Magnolia girls finish as runner-up in 5A
SAN ANTONIO Another year, another state banner for Magnolia.
The Lady Bulldogs churned out a third consecutive top-three performance at the UIL Class 5A state swimming championships Tuesday at the North East ISD Davis Natatorium.
Magnolia finished as the runaway runner-up with 160 points, outclassed only by champion Lubbock (208). The Lady Bulldogs were third last year and second in 2019. Friendswood (111) finished fourth, and Fulshear (93) was seventh to round out the top teams from Greater Houston.
“It was a full team effort,” fourth-year Magnolia coach Jared Kaminski said. “We only had five swimmers and a diver here today, so everybody had to swim hard and swim fast. They did a great job. It was a tough prelims because of all the time off with (the winter weather postponement), but their effort was incredible. They did a great job.”
Despite having only a small number of athletes, Magnolia competed in two relays. Those races, worth double the points at state, helped them rise up the standings.
Magnolia started with a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Sarah Culberson, Presley Heitzmann, Kailey Turner and Noelle Marsh clocked in at 1:48.22.
The 200-yard freestyle relay team also took fifth place. Culberson, Heitzmann, Turner and Marsh touched the wall at 1:38.82.
“(It took) a lot of mental toughness, to be honest,” Kaminski said. “It took a lot of physical prep, but at the end of the day, tons of mental toughness. Just trusting yourself, trusting your teammates. They did a great job.”
Marsh, a senior, narrowly missed the podium in the 50-yard freestyle, taking fourth with a time of 23.94. It was an improvement from her fifth-place finish last year. She also took fifth place in the 100yard freestyle at 51.71.
Turner, a senior, took fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:54.09. She also took eighth place in the 100-yard butterfly at 58.41.
Heitzmann was eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.17.
Culberson, a sophomore, took ninth place in the 200-yard IM at 2:06.79. She also took ninth in the 100-yard backstroke at 58.58.
Sophomore Claire Culberson finished 14th in the 500-yard freestyle at 5:22.02. She also took 15th in the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:11.61.
While Magnolia loses some senior leadership, the team will have plenty of talent next year to chase the program’s second state title.
“You’re always excited,” Kaminski said. “Every year it changes, and every year is different. Some of the teams are still so young. We’ll enjoy it and see what’s going on for the next year. We’re excited about the future with that bunch coming back.”
Shorter achieves goal with medal
Magnolia senior Jada Shorter has been working toward a state medal for four years.
She finally accomplished that goal Tuesday, taking bronze in the 1-meter diving event with a score of 404.65. Shorter, a four-time state qualifier, made the jump from ninth place last year. She was the only Greater Houston athlete to reach the podium.
Shorter needed a strong dive during the final round to vault into the top three. She delivered.
“I’ve been diving for a while, and just coming here as a senior, I didn’t really feel like there was a lot of pressure on me,” she said. “I was just here to have fun. I think the past few years have helped break down the nerves.”
Magnolia West senior Grace Matocha, who was a district and regional champion this season, finished just behind Shorter in fifth place with a score of 393.20
The two divers have a special relationship as both friends and competitors.
“We’ve just been friends forever,” Shorter said. “Before we were even in high school, we did a couple club meets together here and there, and it’s always been back and forth. … We just continually push each other, making each other better. It’s just so much fun, and I absolutely love it.”
Odds and ends
Fulshear senior Briana Roberson won her second straight silver medal in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:49.82. She also took fourth in the 100-yard freestyle at 51.11. … Fulshear also got on the podium as a team in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Roberson, Ellie Paisley, Kynley Dillion and Kailey Kennedy clocked in at 1:37.99. … Friendswood’s Lezli Sisung won bronze in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.03. She also took fourth in the 100-yard butterfly at 56.57. … Katy Jordan freshman Kaeli White made school history, becoming the first athlete from the program to compete at state. She took fifth in the 500-yard freestyle at 5:01.72.