Last season, the Dragons’ swimming and diving team benefited from individual superstar talent. Graduation may have taken a good chunk of the program's 2021 front-runners, but Carroll believes it’s still a force to be reckoned with.
Though talented and tough in some individual events, the fact that Carroll has relay strength and depth across the lineup is what Carroll coach Kevin Murphy believes gives his team the best chance to succeed.
“It won't be like we go out and win all the [individual] events,” Murphy says. “There are about five or six other teams that all have a small nucleus of good swimmers that somewhat alter the individual event outcomes.”
Returning talent like seniors Andrew Zettle and Mason Edmond lead boys relays, while seniors Riley Francis and Emily Hatcher head up girls relays.
This season, two of the three girl divers (Kyleigh Kidd and Natalie Stubbs) punched their tickets to state and are set to be a factor for new dive coach Anastasia Pozdniakova. Pozdniakova, who replaces retired coach Carolyn Hryorchuk, was a silver medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics in synchronized diving.
“We're excited,” Murphy says. “They can see the finish line and they're accelerating to the finish.”
SEASON UPDATE
The 2021 swimming and diving season ended as usual for Carroll — with both the boys and girls teams competing at the UIL state meet. The unusual factor was Carroll's lack of gold, as the Lady Dragons captured third-place bronze and the boys finished fourth, ending a 10-year streak in which at least one Carroll team went home with a title.
However, impressive finishes at events this season gave the Dragon swimmers hope that they would once again make a splash at state, and maybe even begin a new gold streak.
“If we can make it through region with the right people doing well and making it on to state, we should be tough,” Carroll swim coach Kevin Murphy says.
Competition at the CISD Aquatics Center on Jan. 13 saw the Carroll boys and girls teams each set pool records in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays. Then on Jan. 21-22, the swim and dive teams took first place at the District 5-6A meet. After 29 swimmers and three divers competed at the regional championships on Feb. 8, both teams secured first-place finishes and qualified over a dozen swimmers and two divers for the state contest, where both the boys and girls teams won first place.
“It's our job to see that we have them most ready to go on the day when it counts the most,” Murphy says.