Texan swimmers compete at State

Texan swimmers competed against the best 4A swimmers in Texas at the UIL State Swim Championships at Josh Davis Natatorium in San Antonio last week.

The boys 200-yard medley relay finished in 6th place overall after qualifying for the Championship “A” final. Their time of 1:47.11 was more than two seconds faster than their showing at the state championships last year. Lead off swimmer and sophomore Jackson Shinn swam a personal best backstroke split, followed by junior Michael Donovan, who also swam a personal best in the breaststroke split. Sophomore Jeremiah (JJ) Bales and senior Rayder Pack continued to pour on the speed in the butterfly and freestyle legs, respectively.

In the 400-yard freestyle relay, the same foursome swam to a 13th place finish in 3:42.32, eclipsing their qualifying time from the regional championship meet by five seconds.

The Lady Texan 200-yard medley relay finished in 13th place with a time of 2:09.27. Senior Brooklyn Bursiel opened with the backstroke, followed by junior Gracie Colyer on breaststroke, senior Zorah Schwalb-Stang swimming butterfly, and Charlotte Woodward’s freestyle.

In the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Lady Texans finished in 11th place, with a school record-breaking performance of 4:03.50.

Rounding out the Texans’ impressive 4A State showing were two individual swimmers, Bales and Donovan.

Bales narrowly missed “A” finals in the 100-yd butterfly and won the consolation heat with a time of 57.02, for 9th place overall. His 23.45 in the 50-yard freestyle was good enough for 11th place.

Donovan placed 15th in the 100-yd breaststroke with a time of 1:07.15.

The most improved Texan was senior rookie Rayder Pack, who was recruited to join the team after the season began. In his breakout season, he skyrocketed to State in two relays.

The Texans will say goodbye to four state-qualifying seniors this year but plan to rebuild for a return to the 4A State Championships in 2027.