San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Upperclassmen lead way among region’s best
Clark’s Evan
Croley capped his senior year with a gold in the 50-yard freestyle at the UIL Class 6A state
meet.
Courtesy of Bob Daemmrich
School, grade: Clark, senior.
Highlights: Croley won UIL Class 6A 50-yard freestyle with a personal-best time of 19.89 seconds, finishing ahead of Humble Kingwood’s Tyler Grafmiller and Keller’s River Paul, who tied for second (20.27). It was Croley’s first state gold medal after taking third place in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke last year. Croley, who will compete for Harvard, was the 2023 Express-News Boys Swimmer of the Year.
Carli Cronk of Churchill,
front, took home a gold medal after her win in
the 200 freestyle at
her final state meet.
Courtesy of Bob Daemmrich
BOYS SWIMMER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
EVAN CROLEY
CARLI CRONK
School, grade: Churchill, senior.
Highlights: The Notre Dame-bound Cronk won her first UIL state gold medal by capturing the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:45.93. She was third in the event as a sophomore and second as a junior. Cronk also competed in the 100 backstroke for the first time this season and finished sixth at state.
BEXON HARRISON
School, grade: Boerne Champion, junior.
Highlights: Harrison captured bronze in the UIL state Class 5A 50 freestyle with a time of 20.65. He also anchored the Chargers to a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. He teamed with Will Harrison, William Tolar and Jake Canales to win gold. The Chargers finished second in the event the previous two seasons.
MONTSE SPIELMANN
Courtesy of
Bob Daemmrich
School, grade: Reagan, junior.
Highlights: Spielmann defended her UIL Class 6A state championship in the 100 butterfly and finished second, right behind Cronk, in the 200 freestyle. Spielmann, who is committed to Michigan, won the 100 butterfly with a time of 52.70. Kayla Fu of Fort Bend Clements (53.00) was second. Spielmann was second in the 200 freestyle in 1:46.34. She was third at state in the 200 freestyle last year.