In the upcoming regional swim meet in Rockwall on Friday and Saturday, the Rangers hope to keep up their streak of impressive performances and continue to build this rising swim program. With six swimmers qualifying for the regional meet in both individual races and relays, Jesuit has already accomplished something that few teams before have managed to do.
Last weekend at the District meet, Jesuit swimmers competed against and triumphed over teams from their district, which is the “strongest district in North Texas” according to Coach BJ Antes. Not only did incredible individual swimmers find success, but also great teams, with two relay teams qualifying for the 400 and 200 free. Coach Antes expressed that both relay teams have a solid chance of qualifying for the state meet later this year.
“This is the second year that I’ve qualified for regionals,” commented Mead Robuck ’14, “and I think this year I’ll do much better now that I’ve had the experience.” Jesuit’s youth, though not an advantage for this specific team, will absolutely play a big role as the young contributors mature and become significant forces in the district. “Most of our point scoring swimmers will return next season, so a strong finish this weekend would bode well for the future” explained Coach Antes.
Although next season already looks bright, swimmers are committed to the 2013 season right now. “We’ve all been talking and this is a really committed bunch, we’re holding each other accountable, which is really good” said Eric Futscher ’13. All week swimmers have had to watch their diets, sleep a sufficient amount, and stay hydrated, but this meticulous lifestyle is necessary if the team will be successful.
On Friday and Saturday, swimmers from each school will try to get high places, which, depending on the race and finish, will award points to the school, and at the end of the meet, to the school with the highest total wins. Of the teams competing, Coach Antes anticipates Jesuit, Allen, Belton, and the three Plano Schools to grab the top 6 spots, hopefully in that order.
Along with team scores, individuals can qualify for the state meet by finishing first in their races, and then at the end, 8 swimmers get “call-ups,” which qualifies them for the state meet if they finish with one of the top 8 times. Usually these times come from Jesuit’s region and Southlake Carroll’s region. Of this year’s swimmers, Futscher ’13 and Nolan Daniels ’15 have the best chances of advancing, though all of the swimmers could do the same with an outstanding performance.
“I anticipate we will have a really good meet overall” said Erik Furton ’14, “people are going to be surprised at what we’re going to do.” The meet just a few days away, one can only wait to see how Jesuit performs as a whole, and also to see the young talent that is the future of this team.
