Pasadena area swimmers compete at TAAF Games of Texas Summer State Championships.

Story by Chris Price
Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved

BRYAN, TEXAS (August 3, 2025) The South Belt Area "All Stars" Swimming Team (SBAS) competed in the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF) Games of Texas Summer State Championships and returned home with many accolades and honors, along with many lifetime best times. The championships were held at the Bryan Aquatic Center in Bryan, Texas.

In the 15-17 age group division, the top finisher was the SBAS Mixed 100-yard Freestyle Relay (shown above), consisting of Pasadena High School seniors Daniel Garza and Giovanni Lopez, who teamed up with Pasadena Memorial High School's junior Angelina Hernandez and senior Kailey Montoya to place fifth in the hotly contested race. The SBAS foursome posted the time of :59.37, which was faster that the time they recorded (1:02.18) in their gold medal performance at the TAAF Region 14 Championships two weeks earlier.

In the 15-17 age group individual events, Montoya placed 38th in the 50-yard Breaststroke and 45th in the 100-yard Individual Medley. Pasadena Memorial High School senior Gwendalynn Alvarado finished 29th in the 200-yard Freestyle and 45th in the 50-yard Butterfly. Hernandez competed in 100-yard Freestyle (49th place) and 100-yard Individual Medley (46th).

J. Frank Dobie High School senior Joel Chapa placed 58th in the 50-yard Butterfly, 58th in the 100-yard Freestyle and 73rd in the 50-yard Freestyle. Lopez placed 45th in the 50-yard Backstroke and 46th in the 50-yardd Breaststroke. with Garza placing 36th in th 50-yard Butterfly, 58th in the 100-yard Freestyle, and 62nd in thr 50-yard Freestyle.

In the girls 15-17 relay events, Hernandez, Montoya and Alvarado teamed up with Holly King to take 11th in the 200-yard Medley Relay and 12th in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay.

In the girls 13-14 division, Sam Rayburn High School sophomore Gabriella Olivo placed 28th in the 100-yard Individual Medley and 28th in the 50-yard Backstroke.

The South Belt Area "All Stars" Swimming Team is a select competitive swimming team, consisting of athletes from the Pasadena, South Houston, Deer Park and Texas Gulf Coast areas.

2025 TAAF Games of Texas to draw over 8,000 athletes to Bryan-College Station

By Chris Price
Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS (July 28, 2025) The 2025 Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF) Games of Texas, a premier Olympic-style event. The Games will bring more than 8,000 amateur athletes to Bryan and College Station from July 31 to August 3. Marking its eighth appearance in the Brazos Valley, the four-day festival will feature competitions in over a dozen sports, including swimming, track and field, boxing, tennis, esports, and ultimate frisbee, held at local venues such as Texas A&M’s E.B. Cushing Stadium, the Bryan Aquatic Center, and Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater.
In 2019, the Games attracted 20,000 athletes, families, and volunteers, generating an estimated $8.1 million in economic impact, 
To manage the expected influx of visitors, several local facilities will close temporarily, including College Station’s parks, recreation centers, and pools from July 31 to August 3, and the Bryan Aquatic Center from July 28 to August 6. Authorities advise drivers to anticipate traffic delays near competition venues and encourage early arrivals and carpooling, with parking available at each site. The public is invited to attend the opening ceremonies on Friday, August 1, at Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater.

Pasadena swimmers excel at TAAF Games of Texas; Qualify for State Games of America

By Chris Price
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS (July 29, 2023) Two former Pasadena Independent School District swimmers showed the crowd at Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center that just because you have graduated high school, you can still find success competing in the pool.

Kimberly Dutton (above left) and Emely Lopez (above right), who both competed for Pasadena Memorial High School and Pasadena High School, respectively, competed in the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF) Games of Texas state championships, and brought medals back to Pasadena.

Dutton,  who graduated in 2020, and Lopez, who graduated this past spring, each was part of the South Belt Area "All Stars" Swimming Team (SBAS) squad who won the women's 200-yard medley relay in the 18-and-over division at this summer's state championships.

In winning the relay, they became the first relay foursome to take a TAAF state title since 2004. The foursome of Kristine Kelly, Natalie Melenric, Caitlin Cunningham, and Jackie Thibodaux combined to win the girls' 15-17 200-yard freestyle relay with the time of 1:42.01, with that performance standing as a TAAF state record to this day.

Lopez, who was a four-time academic all-state honoree for the Pasadena Eagles, and two-time All America selection also took the bronze medal in the women's 18-24 50-yard butterfly. Lopez will continue her swimming career this fall as a member of the inaugural swimming team at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

Dutton, who was an academic all-state swimmers for the Pasadena Memorial Mavericks, and was an National State Games of America (NSGA) All-American in 2019 took the bronze medal in the women's 18-24 50-yard breaststroke.

As a result of making it to the medal platform in Brownsville, both women have qualified for State Games of America National Championships at the University of California in San Diego in July, 2024. This will be the first time Lopez will compete in the national event, however it will be the second time for Dutton. She qualified and competed in the 2019 edition of the games at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, bringing several medals back to Pasadena.

The South Belt Area "All Stars" Swimming Team is a select program consisting of elite swimmers from the Deer Park, Pasadena, Pearland, Friendswood, Clear Lake and greater Houston area. They are coached by Robert and Darla Kelly and Renee Martinez.

Houston-area athletes capture medals at TAAF Games of Texas Track and Field Championships

Photo by 
Darla S Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS (August 2, 2021) The track and field competition at the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF) Summer Games ofTexas was held at the Corpus Christi ISD Cabiness Stadium on July 29 to August 1, 2021. Despite the hot and humid weather which taxed all competitors, Houston area and Gulf Coast region runners, jumpers, and throwers shown their determining and grit; and return home with numerous medals. 

Many of those athletes had just come off their respective high school seasons, which ended in May and continued their training well into the summer to show off their talents at the 2021 Games of Texas.

In the 18 and under division, Beaumont Track Club took home the gold medal in the 4 x 100-meter relay. The foursome of Jayla Franklin, Keasia Hall, Brianna Howard, and Daja Maxey covered the one-lap distance with the time of 47.09 seconds, just a mere 28-hundreths of a second off the meet record of :46.81 set in 2009 by Dallas Speed by Choice.

Beaumont also captured the silver medal in the girls 18 and under 4 x 400-meter relay with Hall, Franklin, Sanaria Butler, and Ashlynn Lane combining for the time of 4:09.58. Franklin also took home an individual gold medal in the girls 18 and under 200-meter dash with the time of 24.77 seconds. Butler added a silver medal to her haul in the 18 and under 400-meter dash (:57.08). In the long jump, Jamyia Wilson captured the silver medal in the 16 and under long jump (4.77m/15 feet, 8 inches).

Photo by 
Kristine Kelly
TexSport Publications
Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved

The boys 16 and under 110-meter hurdles saw John Sanderson in second place (15.22 seconds). Houston's Monte Bell won gold in the boys 18 and under 800-meter run (2:05.27), with Sonaia Johnson, also from Houston, captuing bronze in the 18 and under girls 800-meters (2:32.69), Fellow Houstonian Aleia Johnson finished third in the 16 and under girls 800-meter run (2:43.95).

Wharton County's Jacorric Allen also won gold, in the 16 and under boys 400-meter dash (49.98 seconds).

Houston’s Donna Bryant, who was attending the Games to watch her granddaughter compete, stated:

“It was a great meet and I was very happy to see my grandbaby run. Even though it is very hot, and I am proud grandma.”

The Games of Texas will return to the Corpus Christi in July-August, 2022. A photo slideshow from the track and field competitionm by TexSport Publications' senior photographer Darla Tamulitis can be viewed by clicking here.

Golf champions crowned at TAAF Games of Texas

Adhira Tippur, Sankirth Tippur, and Shay West
all took medalists honors in their respective
divisions at the TAAF Games of Texas golf competition.
Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vida Loca Photography
Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS (August 1, 2021) Golf was contested in the 2001 Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF) Games of Texas at Lozano Golf Center in Corpus Christi. Two nine-hole rounds were in the contested in the girls and boys 7-9 year-olds and 10-11 year-olds age groups, along with the girls 12-13 age group. In the boys 12-13, girls and boys 14-15 and 16-18, and the mens and womens 50-and-over age groups plays two 18-hole rounds.

In the girls division, Isabella Ramirez took top honors with two nine-rounds total of 87 (44-43) followed by Amabely Rodriguez with a 93 (45-48) in the girls 10-13 year-old division. In the girls 14-15 division, Adhira Tippur won the gold medal with a two-round, 36-hole total of 173 (89, 84), with Regan Williams taking the silver with the score of 216 (109, 107). 

Photo by
Darla Tamulitis
La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved

In the 16-18 division, San Angelo's Shay West (shown left) won the gold medal with a two-round thirty-six hole total of 152, shooting a first-round 78, and coming back with a 74 on the second day.

After the tournament, she was ask about her play and how the course was. She responded:

"It was good. I liked it (the cousre). It presented a lot of challenges, but I was able to overcome them. This was my first time playing (this course). I didn’t get a practice round. So there was some places that were dangerous and I ended up going there and I had to get myself out of it." 

In the boys 7-9 division, Jack Rogers took home the gold with the score of 89 (46, 43), with Andrew Sperry earning the silver; 131 (70, 61). In the 10-11 year-old boys division Jaanus Cantu took top honors with the score of 76 (39, 37), followed by Farid Aounallah with an 85  (43, 42) in second. Dennis Kwon and Salatore Alejandro tied for third with the score of 92; shooing 44/48 and 41/51, respectively.

In the boys 12-13 age group, Diego Deleon won the gold medal (180; 91/89), with Avion Loera winning silver (183, 87/96), and Eliab Alvarez taking bronze (206, 103/103). The boys 14-15 division saw a close match with  Rene Garcia taking top honors with a two-stroke win (179, 93/86) over Joshua Castaneda (181, 101/80). Sankirth Tippur won the boys 16-18 division with a two-round total of 169 (82/87). 

In the 50+ competiton, Linda Lindsey won the womens gold with the score of 96, while Greg Bassett and  Oscar Houchins went 1-2 with scoers of 72 and 85 respectively.

Local swimmers find success at TAAF Games of Texas Summer State Championships

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS (July 30, 2021) Two local Pasadena/Deer Park-area swimmers concluded their summer comeptitve season at the 2021 Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF) Games of Texas Summer State Swimming Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas. The competiton was held at the Corpus Christi Independent School District Natatorium and saw swimmers from around Texas vie for gold, silver and bronze medals.

Nicholas Brown (shown left) and Levi Del Angel (shown above) competed in the boys 13-14 age group and came home with five top 10 finished in their events. Del Angel, who will be a freshman at Pasadena Memorial High School competed in three events while Brown (shown left), who is also an incoming freshman, at First Baptist Christian Academy in Pasadena, swam two events.

Del Angel placed fifth in all three of his events; 100-yard freestyle with the time of  53.91 seconds, 50-yard freestyle (:24.89) and 100-yard individual medley (1:03.02). Brown placed seventh in the 50-yard bresaststroke (:34.91) and ninth in the 50-yard freestyle (:25.76).  

After his competition session, Brown stated,

"Being in Corpus was lots of fun, swimming against good competition was fun.  After the races he enjoyed eating at the Whataburger by the Bay.   I have been to State Games before and every time I have been I enjoyed it." 

Prior to the state championships, both young men competed in the TAAF Region 14 Swimming Championships at Katy High School in Katy, Texas. Del Angel won gold medals in all three of his events; 100-yard freestyle (55.60), 50-yard freestyle (:25.21), and 100-yard individual medley (1:05.28). Brown won the region title in the 100-yard breaststroke (:34.03) and took a silver medal in the 50-yard freestyle (:25.64).

The 2021 and 2022 TAAF Games of Texas are hosted by the City of Corpus Christi.