“She always beats me,” Gonzalez said of the Corpus Christi Flour Bluff standout swimmer.
Gonzalez will never be able to say that again. The Sharyland High junior led from start to finish in a side-by-side finish and won the race to advance to the state meet for the third year in a row. Gonzalez clocked in with a personal best time of 53.11 seconds, less than a half second faster than Huang’s 53.52.
Gonzalez is the lone area competitor from the 5A regional meet who will advance to state. Her time in the 50-yard freestyle placed her in second but Sharyland head coach Tina Jensen said she believes Gonzalez’s time will be fast enough to be called up to state. This year, only the event winners automatically earn a berth at state, then the next eight fastest times will also be called up.
Gonzalez led at the halfway point by .16 seconds and actually extended her lead in the 100. She didn’t feel that way, though, during the event.
“I was very anxious about today’s race and at the end of the race I was relieved it was over,” she said. “It didn’t feel like I was in the lead and (Rachel) and I were neck and neck, so when I looked up and saw I took first place and beat Rachel I was surprised.”
Jensen said the team didn’t have many opportunities to compete due to COVID-19 and UIL safety protocol. Most meets could only be duals or tri-meets. Gonzalez ended up competing against the boys most of the year.
“She actually asked if she could go against the boys,” Jensen said. “What a great idea it was.
“Her work ethic is impeccable. She doesn’t ever quit and is always striving to do better. It has been a rough season, but we made. Just two more weeks.”
The state meet is scheduled to take place at the Bill Walker Pool at Josh Davis Natatorium in San Antonio on Feb. 18-19. The boys Region VIII-5A meet will take place today, also at the CCISD Natatorium. Prelims will take place in the morning and finals in the afternoon.
McAllen Rowe finished with the top team performance of area schools, collecting 1,131 points for fourth place, edging McAllen High, the District 31-5A champion, which finished fourth with 1,088 points. Flour Bluff easily won the event with 3,478 followed by San Antonio Great Hearts Monte Vista with 1,939 points. Sharyland High... Click here to read full article
ARTICLE SOURCE:
