Stewart Johnson
A swimming rivalry is alive and well between Southlake Carroll and Keller, and both schools dominated at the Region 1-6A swim meet in February.
The Lady Dragons claimed top honors on the girls side, edging out cross-town rival Keller by 42 points. The boys team saw success as well, finishing in second place behind Keller.
The Lady Dragons could find themselves in the heat of a first-place battle at state once again, with several fast swims individually and in relays this season, but those showings — as well as Carroll’s diving results — at the Class 6A meet could play a key factor in claiming the gold this time around.
And while the Carroll boys’ second-place finish at the UIL championship meet in 2024 might be a stretch to replicate this year, the potential return and effectiveness of an injured top swimmer could be the difference in finishing anywhere between fifth and seventh and reaching the medal stand for a possible bronze showing in February.
“We have three really fast girls,” said Kevin Murphy, Carroll swim coach, mentioning school and pool records set in the 200 and 400 free relays this season. “For the girls, those divers will be really important to the outcome of the [state] meet.
“My very best [boys swimmer] got hurt at club practice way back in September or early October,” Murphy said of senior Jackson Hernandez, who was a high school All-American with times posted last year. “He's just now trying to get going again. So that's kind of changed our equation. We hope he has a nice 50 (freestyle event at district), and if he can swim some relays, (he’ll) come to the regional meet. … If (Hernandez) is ready to swim, we could finish maybe third at the state meet.”
The battle to place at or near the top at state for the boys and girls starts with a familiar foe at the district level once again. Keller is expected to vye for both Class 6A titles after coming close to reaching that feat in 2024. Keller won the boys state title last year, comfortably leading second-place Carroll in point total (312.5 to 208) and is favored to take gold again this season.
Keller was third in the girls championships with 252 points, trailing second-place Carroll by just 11.5 points.
The two-team race should continue this postseason at the regional meet while they simultaneously compete against schools out west from areas like El Paso and Midland. For the Carroll and Keller girls, the battle is expected to continue up until the very last race in Austin.
The Lady Dragons have had strong showings in the 100 (junior Olivia Colombo) and 200 freestyle (junior Emma Bibza), 100 butterfly (senior Marin Clem and Bibza) and 100 backstroke (Clem, Colombo), as well as all three relays — especially the 200 medley and 400 free relays. The boys side is expected to end up in the top five or so of all three relays as well, as Carroll aims to send a total of six relays (boys and girls) and possibly as many as eight girls swimmers to state.
“We've got some superstars,” Murphy said. “The state meet — that's hard to get into if you don't have superstars.”
Competing in several challenging meets this season, Carroll has won every dual meet in which it’s raced. However, the annual Lone Star TISCA event this past November serves as one of the best meets in terms of talent faced, as well as an indicator of what could happen in late-season contests. The boys finished second to Keller at TISCA, while the Lady Dragons narrowly edged out Keller to win.
The difference at TISCA was diving, which could serve as the X-factor at state as well. Last season, the Carroll girls had the top two divers at state, and freshman Jack Ma finished third for the boys. Although the two girls graduated, senior Melina Michaeledes and some of her teammates could likely reach Austin, along with Ma, now a sophomore.
“It was kind of funny (at TISCA), because when they first gave out the trophy for winning the meet, they hadn't included the diving scores,” Murphy said. “So they gave Keller (girls) the trophy. …They (later) had to send the trophy home with one of our high school girls who was a club swimmer.”