anchor caught him and the flags coming off the wall and they raced neck and neck to the touch pads, only to have our team just get out touched. The 1/10 of a second margin between the two teams was actually determined by back-up buttons!
Alex Miranda and Lucas Belury then went 1 - 2 in the 1000 freestyle to even up the score. FY Stephen Culberson followed with a 1:48.79 200 freestyle, good enough for runner-up points. UTPB countered with a 1 - 2 finish in the 50 freestyle (we had Kevin Thomas and Aaron Shaver tie for 3rd with identical times of 22.31). The sweep pretty much sealed the deal as far as the meet score was concerned, but our guys definitely stepped it up and made things tough for the host team.
Matt Wey hit 2:02.80 to win the 200 IM and Kevin Martin won the 1-meter diving with a 310.35, before UTPB's Alex Ruata clipped Spencer Bard 51.97 to 52.87 in the 100 butterfly. Great race there! Permian Basin then won the 100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke, followed by Lucas Belury's win for the good guys in the 500 freestyle. Martin then won the 3-meter diving contest with a score of 310-35. UTPB countered with a 1- 2 finish in the 100 breaststroke and we were cooked meat. Actually, Matt Wey finished but 6/100 of a second behind their runner-up in the breaststroke. Close but no cigar. Oh, wait! I said that earlier. Still true the second time around, unfortunately!
We finished the afternoon with a 1:28.12 to 1:29.34 finish in the 200 freestyle relay, so we went down swinging. I like that. Stephen Culberson, Adam Thomas, Aaron Shaver, and Kevin Thomas took honors there. All in all, a good day at the pool. I was proud of the way we competed.
-Coach Ryan
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