The Midland Legacy girls’ swimming team placed fourth and Midland took fifth in the UIL Region 1-6A Championship on Feb. 9 with a score of 152 and 146 respectively, and Hannah Krueger of the Bulldogs was the top swimmer in the area with a pair of gold medals.
Carroll Senior won the meet with 485 points. Placing second was Keller with 404 points and third was San Angelo Central with 206 points.
Coach Steven Flato was voted the 6A Region 1 Girls Coach of the Meet, and he said this recognition is a testament to how hard the entire coaching staff has worked.
“Being voted as one of the best female coaches in our region is a compliment to our student-athletes and my coaching staff,” he said. “There are eight regions in the state and our Region I is by far the biggest with over 600 miles in its landscape. Our athletes are meeting the challenge to be highly competitive and the other coaches around the state have taken notice.”
Midland top performers:
Hannah Krueger won the gold in the 200 meter freestyle race with a time of 1:50.19. Krueger took her second gold of the meet in the 100 meter freestyle with a first place time of 50.60.
“Hannah being able to be seated number one after prelims in both of her events, and then being able to win both events in finals, was a sign of her deep competitive drive while developing a belief in herself that comes with maturity,” Flato said. “Her season training this year has helped her become an elite athlete in the Texas swimming community.”
Alysse Abbott won the silver medal in the one meter dive with 437.70 points. She was just behind Natalie Stubbs of Carroll Senior, who won with a score of 444.90. Abbott qualified for her second state dive meet.
100 meter breast stroke: Charlotte Erickson was eighth in the 100 meter breast stroke race with a time of 1:10.16.
Midland Legacy top performers:
Lainey Gloden was the top swimmer in the meet for the Rebels, posting a score of 25. Her best finish of the day was in the 200 meter freestyle, placing sixth with a time of 1:57.56. She had the top six swims for the team.
In the 500 meter freestyle, Gloden was seventh with a time of 5:21.14.
Another key race was the 100 meter freestyle, and Elizabeth Bitnerowska was ninth with a time of 56.07.
In the 200 meter individual medley, Lauren Chandler was 10th with a time of 2:16.97.