Stepping up on the grey, aging blocks at Loos Natatorium, the Senior knew it would be his last time there. The pools impressive 18ft depth and towering 10m platform add to the granduer of the meet. After two years of morning practices at this legendary natatorium from the sixties, his time was cut short by the pandemic and persitant maintenance problems. Recollections of defeat his Freshman year overcome by memories of District Champion his past two years. Lowering himself on the blocks, he prepares to win again.
Coming off of a 27-1 regular season the Rangers began the Post Season with a win at the District 8-6a Championship Meet, crushing rival JJ Pearce.
Districts
Lead by Captains Alex Hung ’22, Blake Butz ’22, Sam Steffler ’22, and James Savarese ’22, the Rangers went on to win the 200 Medley Relay, the 400 Free Relay, and second in the 200 Free Relay.
Sophomore William Savarese ’24 named Swimmer of the Meet after securing first in the 200 IM with a 1:55.00, and 500 free with a 4:35.27, as well as securing two relay wins. Junior Leo Pelaez ’23 took first in the 100 free with a 48.65 and first in the 200 free with a 1:43.78. Senior Charles Henderson won the 100 fly with a 53.81, and Sam Steffler ’22 took second place as Jesuit’s top finisher in the 50 free with a 22.68.
The Divers performed exceptionally as well with Thatch Balady ’24 taking second with a score of 311.85 and Sam An ’24 taking securing third with a .
The 2021- 2022 District Championship is the 9th in program history and the third in a row for this groundbreaking group of swimmers. The team sent 24 entries to the Regional meet.
Regionals
The Captains continued their leadership at Regionals, all qualifying for finals. Savarese ’24 stunned with a school record in the 500, swimming a 4:29.85 to best the previous record he set at Tisca earlier in the season. William also placed third in the 200 IM with a time of 1:49.95. William earned callups for both the 500 free and 200IM for state.
Jesuit put together dominant relays. The two fastest comprised of Leo Pelaez ’23, William Savarese ’24, James Savarese ’22, and Alex Hung ’22 earned callups in both the 200 free relay with a 4th place finish, and 400 free relay with a 3rd place finish. Seniors Henderson ’22 and Steffler ’22 overcame a 2.35 second deficit in the last 100 of the 200 medley relay to best Richardson by 0.02 seconds, finishing in a 1:40.60.
Overall the team placed 4th at regionals and sent a historic seven swimmers to the state meet. These included the four relay qualifying swimmers as well as three alternates in case of sickness or injury.
State
The 2022 state meet was a historic meet with many records falling, including state records for some teams and school records for Jesuit. William Savarese’ 24 dominated in the 500 free with a stellar time of 4:28.41 in prelims and 4:27.93 in finals. Savarese broke his own record twice in Austin, posting his best of 4:27.93 in the Gull. The team of the Savarese brothers James ’22, William ’24, Alex Hung, and Leo Pelaez, swam a historic 400 free relay besting the old school record with a time of 3:07.69. Alternates Sam Steffler ’22, Blake Butz ’22, and Charles Henderson ’22 stood at ready to hop in the pool, supporting the team as they performed at their best.
A Special Thank you to Don Chamblee for the pictures!
Stay tuned to The Roundup for more swimming news.
