If it’s the District 3-5A swim meet, then that means the Amarillo High swimmers are panning for gold and coming up big.
There was little doubt as to who the dominant team was entering the 3-5A meet Friday afternoon at the Amarillo Town Club featuring Amarillo High and the other three Amarillo ISD high schools. Numbers alone indicated that and AHS lived up to it.
Amarillo High easily won both the boys and girls team championships with almost no trouble. The AHS boys were especially dominant, scoring 1,719 points, over 1,600 more than the other two boys teams combined, winning all 11 individual events and relays.
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Things were a little more competitive on the girls side, but Amarillo High was still the strongest team by far, finishing with 690 points, well ahead of second place Tascosa (394) and third place Caprock (326).
“I’m very pleased,” AHS coach Ron Lee said. “I think we’re on track to performing very well at regionals (in Lubbock two weeks from now). We’re swimming tired right now which is good, I don’t want them rested. At regionals we’ll be fully tapered and I really expect them to do well.”
For the most part, Amarillo High’s swimmers didn’t turn in their best times, rarely approaching the times which generally made them top seeds in their respective events. Hitting the finish line ahead of the rest of the field was the goal, not recording personal bests.
“Right now if they’re swimming their best, something’s wrong,” Lee said. “I want them swimming their best in two weeks at regionals. I think we’re perfectly set up for where I want them to be.”
No Amarillo High swimmer probably knows that approach better than senior Alec Purdy. Starting with district last year, Purdy got to experience all the ups and downs of the highest level of high school swimming.
Purdy, who won a bronze medal in the 100-yard butterfly at last year’s state meet, won both of his individual events and was part of two winning relay teams as part of a perfect day. He defended his district title in the 100 fly with a time of 56.05 (the only swimmer in the field to break one minute), and also won the 100 backstroke in 58.58, chalking up a pair of workmanlike, yet decisive victories.
“I did pretty well in my opinion,” Purdy said. “It was a nice calm day. It was smooth and easy going and not too bad for me.”
Last year at district, Purdy was first to the finish line in both the 100 fly and back, but he was disqualified in the back for leaving too early. Purdy considers the back his best event and one in which he had a chance to win a medal at state.
That taught him in district to not think as hard about jumping out as quickly.
“It’s more of a qualifying meet for me,” Purdy said. “I’m hoping to do my better times in two weeks at regionals, but as of right now it was just to make sure I’m not disqualified. I’m just able to work on stuff I want to here but in a meet style environment.”
Purdy swam the lead leg on the winning 200 medley relay team with T.J. Zavala, James Drozell and Jude Drozell in a winning time of 1:53.81 to start the day on the right foot. He then anchored the winning 200 freestyle relay team after James Drozell, Amaka Nwokedi and Jude Drozell, which won in 1:44.92.
James Drozell, a junior, had just as productive a day as Purdy, winning a pair of individual events. Drozell won the 50 free in 22.56 and the 100 free in 52.25.
“I’m super happy with what I did,” Drozell said. “I can go faster at regionals but overall it was a pretty good day. I would say in this one you have to be careful to try to get by for regionals and that’s where you really kick it into high gear. I can definitely use soem more practice.”
Sophomore Hayden Jenkins was the other two-time individual winner for the AHS boys, taking the 200 free in 1:57.42 and the 500 free in 5:21.29. Jenkins was also on the winning 400 free relay team with Asher Gruhlkey, Corbin Farrar and Matteo Rizk, which closed the day with a 3:46.07.
On the girls side, freshman sprinter Deandra Canales posted a pair of wins for Amarillo High in the 50 and 100 free with times of 28.04 and 1:02.61 respectively. Caprock junior Maddalena Falconi was the other multiple winner for the girls, winning the 200 free (2:20.24) and 100 back (1:08.16).
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