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.

Former Pasadena-area high school swimmers competed in first college meet of 2021

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO (January 15, 2021) Three swimmers who competed for Pasadena, Texas area schools during their prep careers kicked of the 2020-2021 college season with a series of dual meets at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Melanie Jimenez (Pasadena Memorial HS, Class of 2020) and Christopher Brown (First Baptist Christian Academy, Class of 2020) are competing for McMurry University (Abilene, Texas) , with Michael Vargas (Sam Rayburn HS, Class of 2019) is competing for the University of the Ozarks Eagles, located in Clarksville, Arkansas.

In the first day of the two-day competition, the McMurry War Hawks were competing against Austin College while the Ozark Eagles faced Colorado College. In the McMurry vs. Austin meet, the War Hawks downed the Kangaroos in the men's division 138-38. In the women's division, Austin topped McMurry, 103-72. In the Ozark vs. Colorado matchup, the Tigers down the Eagles, 178-44

Photo courtesy of
McMurry Athletics
Media Relations Department

Jimenez (shown left) competed in two individual and two relay events. Her first individual event of the meet was the 50-yard freestyle, where she placed second with the time :28.33. In the 100-yard freestyle, she placed third (1:02.68) in a race that saw a mere 63-hundreths of a second between the top-three places. The War Hawks 200-yard medley relay saw the former Maverick regional qualifier swim the freestyle leg, anchoring the relay to a second place finish. The 400-yard freestyle relay was contested as an "exhibition" swim, due to entry limitation. Jimenez swam the leadoff leg with the time of 1:04.74  in route to a final time of 4:27.81.

Photo courtesy of
McMurry Athletics
Media Relations Department

On the men's side of the War Hawks-Kangaroo contest, Brown (shown right) competed the 1000-yard freestyle, where he posted the time of 14:13.48, good enough for a third-place finish. In the 100-yard backstroke, he took fourth place, with the time of 1:19.48. The final event for the freshman was the 100-yard backstroke, where clocked the time of 1:16.08 in an exhibition swim. 

Photo courtesy of
University of the Ozarks
Sports Information
Department

Vargas (shown left) competed in two swimming and one diving event in the Eagles' contest against the Colorado, The sophomore  placed fourth in the 200-yard freestyle (2:29.84) and fifth in the 100-yard backstroke (1:11.51). In one-meter diving, he took third place (103.95 points).

All three swimmers will meet on Saturday, when McMurry and Ozarks face off in the final competition of the weekend.  

First Baptist Christian Academy competes in first meet of 2021

Story and Photos by Tracy Brown
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved

DEER PARK, TEXAS (January 7, 2021) The First Baptist Christian Academy Warriors competed in their first swimming meet of 2021 against the Deer Park Deer at Deer Park High School on Tuesday, January 5, 2021. The Warriors top performers of the meet were Harrison Brown (shown right, pictured left), in the boy's division and and Keeleigh Wilbanks (shown below) on the women's side.. 

When the Warriors stepped to the blocks in the individual events, they shined despite their lack of access to consistent practice pools over the break. Timothy Henry (shown right, pictured right) swam a personal best in the 200-yard freestyle dropping almost two seconds, to touch the wall with a time of 2:32.40. Wilbanks swam a new personal best in the 50-yard freestyle when she finished with the time of 35.91 seconds.

When the boy's team took to the blocks to swim the 50-yard freestyle the, Warriors finished in record time once again. Owen Lambert set a new personal best of 31.25 seconds with George Gutierrez clocking 32.13 seconds.  Ayden Moore finished right in the thick of things with his time of 31.68.

Competing in the 100-yard butterfly, Brown swam a new personal best time of 1:05.93, breaking his previous school record by seven seconds. In the 100-yard freestyle the Warriors finished in order Lambert (1:16.78), Gutierrez (1:16.79), and Moore (1:23.83) to round out the field of 12. Brown also set a new personal best and a new school record with his fourth place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke with the time of 1:15.88. Henry finished seventh with his time of 1:34.09.

The Warriors next meet will be Monday, January 11, at Cypress Christian Academy.  Due to current restrictions, spectators are not allowed, but the meet will be livestreamed.

Three Top 10 finishes for Pasadena First Baptist Warriors in the Water

Story and photo by Tracy Brown
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (February 9, 2020) For the fourth time in the four years of the program the Warriors from Pasadena First Baptist Christian Academy (FBCA) qualified to attend the 2020 TAPPS Division 3 State Swimming Championship. This year’s meet was held in San Antonio at the Josh Davis Natatorium.

The Warriors took the water in the 200-yard medley comprised of Timothy Henry, Christopher Brown, Stephen Lawson, and Owen Lambert, swimming to a sixteenth place finish with a time of 2:26.62. 

When sophomore Harrison Brown (shown above) stepped up to the blocks for the 200-yard freestyle a mere two events later, his preparedness shined.  He finished in seventh place with a new personal best time almost a full four seconds faster than his entry time with a new FBCA record of 2:02.70. 

In event six, the 200-yard individual medley, Lawson returned to the blocks dropping an additional three seconds from his entry time and finished in fourteenth place with a new personal best, 2:55.16. 

The Warriors saw their best finish of the meet in the 100-yard freestyle when Harrison Brown returned to the lanes to battle for fifth place with a new school record time of :54.84 with sixth place finished a mere 12-hundredths of a second behind him. 

In the longest distance of the day, senior and team captain Christopher Brown (shown left) led the Warriors to second place in his heat, placing tenth overall with a time nine seconds faster than his entry time.  Lawson finished in thirteenth place in the same event for the Warriors with his own personal best time. 

The Warriors’ last event of the day saw Harrison Brown lead off and set a new school record with his split in the 200-yard freestyle relay.  Freshman Ayden Moore joined in on the action and swam a new personal best as did sophomore John Harding.  The Warrior relay was anchored by Christopher Brown, senior, in his last swim of his high school career where he tore the water up and set a new personal best for his split as well.  The Warriors finished thirteenth in the event

In the final team standing, FBCA finished fourteenth out of 34 teams.

First Baptist Christian Academy headed to TAAPS state swimming meet

Story and photo by Tracy Brown
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (January 30, 2020) The First Baptist Christian Academy swimming team competed at the TAPPS Eastern Region Swimming Championships on January 18 at the University of Houston Natatorium with an exciting day of competition in the pool.

It was a rough week leading up to the competition.  Two of the relay swimmers came down with a fever and cough which kept them out of the practice pool for week.  Couple this with the ongoing cough, and we saw boys in the water who used every ounce of determination in their bodies to swim the assigned events.  The coach didn't have to yell things like "don't breathe every stroke" because they couldn't breathe at all!  Once they hit the water in the 200-yard medley relay though their training took over and the team of Timothy Henry, Christopher Brown, Harrison Brown, and Ayden Moore battled to a sixth-place finish and a new school record with their time of 2:12.34.

With only two events to rest, Harrison Brown stepped back up to the blocks to swim the 200-yard freestyle and charged to a fifth-place finish with his personal best time of 2:06.16 in his school record setting race.  This great effort by the sprinter was met by loud applause.  Teammate and fellow sophomore, Timothy Henry, reached the wall in eighth place with his own personal best time of 2:34.17.

Junior Stephen Lawson swam the 200-yard individual medley to represent the Warriors and finished in eighth place in Division 3 with a personal best time of 2:58.33.

When the Lady Warriors took to the blocks in the 50-yard freestyle each one set a new personal best time.  They were rocking the blocks for sure. Last  year's girls MVP, Makenzee McComb, proved that she still has the drive to win with her 13th place finish at :33.07.  Annalyn Henry and Keeleigh Wilbanks both improved their times to finish 15th and 16th in the East Region.

When it was time for the boys to swim the 50-yard freestyle, freshman Ayden Moore set a new personal best when he hit the wall at :31.46.  Fellow first year swimmer, Owen Lambert touched the wall at :33.63 narrowly holding off sophomore and teammate John Harding who reached the wall with his personal best time of :36.48.

In the 100-yard freestyle Annalyn Henry showed off her endurance and training as she set a new personal best time of 1:21.95.  Teammate and fellow sophomore, Keeleigh Wilbanks touched with wall with a new personal best of 1:33.71 proving her value in the pool after a stellar performance on the basketball court earlier in the week.

By event 14, Harrison Brown had rested and was ready to swim.  He attacked the water in his 100-yard freestyle to sprint to a bronze medal with his new personal best and school record time of :55.35.  

Proving how opposite brothers can be, Senior Christopher Brown, powered through the longest event at the meet, the 500-yard freestyle in order to qualify for his fourth trip to the State Championship Meet with his fifth-place finish, less than a second behind the senior from Logos Prep.  Stephen Lawson swam in the same event to a personal best time and seventh-place finish.

The Brown boys combined forces again this time joined by Ayden Moore and Stephen Lawson to reach the wall with a new school record in the 200-yard freestyle relay.  Their fifth-place finish qualified the relay to swim at the State Championship in San Antonio.

Their journey continues at the TAPPS State Championship Swim Meet on February 5, where we look forward to watching these Warriors in action in San Antonio.

FBCA Swimmers receive post-season honors

Story and photo Tracy Brown

Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

PASADENA, TEXAS (June 1, 2019) May brought the swimmers from First Baptist Christian Academy out of the pool and on to the stage as these "Warriors in the Water "celebrated their third season of TAPPS competition.

The Lone Star Academic and Aquatics Federation (LSAAF)  recognized five swimmers from FBCA.  These swimmers have been named to the Academic All-State Lone Star Swim Team. The requirements are that the athletes must have competed in the TAPPS regional swim championship meet and have a minimum of 3.75 overall grade point average. This honor is bestowed on swimmers from their freshman to senior year.   Congratulations to Christopher Brown, Annalyn Henry, Stephen Lawson, Makenzee McComb, and Keeleigh Wilbanks.

Every member of this team improved, or in swimming, “dropped time”. This year, the Hustle Award goes to Annalyn Henry for her outstanding effort at practice and for serving as our team manager at the state championships.  Through the course of the season she worked hard to “knock the rust off” her strokes at practice.  According to head coach Scott Brown, her dedication to the swim team was evident and he is thrilled to be a part of her high school swim career.

The Coach’s Choice Award was presented to Sela Stokes for her hard work in the pool and to recognize the incredible seconds she dropped as she perfected her freestyle strokes throughout the season.  By the end of the season, her progress from marginally able to make it 25 yards to swimming a competitive 100-yard freestyle race was a joy to watch. Sela was also named to the Texas Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association's Academic All-State Award.  This award is limited to Juniors and Seniors who have a 4.0 or above and have a TISCA coaches’ recommendation.

This year’s FBCA Women’s Swim Team MVP was Makenzee McComb.  She is a tough competitor and really took on the backstroke as “her event”.  From her infectious smile during the Wacky Relays at the Big Kahuna Meet at Chavez High School through her push to the wall in the University of Houston Natatorium at regionals, she was FBCA’s women’s high point earner in every meet.

In the Men’s division the Hustle award goes to Timothy Henry for his outstanding effort at practice.  He set a goal at the beginning of the season to reach the state level meet and he did so as an individual in the 100-yard backstroke as well as a member of both the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay.

The Coach’s Choice Award was awarded to the Most Improved swimmer, Harrison Brown, for his hard work in the pool and to recognize him for dropping the most time per 100 yards of any member of the swim team.  His signature event was the 100-yard backstroke and he dropped six seconds to break the FBCA record.  He dropped 20 seconds in the 200-yard freestyle from the Big Kahuna in December to the Regional Meet in January.  That kind of swim deserved a trip to state; where he competed in both the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard freestyle,  as well as a member of both  the 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard freestyle relay.

This year’s MVP and high point earner is Christopher Brown.  He led the team in most points scored at every meet he competed in and as high point earner overall.  He took his third trip to the state championships where he competed in the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relay and individually where he finished seventh in the 200-yard individual medley and fifth place with a new personal best and school record in the 500-yard freestyle.

FBCA swimmers place at regionals; qualify for state championships

Story and photo by Tracy Brown

Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (January 22, 2019) The First Baptist Christian Academy (FBCA) Swimming Team competing in the TAPPS East Region Swimming Championships at the University of Houston on Saturday, February 19, 2019. The men's 200-yard freestyle relay took the bronze medal;  beating out the 4th place team by 1/100ths of a second!  They will represent FBCA at the State Championships in Mansfield in February.  The men's 400 free relay took the silver medal and punched their ticket to the state meet as well. The relay swimmers were Christopher Brown, Harrison Brown, Timothy Henry, and Stephen Lawson.

Freshman Harrison Brown earned a silver medal and will represent FBCA at the state meet in the 200-yard freestyle with a new personal best while setting a new FBCA school record.  Harrison finished fourth in the 100-yard backstroke with a new personal best and new school record.

Junior Christopher Brown earned a silver medal and will represent FBCA at the state meet in the 500-yard freestyle with a new personal best while setting a new FBCA school record.  Christopher also finished fourth in the 200-yard individual medley, with a new personal best and a new school record.

Sophomore Stephen Lawson finished fifth in the 200-yard freestyle and set a new personal best in the 100-yard butterfly during his seventh place finish.

Annalyn Henry, Makenzee McComb, and Keeleigh Wilbanks each set new personal bests in the 50-yard freestyle.  Annalyn's swim set a new FBCA women's school record.

Annalyn continued to have the best meet of her freshman year with a new school record and personal best in the 100-yard freestyle.

Sophomore Makenzee McComb swam a new personal best in the 100-yard backstroke.

Timothy Henry, or as he should now be called "SWIMMY TIMMY," swam a new personal best in the 100-yard backstroke and earned an eighth place ribbon at Regionals.  He also swam a new personal best in the 100-yard freestyle and earned an eighth place ribbon.