The Josh Davis Natatorium in San Antonio was filled with nervous energy as swimmers from all over the region were set against one another to compete for the opportunity to advance to state, but one team had the chance to make history. As Bowie’s two-hundred medley relay team lined up at the starting blocks, their goal was to do just that: reach uncharted territory for a Bowie relay team and secure a spot at state.
The two-hundred medley swim relay consists of four legs, each leg being a different stroke. The first swimmer swims backstroke, the second swims breaststroke, the third swims butterfly, and the final leg swims freestyle. According to Bowie swim coach Chloe Carr, it’s one of the more challenging events in swim competitions, requiring not only speed but perfect coordination.
“My expectations for this team were set high going into regionals, but I knew they would reach them,” Carr said. “They’d been training hard with their club teams and the school team, so I knew they were capable of pulling it off.”
The two-hundred medley relay team swam hard and fast in San Antonio and came in fourth place with a time of 1.34.87, which was enough to advance them to state and make Bowie history as the first Bowie swim relay team to make it to state. Junior Javier Gutierrez-Jaimes, who swims the breaststroke leg of the relay, feels honored he was able to be a part of the relay team that broke Bowie’s school history and travel to state with them.
“Before we found out we made state, we had to wait for other regional teams to finish their swims to find out if ours qualified because ours was ahead of most everyone else,” Gutierrez-Jaimes said. “Once their results came in, we found that we made it, which was pretty exciting, to say the least.”
State was an impactful experience not only for Gutierrez-Jaimes but for the other swimmers on the relay as well. Junior Rowan Cox, sophomore Walker Aitchison, and freshman Alex Eland complete the rest of the two-hundred medley relay team and swim backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle, respectively.
“I like the comradery of all the guys on the team,” Aitchison said. “We all get along and like each other which makes us a closer and stronger team. I have never been to a meet as big as state and it was nice to do it with my friends.”
These four swimmers showed a lot of talent at regionals, breaking a school record and raising the bar for the future members of the Bowie Swim and Dive team.
“My past years at Bowie have prepared me for state, I’ve had upper-class men and older people help me out at smaller meets and get used to the atmosphere of big meets like this one,” Gutierrez-Jaimes said. “Without them talking or preparing me for stuff like this, I would’ve swam worse, so I’m so grateful for the people on Bowie Swim.”
