On Friday morning (January 24th), the Belton Tiger Swim Team competed at the 2025 District 22-5A Championship Meet, hosted at the Belton Swim Center. Despite some great individual efforts, the Girls and Boys team finished 2nd overall to a Lake Belton Girls and Boys team, double in size. The 6 Female Belton Swimmers that competed were Seniors Olivia Brillhart, Mackenzie Gingerich, Liliana Nelson, Junior Sophia Deter, Sophomore Kirra Martin, and Freshman Ema Whitzel. The 6 Male Belton Swimmers that competed were Seniors Raef Airhart, Addison Richardson, Junior Maddox Spence, Freshman Charlie Burns, Wyatt Nelson, and Micah Rodriguez. While the Tigers may not have taken home the main prize, the bigger story may have been that for the second time since 2020, every Tiger that competed finished in the top 6 in at least one of their events, qualifying them for the Region VI-5A Championship meet in two weeks!
Below are all of the main highlights from the meet:
-Girls' 200 Medley Relay (Brillhart, Martin, Whitzel, Gingerich) finished 1st with a time of 2:08.43 [Qualified for Region]
-Boys' 200 Medley Relay (Spence, Burns, Rodriguez, Nelson) finished 3rd with a time of 2:11.07 [Qualified for Region]
-Girls' 200 Freestyle: Liliana Nelson finished 1st with a 2:01.92; Ema Whitzel finished 3rd; Sophia Detert finished 4th [All 3 Qualified for Region]
-Boys' 200 Freestyle: Addison Richardson finished 2nd with a 1:53.12; Wyatt Nelson finished 4th [Both Qualified for Region]
-Girls' 200 IM: Kirra Martin finished 1st with a 2:32.05 [Qualified for Region]
-Boys' 200 IM: Micah Rodriguez finished 6th with a 2:37.09 [Qualified for Region]; Charlie Burns finished 7th
-Girls' 50 Free: Mackenzie Gingerich finished 2nd with a 26.71; Olivia Brillhart finished 3rd [Both Qualified for Region]
-Boys' 50 Free: Maddox Spence finished 5th with a 25.31 [Qualified for Region]
-Girls' 100 Butterfly: Ema Whitzel finished 2nd with a 1:08.81 [Qualified for Region]
-Girls' 100 Freestyle: Mackenzie Gingerich finished 2nd with a 58.95; Sophia Detert finished 4th [Qualified for Region]
-Boys' 100 Freestyle: Raef Airhart finished 2nd with a 53.30 [Qualified for Region]
-Girls' 500 Freestyle: Liliana Nelson finished 1st with a 5:26.73 [Qualified for Region]
-Boys' 500 Freestyle: Addison Richardson finished 1st with a 4:59.45; Wyatt Nelson finished 3rd; Micah Rodriguez finished 4th [All 3 Qualified for Region]
-Girls' 200 Freestyle Relay (Brillhart, Gingerich, Nelson, Detert) finished 1st with a 1:49.12 [Qualified for Region]
-Boys' 200 Freestyle Relay (Richardson, Spence, Burns, Airhart) finished 2nd with a 1:45.08 [Qualified for Region]
-Girls' 100 Backstroke: Kirra Martin finished 1st with a 1:04.83; Olivia Brillhart finished 2nd [Both Qualified for Region]
-Boys' 100 Backstroke: Raef Airhart finished 1st with a 1:01.28 [Qualified for Region]; Maddox Spence finished 7th
-Boys' 100 Breaststroke: Charlie Burns finished 4th with a 1:19.79 [Qualified for Region]
-Girls' 400 Freestyle Relay (Nelson, Martin, Whitzel, Detert) finished 2nd with a 3:58.21 [Qualified for Region]
-Boys' 400 Freestyle Relay (Richardson, Nelson, Rodriguez, Airhart) finished 2nd with a 3:55.26 [Qualified for Region]
FINAL SCORES:
Girls:
1. Lake Belton High School-174
2. BELTON HIGH SCHOOL-136
3. Chaparral High School-60
4. Killeen Ellison-54
Boys:
1. Lake Belton High School-206
2. BELTON HIGH SCHOOL-104
3. Chaparral High School-94
4. Killeen Ellison-9