El Paso High School Sports Champions

Chapter 9: Swimming

By KVIA ABC-7

Published June 18, 2015 4:00 PM

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Intro: El Paso Area High Schools and UIL Texas State Sport Championships Chapter 1: Football Chapter 2: Basketball Chapter 3: Baseball & Softball Chapter 4: Soccer Chapter 5: Volleyball Chapter 6: Cross County & Track and Field Chapter 7: Tennis Chapter 8: Golf Chapter 9: Swimming Chapter 10: Cathedral Swimming Chapter 11: Wrestling

Chapter 12

2014-2015 Review Final Totals UIL Team State Championships UIL Individual State Championships TAPPS Team State Championships TAPPS Individual State Championships

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No El Paso public high school has ever won a team championship in the sports of swimming and diving. Several schools have had male and female swimmers that have won individual state championships or been part of relay teams that have won titles. There are two high schools in El Paso that have done very well in their annual swimming state tournament----Loretto Academy and Cathedral High School. Loretto Academy has not won a team championship but the young ladies from the school have medaled consistently through out the history of the state meet. Cathedral High School is in a class by themselves. The Irish have won 29 state championships and many individual titles. Cathedral has dominated their competition usually outscoring their opponents by as much as 150 to 200 points. The Irish swim team is second to none among the private and parochial schools in the state of Texas and has been nationally ranked in the past. I have decided that this chapter of my book will cover the El Paso public schools and Loretto Academy. I will devote my Chapter 10 solely to Cathedral High School because I think any school with their history deserves to stand alone. I trust that this will not offend anyone reading this book. My resources for this chapter are uiltexas.org and tapps.net unless otherwise noted.

2018 Swimming Update

Cathedral wins 30th Straight TAPPS Division I Title and 32nd Overall; El Paso Public Schools Have Outstanding Year

Cathedral High School continued its dominance of TAPPS Division I swimming by winning its 32 nd overall state championship and extended their winning streak to 30 straight TAPPS or TCIL swimming titles. Cathedral swimmers won 3 individual gold medals and 2 relay gold medals racking up 190 points to easily out distance second place finisher St. Thomas' 128 points. Irish swimmers also brought home two silver medals and two bronze medal to add to their over flowing trophy cases. Connor White won two individual gold medals and was part of two gold medal relay teams. Luis Reynoso was the other gold medal winner for Cathedral.

Gold Medal Winning Individuals or Relay Teams

Connor White 200 yard Free Style 1:4463

Connor White 500 yard Free Style 4:42.41

Luis Reynoso 100 yard Backstroke 52.21 seconds

200 yard Medley Relay 1:40.77 Connor White, Jose Guillot, Luis Reynoso, Blake Assi

400 yard Free Style Relay 3:16.53 Xavier Navarro, Manuel Armenta, Connor White, Luis Reynoso

Silver Medal Winners

Luis Reynoso 50 yard Free Style 22.02 seconds

200 yard Free Style Relay Xavier Navarro, Pablo Vega, Skylar Agan, Blake Assi

Bronze Medal Winners

Manuel Armenta 100 yard Butterfly

Xavier Navarro 100 yard Free Style

Other Cathedral Swimmers not mentioned above that scored points or swam at the state meet:

Pablo Vega, Adrian Prieto, Jose Guillot, Vicinte Lopez, David Delgado, Alejandro Cos, Daniel Rivera

Loretto Academy finished in 9 th place at the TAPPS Division I state meet scoring a total of 42 points. Celeste Hirschi finished 7 th in the 200 yard Free Style. Mary Furlong finished in 6 th place in the 200 yard Individual Medley while Luissa Rivera finished 15 th in the same event. Mary Furlong finished in 6 th place in the 100 yard Butterfly while team-mate Analisa Cortez finished in 16 th place in the same event. Celeste Hirschi finished 5 th in the 500 yard Free Style. Loretto's 400 yard Free Style relay team finished in 4 th place. Relay members were Mary Furlong, Luissa Rivera, Paulina Quiroz, and Celeste Hirschi.

Public Schools

The El Paso area public schools also had an outstanding season in the pools although no UIL State Meet medals were won. El Paso area swimmers did very well locally and at the various Regional swim meets. Here is a summary of the 2018 swimming season:

District Competition

1-6A Boys

1 st Eastwood ; 2 nd Franklin; 3 rd Coronado; 4 th Montwood

1-6A Girls

1 st Eastwood; 2 nd Franklin; 3 rd Coronado; 4 th Americas

1-5A Boys

1 st EPHS; 2 nd Burges; 3 rd Jefferson; 4 th Chapin

1-5A Girls

1 st EPHS; 2 nd Jefferson; 3 rd Chapin; 4 th Andress

2-5A Boys

1 st Hanks; 2 nd Del Valle; 3 rd Eastlake; 4 th Bel Air

2-5A Girls

1 st Hanks; 2 nd Eastlake; 3 rd Del Valle; 4 th Ysleta

Regional Competition

El Paso area teams and individual swimmers performed very well at the Regional meet. El Paso High probably was the best of the El Paso area teams as the Tigers finished second in the team standings in both the boy's and girl's competitions. El Paso High also qualified many individuals for the state meet. Here is a breakdown of the 5A and 6A Regional meets:

5A Girls Meet

200 yard Medley Relay EPHS 1 st Place (Rebecca Perez, Isabella Valles, Natalia Villa, and Emily Lugo) 1:52.48

200 yard Free Style Natalia Villa EPHS 1 st place 1:58.75

200 yard Individual Medley Andi Acosta Jefferson 1 st place 2:10.70

100 yard Free Style Natalia Villa EPHS 1 st place 53.78 seconds

200 yard Free Style Relay EPHS 2 nd place (Emily Lugo, Emma Perez, Cassandra Wagoner, Mackenzie Tovar) 1:43.45

100 yard Breaststroke Andi Acosta Jefferson 1 st place 1:06.44

100 yard Breaststroke Isabella Valles EPHS 2 nd place1:10.91

400 yard Free Style Relay EPHS 2 nd place (Emily Lugo, Emma Perez, Mackenzie Tovar, Natalia Villa)

5A Girls Team Standings 1) Lubbock 2) EPHS 6) Jefferson 11 th ) Hanks 13 th Del Valle 15 th ) Ysleta 16 th ) Andress 17 th ) Eastlake 20 th ) Bel Air

5A Boys Meet

200 yard Medley Relay EPHS 1 st place (Adrian Aguirre, Branson Baca, Kevin Bohls, Vincent Pedregon) 1:38.72

200 yard Free Style Armando Flores Bel Air 1 st place 1:45.59

200 yard Individual Medley Vittorio Kirken EPHS 2 nd 1:59.94

100 yard Butterfly Armando Flores Bel Air 1 st place 51.02 seconds

100 yard Butterfly Mohammad Abdeljaber EPHS 2 nd place 52.09 seconds

500 yard Free Style Roberto Griffith EPHS 2 nd 4:58.07

200 yard Free Style Relay EPHS 1 st place (Branson Baca, Roberto Grifith, Vittorio Kirken, Mohammad Abdeljaber) 1:29. 57

100 yard Breaststroke Adrian Aguirre EPHS 1 st 52.95 seconds

100 yard Breaststroke Branson Baca EPHS 2 nd 1:00.27

400 yard Free Style Relay EPHS 1 st (Roberto Griffith, Vincent Pedregon, Vittorio Kirken, Mohammad Abdeljaber)

5A Boys Team Standings 2) EPHS 10 th ) Del Valle 13 th ) Bel Air 14 th ) Jefferson 15 th ) Hanks 16 th ) Chapin 17 th ) Eastlake 18 th ) Burges 19 th ) Irvin

All the above mentioned swimmers and relay teams qualified for the state meet.

6A Regional Meet The 6A schools didn't have quite the results that the 5A schools had but several swimmers did qualify for the state meet:

Rose Barakat of Coronado qualified in two events. She finished in first place in the 100 yard Breaststroke (1:05.81) and in second place in the 50 yard Free Style (24.23 seconds)

Airam Olivia-Aun Franklin won the 100 yard Buuter Fly (59.13 seconds)

Lauren Melendez Eastwood 2 nd place 100 yard Butterfly (59.37 seconds)

Omar Torres Eastwood 1 st place 100 yard Free Style (46.1 seconds)

State Swim Meet

El Paso area swimmers didn't win any medals at the state meet but there were some very good performances.

5A Schools

Boys

EPHS 200 yard Medley Relay 5 th place (Aguirre, Baca, Kirken, Abdeljaber)

EPHS 200 yard Free Style 11 th place (Baca, Kirken, Abdeljaber, Pedregon)

Branson Baca EPHS 8 th place 100 yard Breaststroke

Mohammad Abdeljaber EPHS 12 th place 100 yard Butterfly

Vittorio Kirken EPHS 12 th 200 yard IM

Armando Flores Bel Air 10 th 200 yard Free Style and 10 th 100 yard Butterfly

Girls

EPHS 200 yard Free Style Relay 4 th place (Villa, Lugo, Perez, Tovar)

Natalia Villa 13 th 100 yard Butterfly

EPHS 400 yard Free Style relay 11 th place (Villa, Lugo, Tovar, Perez)

Andi Acosta Jefferson 8 th 200 yard IM and 10 th 100 yard Breaststroke

EPHS Girls team finished in 16 th place while Jefferson girls finished 37 th

EPHS Boys team finished in 14 th place while Bel Air boys finished 34th

6A Schools

Rose Barakat Coronado 16 th 50 yard Freestyle and 12 th 100 yard Breaststroke

Omar Torres Eastwood 12 th 100 yard Free Style

Coronado Girls team finished in 42 place

Eastwood Boys team finished in 50 th place

El Paso Area Swimmers Named to All State Team

It was a very good 2018 season for El Paso area swimmers. The following athletes were named to the Texas Interscholastic Swim Coaches All State Team:

Rose Barakat Coronado 2 events

Omar Torres Eastwood

Mackenzie Tovar EPHS

Natalia Villa EPHS 2 events

Andi Acosta Jefferson 2 events

EPHS girls 200 yard Free Style Relay

EPHS girls 400 yard Free Style Relay

Roberto Griffith EPHS

Adrian Aguirre EPHS

Branson Baca EPHS

Vittorio Kirken 2 events

Mohammad Abdeljaber EPHS

Armando Flores Bel Air

EPHS boys 200 yard Free Style Relay

EPHS boys 400 yard Free Style Relay

TAPPS

Celeste Hirschi Loretto Academy 2 events

Mary Furlong Loretto Academy

400 yard Relay Loretto Academy

Luis Reynoso Cathedral 2 events

Xavier Navarro Cathedral 2 events

Connor White Cathedral 2 events

Manuel Armenta Cathedral

Cathedral 200 yard Free Style Relay

Cathedral 200 yard Medley Relay

Cathedral 400 yard Free Style Relay

El Paso area swimmers on 1 state championships and 5 gold medals in individual or relay events.

2017 Swimming Update for UIL Schools and Loretto Academy

It seems that the same high schools dominate the local swimming scene year end and year out. The 2017 season would see more of the same. Top finishers in the 1-6A girls' district race were Franklin 158 points, Coronado 127 points, and Eastwood 105 points. Top finishers in the 1-6A boys' district race were Eastwood 215 points, Coronado 91 points, and Franklin 73 points.

El Paso High has been dominating the 5A ranks in the city for the past several years and 2017 was more of the same. The Tigers took first place in both the boys' and girls' district competition scoring 169 points (boys') and 224 points (girls'). Jefferson (125 points) and Chapin (67 points) took second and third place in the girls' race while Chapin (117 points) and Burges/Jefferson (54 points) tool second and third place in the boys' district competition.

The El Paso area UIL schools didn't fare to well at the state meet although more athletes from El Paso qualified than ever before. A total of 19 athletes from the EPISD competed at the state meet. The top 6A boys' team was Eastwood which finished in 49th place. The Franklin girls' team was the top El Paso team with its' 32nd place finish. The 5A schools did a little better. On the boys' side El Paso took 25th place and Bel Air finished in 38th place. The El Paso High girls' finished a very respectable 12th place with Jefferson taking 43rd place.

There were no medals won at the state meet for any of the El Paso area schools but several athletes turned in solid individual or relay performances. Omar Thomas of Eastwood finished 13th in 100 yard backstroke. Thomas O'Beirne of Eastwood and Manuel Hernandez of Eastwood qualified for 6A swimming events at the state meet. Angelica Castrejon of Franklin finished in 8th place in the 100 yard backstroke, 16th in the 100 yard freestyle and was also a member of the Cougar's 200 yard freestyle relay team that finished in 16th place (Maryfer Mancera, Sophia Trevizo, Airam Olivia-Aun, Angelica Castrejon). Top performances by the 5A schools were turned in by the following individuals or relay teams:

Boys: EPHS 9th Place 200 yard medley relay (Tyler Arnold, Branson Baca, Vittorio Kirken, Mohammad Abdeljaber), Bel Air's Armando Flores 10th place 200 yard freestyle, El Paso High's Vittorio Kirken's 16th place finish in the same event, Bel Air's Armando Flores' 14th place finish in the 100 yard butterfly, Bel Air's Raul Palacios' 15th place finish in the 500 yard freestyle, and El Paso High's 12th place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay (Branson Baca, Baylor Watkins, Vincent Pedregon, and Mohammad Abdeljaber).

Girls: El Paso High's 200 yard medley relay team's 7th place finish (Victoria Garcia, Isabella Valles, Natalia Villa, and Mackenzie Tovar), Jefferson's Andi Acosta's 9th place finish in the 200 yard IM, Victoria Garcia of EPHS and her 11th place finish in the 100 yard butterfly, El Paso High's 15th place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay (Mackenzie Tovar, Francesca Baca, Rebecca Perez, and Emani Brown), Victoria Garcia's 12th place finish in the 100 yard backstroke, El Paso High's Isabella Valles' 10th place finish in the 100 yard breaststroke, Andi Acosta's 13th place in the same event, and El Paso High's 400 yard freestyle relay team's 13th place finish (Natalia Villa, Mackenzie Tovar, Francesca Baca, and Victoria Garcia).

Loretto Academy finished 13th at the TAPPS Division I girls' state meet. Loretto was led by Christina D'Incognito'x 5th place finish in the 100 yard backstroke and her 7th place finish in the 200 yard. She was also a member of Loretto's 200 yard medley relay team that placed 12th at the state meet (Ana Vasquez, Audrey McCool, Luisa Rivera, and Christina D'Incognito).

The El Paso Times named the following girls to their All City Teams:

Most Valuable Swimmer Franklin High School's Angelica Castrejon
1st Team: Natalia Villa (EPHS), Andi Acosta (Jefferson), Victoria Garcia (EPHS) Ximena Posados (Franklin), and Cyd Schwartz (Eastwood)
2nd Team: Francesca Baca (EPHS), Martfer Mancera (Franklin), Christina D' Incognito (Loretto), Emani Brown (EPHS), Rebecca Perez (EPHS), Sophia Trevizo (Franklin), Isabella Valles (EPHS), and Madison Valverde (Del Valle).

2016 Swimming Updates

Public High Schools
The El Paso area high schools did not have a very good year at the state swimming tournament. El Paso High was the top 5A team in both girls' and boys' swimming. The Tiger girls finished in 13th place in the state with 63 points while the Tiger boys finished in 38th place with 10 points. Only two other El Paso area 5A girls' team cracked the state rankings with Jefferson coming in at 27th place and Del Valle finishing in 53rd place. Bel Air was the only other 5A boys' team to make the leader board with a 50th place finish.

The news wasn't any better in the 6A ranks. The Franklin High School girls finished in 29th place while the Eastwood boys cracked the top 50 with a 43rd place finish.

The best performance by an El Paso area team was a 4th place finish by the EPHS girls' 200 yard Medley Relay team. Members of the team were Maddie Deucher, Victoria Garcia, Natalia Villa, and Rebecca Perez. Victoria Garcia also finished in 6th place in the 100 yard Butterfly. Maddie Deucher had an 8th place finish in the 100 yard Backstroke. Other 5A girls that scored points in various events were Ale Acosta (Jefferson), Andi Acosta (Jefferson), Madison Valveid (Del Valle), and the EPHS 200 yard Freestyle Relay team (Francesca Baca, Emani Brown, Alexis Correa, Rebecca Perez). The best performances by the 5A boys came from the EPHS 200 yard Medley Relay team (Tyler Arnold, Branson Baca, Mohammed Abdelaber, Andrew Harmon) which finished in 14th place. Raul Palacios of Bel Air had a 14th place finish in the 500 yard Freestyle. Brandon Baca of EPHS placed 13th in the 100 yard Backstroke.

The best performances from the 6A girls came from Franklin's Airam Oliva-Aun who had a 15th place finish in the 200 yard Freestyle and a 13th place finish in the 100 yard Butterfly. She was also a member of two relay teams that took 15th place in both events (200 yard Freestyle Relay- Angelica Castrejon, Gabby Lopez, Ximena Posadas, Oliva-Aun) and (400 yard Free Style-same team member ship as the 200 yard team). Angelica Castrejon of Franklin also had a 15th place finish in the 100 yard Freestyle and a 13th place finish in the 100 yard Backstroke. Top performers for the 6A boys were Thomas O'beirne of Eastwood who had a 16th place finish in the 200 yard Freestyle and a 14th place finish in the 500 yard Freestyle. Jacob Allard of Eastwood finished 13th in the 100 yard Backstroke. The Eastwood 400 yard Freestyle Relay team finished in 15th place (Jacob Allard, Omar Torres, Thomas O'beirne, Manuel Hernandez).

Loretto Academy Girls
Loretto Academy finished in 9th place in the TAPPS girls state swimming tournament. Top performer for Loretto was Christina D'Icogninto who help account for 13 of the 18 points that the Academy scored. D'Icognito best finish was a 6th place finish in the 100 yard Backstroke. Other swimmers on the Loretto team were Paolina Montes, Audrey McCool, Luisa Rivera, Cassandra Gilliam, Fernanda Vasquez, and Daniela Granades.

The El Paso Public High Schools

2015: The El Paso area public high schools did not win any individual or team championships but local swimmers did swim well at the state meet. Eastwood High School's Leonard Sanchez finished second in the 6A 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:38.63. Sanchez won the gold medal in the same event in 2014 with a very similar time. Victoria Garica took the bronze medal in the 5A 100 yard butterfly with a time of 56.95 seconds. Garcia won this event in 2014 and it should be noted that her 2015 time was faster. Other 6A swimmers that did well were Franklin High School's Nina Gonzalez (5 th in the 200 yard freestyle); Franklin's 200 yard freestyle relay team finished 4 th in a time of 1:37.20 (team members were Nina Gonzalez, Sammi Wilts, Aram Oliva-Aun and Angelica Castrjon). Franklin's 400 yard freestyle relay team consisting of the same four members finished fourth with a time of 3:30.21. Sammi Wilts finished 7 th in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 57.98 seconds. Franklin High School entered Saturday's events with a chance to win the state title but ended up with a 5 th place team finish scoring 110.5 points (the highest team finish in El Paso history). Other 5A swimmers that did well were Victor Baca of El Paso High who finished 3 rd in the 100 yard butterfly (50.51.seconds) and 4 th in the 100 yard breaststroke (57.65 seconds). The El Paso High 200 yard medley relay team finished 4 th (1:38.53). Members of the team were Branson Baca, Enzo Modesto-Abbud, Victor Baca, and Andrew Harmon. El Paso High finished 8 th in the 5A boys team standings scoring 83 points. Jefferson High School's Ale Acosta finished 6 th in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:08.15.

2014: It was a very good year for El Paso swimmers at the annual UIL State Swimming and Diving Tournament. El Paso High School's Victoria Garcia won a gold medal in the 100 yard butterfly with a winning time of 56.99 seconds. Eastwood High School's Leonardo Sanchez won the gold medal in the 200 yard freestyle with a winning time of 1:38.33. Sanchez also won a bronze medal in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 45.47 seconds. El Paso High School was the top performing El Paso high school (boys and girls) in 4A while Eastwood High School and Franklin High School were the top performing El Paso schools in 5A. The El Paso High girls team finished 11 th in the team standing with 80 points while the Tiger boys finished 18 th in the state team rankings. The Franklin High School girls finished 14 th in the team standings with 57 points and the Eastwood boys placed 10 th in the team standings with 63 points. Several schools had solid performances in relay races and individual events. The following is a summary of the best performances:

4A Girls: EPHS finished 11 th in the 200 yard IM Relay with a time of 1:53.38. Team members were Victoria Garcia, Sarah Bookout, Shanny Lin, and Ivy Claflin.

Ivy Claflin of EPHS finished 16 th in the 200 yard freestyle (2:01.70)

Ale Acosta of Jefferson High School finished 6 th in the 200 yard IM (2:09.25); Shanny Lin of EPHS was 11 th in the same event (2:12.02)

Victoria Garcia of EPHS won the gold medal in the 100 yard butterfly with a winning time of 56.99 seconds; Shanny Lin of EPHS was 8 th in the same event (58.32 seconds)

Danielle Gonzalez of EPHS finished 16 th in the 100 yard freestyle (57.27 seconds)

Ale Acosta of Jefferson finished in 14 th place in the 500 yard freestyle (5:09.21)

Victoria Garcia of EPHS finished in 8 th place in the 100 yard backstroke (1:00.09)

El Paso High finished 9 th in the 400 yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:40.43. Team members were Ivy Claflin, Shanny Lin, Danielle Gonzalez, and Victoria Garcia.

4A Boys: El Paso High finished 11 th in the 200 yard IM Relay with a time of 1:40.63. Team members were Noah Claflin, Victor Baca, Michael Licon, and Enzo Modesto Abbud

Daniel Gonzalez Arand of Chapin High School finished 12 th in the 200 yard IM (1:59.48)

Victor Baca of EPHS finished 5 th in the 100 yard butterfly (51.18 seconds)

Daniel Gonzalez Arand of Chapin High School finished 5 th in the 100 yard backstroke (52.74)

Victor Baca of EPHS finished 11 th in the 100 yard breaststroke (59.55)

El Paso High finished 15 th in the 400 yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:21.93. Team members were Andrew Harmon, Noah Claflin, Victor Baca, and Michael Licon.

5A Girls: Nina Gonzalez of Franklin High School finished 11 th in the 200 yard freestyle (1:52.93)

Claire O'Beirne of Eastwood High School finished 10 th in the 200 yard IM (2:06.78)

Angelica Castrejon of Franklin High School finished 15 th in the 50 yard freestyle (24.41)

Angelica Castrejon of Franklin High School finished 8 th in the 100 yard freestyle (52:06)

Nina Gonzalez of Franklin High School finished 9 th in the 500 yard freestyle (5:00.13)

Franklin High School finished 14 th in the 200 yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:40.32. Team members were Angelica Castrejon, Gaby Lopez, Sammi Wilts, and Nina Gonzalez.

Sammi Wilts of Franklin High School finished 9 th in the 100 yard backstroke (57.83)

Franklin High School's 400 yard freestyle relay team finished 10 th with a time of 3:33.63. Team members were Angelica Castrejon, Sammi Wilts, Gaby Lopez, and Nina

Gonzalez.

5A Boys: Leonardo Sanchez of Eastwood High School won the gold medal in the 200 yard freestyle with a winning time of 1:38.33.

Angel Macias of Eastwood High School finished 14 th in the 200 yard IM (1:56.79)

Mario Yague of Bel Air High School finished 16 th in the 100 yard butterfly (52.70). This was the first time in many years that Bel Air placed an individual in a finals of a swimming event at the state meet.

Leonardo Sanchez of Eastwood High School finished 3 rd (bronze medal) in the 100 yard freestyle (45.47). This was the second medal for Sanchez at the 2014 meet.

Eastwood High School finished 10 th in the 200 yard freestyle relay event (1:27.11). Relay members were Hector Gomez, Zach Williams, Nathaniel Munoz, and

Leonardo Sanchez.

Zeus Gomez of Eastwood High School finished 15 th in the 100 yard backstroke (53.48)

Eastwood High School finished 13 th in the 400 yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:14.11. Team members were Leonardo Sanchez, Evan Allard, Colin O'Beirne, and

Bryan Romero

2014 was a very good year for El Paso and 2015 promises to be just as good or better as EPHS, Franklin, Eastwood, and Jefferson all had teams that consisted of under classmen.

2011-2012 El Paso High School: The Lady Tigers finished 14 th in the state. Members of the team included Ivy Claflin, Danielle Gonzalez, Anissa Davidson, and Shanny Lin. Shanny Lin finished 6 th in the Girls 200 yard IM and 5 th in the Girls 100 yard Butterfly.

2010-2011 El Paso High School: The Lady Tigers finished 13 th in the state with 67 points. El Paso High finished 6 th in the Girls 200 yard Medley Relay. Members of the relay team were Gaby Partida, Paula Erives, Shanny Lin, and Lauren Porras. The Jefferson boys' team finish state with 29 points.

2009-2010 Coronado High School: Jake Hartley won the gold medal for the Boys 50 yard Freestyle in a time of 20.22 seconds. He then followed that feat with another gold medal performance in the Boys 100 yard Freestyle with a time of 44.83 seconds.

2008-2009 Coronado High School: Jake Hartley won the gold medal for the Boys 50 yard Freestyle in 20.54 seconds. This was the first of three individual state championships for Hartley.

More on Lacey Elliot

Lacey Elliot was a swimmer at Franklin High School in the late 1990's. Her main swimming events were the 50 yard and 100 yard freestyles. She won 2 gold medals or state championships at the Texas UIL State Swimming Meet in the 1998-1999 school year. She set a state record in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 23.33 seconds. The sport of swimming is always improving but Elliot's 50 freestyle time still ranks in the top ten ever recorded in Texas. She finished the '98-'99 state meet by winning the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 51.49 seconds. Lacey Elliot had a stellar high school career and was named 1 st Team All American once and Honorable Mention two other times. Her swimming coach at Franklin, Polly Perry, informs me that Lacey Elliot still holds the Cougar's school record for those two events. Elliot accepted a scholarship from the SMU upon graduation from Franklin and competed for the Mustangs during the 2000-2001 swim season. She then transferred to the University of Texas and competed for the Longhorns for the last three years of her collegiate career. Elliot was a letter winner for UT each of her three seasons from 2001-2004 and named to the Big 12 All Academic Team for the 2003-2004 season. Lacey Elliot is married and lives in Austin, Texas.

1997-1998 Eastwood High School: The Trooper won the state championship in the All Schools Classification for the 200 yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:25.78. Members of the relay team were not listed.

1997-1998 Eastwood High School: Kurt Mullen won an individual gold medal for the 100 yard freestyle when he swam a time of 45.48 seconds.

1980-1981 Coronado High School: Susan Marks won an individual gold medal for her performance in the 100 yard breaststroke. Her winning time was 1:08.59.

1976-1977 Eastwood High School: Bill Juvrud won an individual state championship for the Troopers when he finished first in the 100 yard backstroke. His winning time was 54.47 seconds.

El Paso Loretto Academy

I have decided to devote the rest of this chapter to covering the swimming history of Loretto Academy. Loretto consistently performs well at the annual TAPPS Swimming State Championships and several of their swimmers have gone on to have swimming careers at the collegiate level. My resource for this section is tapps.net. The records go back to the 1999-2000 school year. Cathedral High School and Loretto Academy were members of the TCIL (Texas Christian (Catholic) Interscholastic League before the year 2000. TCIL records are virtually non-existent except in football and basketball.

2015: Miriam Guevara won a gold medal for Loretto Academy in the 100 yard backstroke with a winning time of 56:01.2 seconds. Garcia's gold medal was the first for Loretto since Sydney Hirschi won 2 golds in 2013. Miriam Guevara also took a silver medal in the 100 yard butterfly. Loretto finished in 7 th place in the team standings with 53.7 points.

2014: Loretto Academy finished sixth in the team standings at the TAPPS' Class 5A Division I State Swim Meet with a total of 53 points. The 200 yard medley relay team finished fourth with a time of 2:01.24. Members of the relay team were Sofia Ruiz, August McCool, Anney Matlock, and Zoe Housen. Anney Matlock was 7 th in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 2:08.76; Sofia Ruiz finished 8 th in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:09.05; August McCool was fifth in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:12.11; and the Loretto 200 yard freestyle relay team finished 5 th with a time of 1:48.03. Members of the relay team were Anney Matlock, Audrey McCool, August McCool, and Zoe Housen.

2012-2013: Loretto Academy finished fifth in the team standings at the TAPPS State Swim Meet with a total of 85 points. Loretto was paced by Sydney Hirschi who won two gold medals at the state tournament and was a member of two relay teams that had fourth place finishes. Hirschi won the 200 yard IM with a time of 2:05.08 and the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 55.26 seconds. She was also part of the 200 yard medley relay team that finished fourth in the state with a time of 1:59.75. Other relay members were Aundrea Garcia, August McCool, and Anney Matlock. August McCool, Zoe Housen, Anney Matlock, and Sydney Hirschi were the members of the 200 yard freestyle relay team that finished fourth with a time of 1:45.10. Loretto also finished 7 th in the 400 yard freestyle relay with a time of 4:21.17. Members of the relay squad were Sofia Ruiz, Aundrea Garcia, Zoe Falvey, and Zoe Housen. August McCool and Anney Matlock performed well in the swim meet. McCool had a 9 th place finish (26.37 seconds) in the 50 yard freestyle along with a 3 rd place finish (1:12.12) in the 100 yard breaststroke and Matlock had a 10 th place finish (5:54.13) in the 500 yard freestyle. I will write more about Sydney Hirschi and her sister Faith Hirschi later in this chapter.

2011-2012: Loretto Academy finished fourth in the team standings earning 106 points in the various swimming events. Members of the Lady Angels swim team were Sydney Hirschi, Lauren Antcliff, August McCool, Kari Yanez, Vicky Centeno, and Zoe House. Loretto finished in 3 rd place in 200 yard medley Relay. Relay members were McCool, Antcliff, Hirschi, and Yanez. Sydney Hirschi had a 1 st place finish in the 200 yard IM (2:06) while Lauren Antcliff finished 4 th in the same event (2:20.43). August McCool finished 10 th in the 50 yard freestyle. Sydney Hirschi added another gold medal to her total with a winning performance in the 100 yard butterfly (55.95). The Loretto 200 yard freestyle relay team finished in 1 st place with a time 1:43.28. Members of the relay team were Antcliff, Hirschi, McCool, and Yanez. Lauren Antcliff capped off a brilliant swim meet with a gold medal performance in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:08.27). August McCool and Kari Yanez had 11 th (1:16.82) and 14 th (1:19.07) place finishes, respectively in the same event. Loretto had an 8 th place finish (4:14.74) in the 400 yard freestyle. Relay members were Vicky Centeros, Aundrea Garcia, Zoe House, and Kari Yanez.

2010-2011: Loretto Academy earned a fifth place finish in the team standings scoring a total of 59 points at the state swimming meet. Sydney Hirschi turned in an outstanding performance with two individual first place finishes and another first place finish as part of relay team. Hirschi's individual performances came in the 200 yard IM (2:08.58) and the 100 yard butterfly (56.50 seconds). She was also a member of Loretto's 200 yard freestyle relay team that won the gold medatal with a time of 1:44.52. Other team members were August McCool, Kari Yanez, and Faith Hirschi. Faith Hirschi had a second place finish in the 100 yard backstroke (58.27). Loretto also scored point in the following events: Lauren Antcliff finished 13 th in the 200 yard IM (2:33.87); August McCool finished 9 th in the 50 yard freestyle (27.19 seconds) and also had a 12 th place finish in the 100 yard freestyle; Lauren Antcliff finished 4 th in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:15.28) while Kari Yanez and Aundrea Garcia finished 10 th and 15 th in the same event. Finally, the Loretto 400 yard freestyle relay team (Vicki Centeno, August McCool, Aundrea Garcia, and Kari Yanez) had a 7 th place finish (4:10.39) at the state meet.

2009-2010: The Lady Angels of Loretto Academy finished in 6 th place in the team rankings and were paced by Faith Hirschi, Mae Corbin, and Sydney Hirschi. Faith Hirschi won an individual state championship in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 58.76 seconds and also had a second place finish in the 500 yard freestyle (5:11.74). She was also a member of two relay teams that scored points at the meet. Sydney Hirschi had a second place finish in the 100 yard butterfly (58.13) and a third place finish in the 200 yard freestyle (1:56.88). She was also a member of two relay teams that scored points. Mae Corbin placed 8 th in the 50 yard freestyle (26.96) and 6 th in the 100 yard freestyle (57.93). Corbin was also a member of two relay teams that scored points at the state meet. The Loretto 200 yard freestyle relay team (Kari Yanez, Faith Hirschi, Mae Corbin, and Sydney Hirschi) finished in third place (1:43.84) and the same relay members finished fourth in the 400 yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:48.00.

2008-2009: Loretto Academy scored 45 points and finished 6 th in the team standings at this state tournament. Top performers for Loretto were Faith Hirschi, Mae Corbin, Katie Havlovic, and Alma Gutierrez. Mae Corbin finished 7 th in the 200 yard freestyle (2:10.87) and was a member of two relay teams that scored points at the meet. Katie Havlovic swam to a 5 th place finish in the 50 yard freestyle (26.28 seconds) and a 4 th place finish in the 100 yard butterfly (1:04.46). She was also a member on two relay teams that tallied points. Faith Hirschi had a 3 rd place finish in the 100 yard backstroke (1:01.47) and a 4 th place finish in the 500 yard freestyle (5:22.62). Hirschi was also a member of the 400 yard freestyle relay team (Hirschi, Alma Gutierrez, Mae Corbin, and Katie Havlovic) that finished 4 th (3:53.99) and the 200 yard freestyle relay squad (same members as the 400 yard team) that had a 3 rd place finish (1:46.03). Alma Gutierrez scored points with an 8 th place finish in the 100 yard butterfly.

2007-2008: Loretto Academy racked up 53 points and finished 5th in the team rankings at the state meet. The 200 yard medley relay team (Faith Hirschi, Simone Hernandez, Alma Gutierrez, and Katie Havlovic) finished 5 th with a time of 2:01.52. Katie Havlovic finished 2nd in the 50 yard freestyle and 6th in the 100 yard Freestyle (55.93). Faith Hirschi and Simone Hernandez finished in 3rd place (5:31.47) and 5th place (5:40.76) respectively in the 500 yard freestyle. The Angels' 200 yard freestyle relay team (Alma Gutierrez, Mae Corbin, Rebekah Wierson, and Katie Havlovic) finished 4th with a time of 1:48.7). Faith Hirschi finished 3rd (1:03.53) in the 100 yard backstroke while Simone Hernandez took 6th place in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:15.78). Finally the Loretto 400 yard freestyle relay team (Faith Hirschi, Mae Corbin, Britani Jackson, and Simone Hernandez) finished in 6th place with a time of 4:03.45.

2006-2007: Loretto Academy paced by the swimming performances of Katie Havlovic finished 6 th in the team standings with a total of 41 points. Havlovic finished 4 th in the 50 yard freestyle (25.30) and 2 nd in the 100 yard freestyle (54.92). She was also a member of two relay teams that scored points at the state meet. The Loretto 200 yard medley relay team (Katie Havlovic, Ana Hegeman, Mae Corbin, and Stephanie Escriche) finished 4 th with a time of 1:59.82 while the Lady Angel's 200 yard freestyle relay team (Havlovic, Escriche, Hegeman, and Alma Gutierrez) took 2 nd place with a time of 1:46.53. Ana Hegeman had a 6 th place finish (1:05.00) in the 100 yard butterfly and Alma Gutierrez took 6 th place in the 100 yard backstroke (1:09.64).

2005-2006: Loretto Academy finished 8 th at the state meet scoring a total of 30 points. Loretto's 200 yard medley relay team finished in 5 th place with a time of 2:03.84. Team members were Stephanie Escriche, Simone Hernandez, Ana Hegeman, and Rebekah Wierson. Ana Hegeman had a 3 rd place finish in the 100 yard butterfly (1:04.07) and Simone Hernandez finished 4 th in the 500 yard freestyle (5:30.36). Hernandez also had a 4 th place finish in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:12.15). Finally, the Loretto 400 yard freestyle relay team (Simone Hernandez, Stephanie Escriche, Britani Jackson, and Ana Hegeman) took 6 th place in the event with a time of 4:07.81.

2004-2005: Loretto Academy finished 7 th in the annual TAPPS State Swimming Tournament. The Loretto 200 yard medley relay team (Bianca Hernandez, Elizabeth Howard, Ana Hegeman, and Stephanie Escriche) finished 6 th with a time of 2:03.84. Ana Hegeman had 4 th place finish (2:20.95) in the 200 yard IM and a 5 th place finish in the 100 yard butterfly (1:04.99). Loretto's 200 yard freestyle relay team (Hegeman, Howard, Escriche, and Emily Cancellare) had an 8 th place finish (1:53.63) and another 8 th place finish in the 400 yard freestyle relay (Bianca Hernadez, Elizabeth Howard, Rebekah Wiesron, and Emily Cancellare) in a time of 4:20.95. Bianca Hernandez and Emily Cancellare finished the scoring for Loretto in the 100 yard backstroke with a 3 rd place (1:06.37) finish and an 8 th place finish (1:10.46), respectively.

2003-2004: Loretto Academy finished 9 th at the state meet with a total of 20 points. The 200 yard medley relay team (Bianca Hernandez, Cristina Acosta, Elizabeth Howard, and Emily Cancellare) finished in 3 rd place with a time of 2:03.36. Ana Hegeman had a 3 rd place finish in the 200 yard IM (2:25.88) and a 5 th place finish in the 100 yard butterfly (1:11.02). Loretto's 200 yard freestyle relay team (Elizabeth Howard, Ana Hegeman, Cristina Acosta, and Emily Cancellare) took 7 th place in a time of 1:52.77. Bianca Hernandez took 1 st place in the 100 yard backstroke (1:07.25) and Elizabeth Howard finished in 5 th place in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:15.30).

2002-2003: Loretto Academy finished 7 th in the state swim meet with a total of 37 points. Top finisher for Loretto was Bianca Hernandez with a gold medal in the 100 yard backstroke (1:06.95). The Loretto 200 yard medley relay team (Bianca Hernandez, Cristina Acosta, Elizabeth Howard, and Emily Cancellare) finished in 6 th place (2:07.68) and the 200 yard freestyle relay team (Hernandez, Acosta, Cancellare, and Nicole Sierra) took 6 th place in a time of 1:54.06). Bianca Hernandez had a 3 rd place finish in the 200 yard freestyle (2:10.26) and team mate Emily Cancellare took 5 th place in the 50 yard freestyle (27.64). Elizabeth Howard finished in 8 th place in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:18.60) and the 400 yard freestyle relay team (Howard, Sierra, Acosta, and Rose Harbison) finished 6 th with a time of 4:27.15.

2001-2002: The tapps.net records were not very complete for this state meet but Sarah Anaya had a 3 rd place finish in the 100 yard butterfly in a time of 1:04.82. This was the only record of a Loretto finish that I could find.

2000-2001: Loretto Academy finished 9 th in the state meet with a total of 22 points. The Loretto 200 yard medley relay team finished in 5 th place with a time of 2:06.73. Members of the relay team were Sarah Anaya, Juliana Martinez, Sarah Cancellare, and Mariana Chaparro. Sarah Cancellare finished 5 th in the 200 yard IM with a time of 2:26.65 and also had a 5 th place finish in the 100 yard butterfly (1:06.66). Sarah Anaya finished in 7 th place in the 100 yard freestyle (1:00.29) and the Loretto 200 yard freestyle relay team (Cancellare, Martinez, Chaparro, and Anaya) finished 7 th with a time of 1:53.52.

1999-2000: Records for this state tournament aren't very complete but Sarah Cancellare finished 7 th in the 200 IM with a time of 2:24.60 and 7 th in the 100 yard butterfly (1:05.73). Sarah Anaya had a 6 th place finish in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 59.65 seconds and Lyset Cadena was a gold medal winner in the 500 yard freestyle with a winning time of 5:21.36. Loretto's 200 yard freestyle relay team finished in 5 th place with a time of 1:51.47. Team members were Sarah Anaya, Juliana Martinez, Sarah Cancellare, and Lyset Cadena. The Loretto Angels also finished 5 th in the 400 yard freestyle relay (Anaya, Sofia Chaparro, Cancellare, and Cadena).

Loretto Academy has a proud tradition of producing excellent swimming athletes and even more outstanding young women. I have chosen to highlight four such graduates.