Six Redhawk athletes – seniors Avery Langan and Dionisio Vega Cabrera, junior Avishi Singh, sophomore Laura Huang, and freshmen Duru Toyoglu and Samantha Njau – are swimming for championships at the UIL 5A state swim and dive meet at the University of Texas Friday and Saturday, with Toyoglu serving as an alternate.
“We have seen some tough competition already on this journey, and knowing that we held our own will help us feel prepared going into the weekend,” head swim coach Zachariah Gnoza said. “As far as improving, we just need to keep the positive mindset going forward. We cannot be discouraged if things do not go the way we intend them to go.”
Competing in the 100m fly and 100m backstroke Langan hopes to drop her times in her final meet of her high school career. Being a senior Langan is not new to the state meet, serving as an advantage for her.
“Just knowing the pool, knowing the kind of equipment they have, and kind of the layout of the meet will help me out,” Langan said. “My hope is that I have fun at my last high school meet, and have fun, and see all my friends, and I hope I drop.”
No matter the result, coach Gnoza is proud of the team’s work and accomplishments.
“We have achieved great success this year, and we need to reflect on how that felt,” Gnoza said. “Getting to this level is so difficult, and for [us] to be one out of 24 [teams] in the entire state to qualify is a huge accomplishment in itself. [We need to] to keep a great attitude, have fun, and race hard.”
