Coming off of a heartbreaking second place finish last year at the 2011 Region 3-5A Championship meet, the Jesuit Ranger swim team spent a focused year training to ascend to the never before experienced heights, a first-ever region championship. After a grueling season replete with early morning 6 AM practices, the Jesuit swim team descended on the Mansfield Aquatics Center once again for the Region 3-5A championship meet last weekend.
On Friday and Saturday, February 10-11, twenty-one schools competed in the Region 3-5A meet. The preliminary heats were held on Friday and the top eight times in the preliminary heats advanced to the final heats on day two.
The Rangers swam in dominating fashion, advancing at least three swimmers in every event. In succession, the Ranger swimmers swam personal bests against strong competition, frequently winning events.
The first event of the meet, the 200 medley relay, started off beautifully for the Rangers. The relay, composed of Jon Hoffman ’12, Alex Knitch ’12, Garrett Toledo ’12, and Eric Futscher ’13, dominated the event, defeating second placed Mansfield by over three seconds. “I’m so excited to swim against the fastest relays from across the state,” said Hoffman after the race.
The Rangers continued their strong swimming performances with personal best times from Alex Knitch ’12, Mead Robuck ’14, and Peter Steffek ’13 in the 200 freestyle. The 200 IM brought the Rangers their first individual gold medal, with Eric Futscher ’11 swimming a personal best. Brooks Maczka ’12 and Matthew Bedard ’14 also continued the Ranger domination with excellent swims in the consolation finals.
The main sprint event of the weekend, the 50 Freestyle, brought more celebration to the Ranger faithful. Garret Toledo ’12 
continued the onslaught with a gold medal, breaking the 22-second barrier in the process. Colin Taylor ’12 and Nathan Ward ’12 also swam personal bests to finish in the top 8. Brendan O’Brien ’12 completed the Ranger domination by finishing in the top 16.
Garret Toledo ’12 completed the Ranger trifecta of gold medals in the 100 Butterfly. Jon Hoffman ’12 and Matthew Bedard ’14 also swam excellently while Hector Rivera ’14 won the consolation finals.
In the 100 Freestyle, both Nathan Ward ’12 and Alex Knitch ’12 broke the 50-second barrier, while Colin Taylor ’12 and Mead Robuck ’14 both swam well in the consolation heat.
The long distance event of the meet, the 500 Freestyle, brought a battling Brooks Maczka ’12, who was rewarded 
with a time under 5 minutes. Peter Steffek ’13 and Hayden Tompkins ’13 both recorded huge time drops to finish off excellent seasons. “It was great to break five minutes for the fist time and help Jesuit become region champs,” Maczka said of his strong performance.
The second relay of the meet, the 200 Freestyle Relay, capped off the Rangers’ gold medal haul. Jon Hoffman ’12, Alex Knitch ’12, Garrett Toledo ’12, and Eric Futscher ’13 dominated the Tyler Lee relay, winning the event by over a second. The relay will compete in the Texas State Meet at the UT-Austin Swim Center on February 24th.
In the 100 backstroke, Jon Hoffman ’12, Jonathan Bedard ’13 and Nick Wageman ’13 all swam best times. Hoffman received a bronze medal. The 100 Breaststroke saw Eric Futscher ’13 continue the Ranger domination by earning a silver medal. Brendan O’Brien ’12 and Hector Rivera ’14 also swam personal best times in the consolation finals.
Finally, with the Region title firmly in their grasp, the Ranger Swim team cruised throughout the 400 Freestyle Relay. Colin Taylor ’2, Brendan O’Brien ’12, Nathan Ward ’12, and Mead Robuck ’14 capped off the season with scintillating swims. As Nathan Ward candidly exclaimed after his sub-50 second swim, “Big boys go big!”
When asked to explain why the Rangers swam so well, Senior Captain Colin Taylor explained, “We didn’t have a Matt Thompson (Best individual swimmer in Jesuit history), a Sam Lewis (Region meet MVP from Tyler Lee), or a future Olympian. We have a team and our team won region.” Reminiscing on the season, Taylor went on to say that: “When we hoisted that trophy up on the podium, I knew it was worth it!”
To celebrate, after receiving their Region 3-5A trophy, the Rangers pushed their surprised coach, B. J. Antes, into the pool from the podium. After absolutely dazzling swims, the Rangers returned to Dallas with their first-ever region championship.
Coach Antes, when asked to describe his emotions after winning the Region title, was delighted at his team’s excellent work ethic and senior leadership. “I am so excited for the entire team, especially the seniors,” Antes said. “We have a senior laden team that made a commitment to work as hard as it took to get the job done this year. Beginning with August dry land workouts all the way through the region meet in February, this team’s work ethic never wavered… it was a terrific achievement for our guys to finally climb the mountain and get that trophy. It makes all those mornings of hard work worth it.”
Congratulations to the Rangers for winning their first ever swimming Region championship! Look for the Ranger Swim team to continue its domination of the pool in the state meet.
