Lake Creek’s resilient Matula strikes gold
AUSTIN — The journey to the state podium has been a long one for Lauren Matula.
Less than two years ago, the Lake Creek junior had a metal bar removed from her chest. It was surgically placed there to treat Pectus Excavatum, a condition in which the sternum is caved in due to abnormal growth in the chest cavity.
The bar took her out of swimming for a year, and it took another sixth months to fully recover after its removal. Since that time, her trajectory as a swimmer has continued to rise. Now, she has reached the pinnacle.
Matula continued to show her resilience and captured two medals at the UIL Class 5A state championships Saturday, taking home a gold in the 500 freestyle in 4:57.39 and a silver in the 200 free in 1:51.50 after facing elite competition at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
“It’s been really hard but really fun,” Matula said. “I never really imagined how much I would improve in just two years. I knew I would improve, but not this much in such little time. It’s really just been great.”
With her victories came personal triumph. But she also made history. Matula became the first swimmer from her school to win a state medal. Mason Williams, a diver, was the first Lake Creek athlete to accomplish that in 2020.
Laurito dominant
Tony Laurito was on a mission Saturday evening.
When he captured gold in the 200 IM as a sophomore, he admitted, he wasn’t really expecting it.
But this year was different. This year, he had something more to prove.
Not only did the Friendswood junior successfully defend his title, but he set a new Class 5A record in the process with a time of 1:47.34. It was a significant improvement over his winning time of 1:49.62 from last year.
Laurito collected his second gold later in the meet, winning the 100 backstroke at 48.98.
“It means a lot,” Laurito said. “I didn’t really think I could (medal) freshman year. Coming from there to here and then also breaking the record at the same time, it means a lot. I came into this year with a lot more confidence.”
Magnolia girls third
Magnolia was the topfinishing girls team from the Houston area, collecting a score of 158. The Bulldogs trailed only Cedar Park (194) and Frisco Reedy (160).
Magnolia reached the podium just once, but it did so with loads of points on the line.
Magnolia came out of the gates strong, collecting silver in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:48.03. That team was comprised of Sarah Culberson, Claire Culberson, Olivia Suarez and Emma Huma.
“That was awesome, man,” Magnolia ISD coach Kenneth Nelson said. “When you start a meet like this on a good note, your brain and your energy and your adrenaline is there with it through the entire day. It was fantastic.”
Moons makes history
Julie Moons became the second Lake Creek athlete to win a medal Saturday.
After taking sixth place in the 1-meter diving event last year, she moved up and took silver this time around. Moons finished with a score of 430.60, trailing only two-time champion Maria Faoro, a Lucas Lovejoy sophomore.
Like Matula, Moons made history. The junior goes down as the first female diver to win a state medal for Lake Creek.
“I’ve been working all year, and I’ve been practicing hard on my dives,” Moons said. “It was a great experience. I was definitely very nervous, but I’m happy with how I did.”
Magnolia junior Jake Bigler was the top Houstonarea boys diver, taking bronze with a score of 432.60.
Four apiece for pair
After winning three state medals as a freshman last year, Avery Dillon added to the haul Saturday.
The Fulshear sophomore captured two individual medals, taking bronze in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.64 and silver in the 500 freestyle behind Matula at 4:58.83. Junior teammate Kailey Kennedy also won two individual medals, taking bronze in the 50 freestyle (23.22) and 100 breaststroke (1:05.62).
Dillon and Kennedy were joined by teammates Emma Nowotny and Ellie Paisley on the Chargers’ 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay teams, which took gold and bronze, respectively, with times of 1:37.74 and 3:34.20.
Fulshear finished fourth with a score of 146.