The Woodlands swimmers own regionals

SHENANDOAH – The Woodlands High School boys’ and girls’ swimming and diving teams picked up right where they left off, sweeping the Region IV-5A Meet at the Conroe ISD Natatorium on Saturday. Two weeks earlier the two teams swept the district championships at the same location.

The Lady Highlanders won going away, amassing 401 points to 275 for second-place Kingwood. Klein (206), Austin Westlake (202) and Round Rock Westwood (201) rounded out the top five.

The boys’ squad needed victories in the 200 medley relay and the 200 free relay to secure the team title with 260 points. Klein (256) was a close second and Round Rock Westwood (201) was third. College Park and Kingwood tied for fourth place with 198 points each.

Both girls’ and boys’ teams qualified two relays while the Lady Highlanders earned three individual spots and both diving entries. The winners of each event at regionals, and the top two divers, advance to the UIL Class 5A Swimming and Diving Championships, which will be held Feb. 24-25 at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on the campus of the University of Texas.

In addition the next eight fastest times in each event from all regional competition throughout the state also advance to the state meet.

College Park and Oak Ridge will also be represented at the event by its respective region champions.

Lady Highlanders Victoria Eberwein (200 I.M., 100 breaststroke) and Margaret Cooke (100 back) won region crowns and advance to state along with Lady Highlanders divers Kassidy Cook (516.66) and Kelly Markle (484.30), who finished 1-2 respectively at regionals.

Cooke swam in both relay victories. She swam with Catherine Rash, Alex Ford and Alexandria Sorensen to win the 200 medley relay and also competed with Sorensen, Eberwein and Rebekah Porter to capture the 200 free relay title.

Sorensen also swam second in both the 50 free and 100 fly while Avery Bub placed second in the 100 breaststroke.

College Park senior Gray Umbach will return to the state meet for a fourth consecutive season. Umbach won the 100 fly in region-record time of 48.32 seconds. He also captured the region title in the 200 I.M. (1:47.60). Both are events he won state titles in two years ago.

Umbach also swam a leg of the region-champion 400 free relay with Trey Trabona, Elliot Dewlen and Scott Mayberry. Trabona also swam second in the 100 free.

Oak Ridge junior Lindsay Manning won the region title in the 500 free with a time of 4:52.67. She returns to the state meet where she placed sixth last year in the event.