SWIMMING-DIVING

Lubbock ISD swimmers, divers return home

Alexis Cubit
acubit@lubbockonline.com
Coronado's Rhett Hensley dives into the pool during the Region I-5A diving championships on Jan. 31 at the Pete Ragus Aquatic Center. Hensley finished in first place during the event. [Brad Tollefson/A-J Media]

Penny DiPomazio looked at her whiteboard and smiled. The Lubbock ISD diving coach had written down her team’s scores from last season and compared those to what she has seen, so far, in the fall.

Overall, her group has improved and is ahead of where it was at this time last season.

This weekend will be about continuing the climb as her divers, along with swimmers from Lubbock ISD, compete in LISD’s Class 5A Fall Invitational this weekend at the Pete Ragus Aquatic Center.

The diving events are set for an 8 a.m. Saturday start. The swimming preliminary races begin at noon Friday with the finals being at noon Saturday.

“We’re ahead of where we normally are at this time and part of that I think has to do with we just have a good group of kids who really like each other,” DiPomazio said. “Just kind of gelled and they just push each other to do better every day.”

Texas A&M verbal commit Payton Props and Rhett Hensley are major contributors in helping to pace the fast start as well. While competing against Class 6A-level competition, Props, a two-time state champion and senior, won the 1 meter-dive. Hensley, who went to state as a sophomore last year, placed third at the Arena Fall Classic on Oct. 26 in San Antonio.

“Since we are in West Texas, we don’t see like the Southlake Carroll’s who have the state champions all the time, so their young kids grow up seeing that every day at the pool, but here they don’t always get that opportunity,” DiPomazio said. “Rhett and Payton are great kids who are good leaders. The team likes them and they dive well, so people try to be like them.”

Both swimmers are looking forward to their home meet this weekend. The level of competition will be different than in the first two meets of the season.

But by no means be one they take for granted.

“It’s really nice that at this meet, we kind of get to have a little divot in our progression towards and just work on breaking records and being our best rather than trying to beat someone else,” Props said.

Both Props and Hensley still have personal goals they’d like to achieve. The state meet is the ultimate goal, but there’s a process in getting there. That includes correcting the smaller mechanics of their dives that can allow for a big payoff.

“It’s whether your hands are in the right position or your toes are pointed or whether your abs are tightened on the way in,” Hensley said. “A lot of people think it’s just how many flips you can do or how high you can get. It’s not really like that. It’s just you do the dives. If you do them good and get a really good entry, you get magnificent scores.”

The Lubbock ISD swimmers enter the host meet looking for cohesion. The squad has its share of experience but must now blend it with the younger talent.

“It’s been a little bit of maneuvering, but it’s positive thing,” Lubbock ISD swimming coach Trey Hayes said. “They’ve worked really well together. We have a very talented freshmen group that came in.”

Shaena McCloud and Nathan Vigil lead the charge as two of the team’s more experienced swimmers for the girls and boys squads, respectively. McCloud had a strong showing at the Arena Fall Classic with a first-place finish in the 50-meter free and a second-place showing in the 100 fly.

“It’s a good indicator of where we are in the season and what our training has done for us so far,” McCloud said. “Kind of see where we need to improve for this season because we have bigger meets like state. Those are really important ones.”

Vigil admits that with the level of talent at the meet, there was some hesitancy, but moved past that by the second day.

“Those 6A schools feel the same way as us. I guess that’s what got me and why I wasn’t really nervous because I know the person next to me felt the same way as I did,” he said. “I swam way better knowing that I felt the same way as they did. It was good.”

While some other swimmers were disappointed in not being able to make the finals, Hayes believes it has given those individuals and his overall team a burst of determination to be better for this weekend’s competition.

“We only get eight meets in a year but this weekend’s just going to be good for a lot of different reasons,” he said. “I think some kids want redemption for what they left in the pool in San Antonio. It’s going to be a good meet. It’ll be fun.”

In addition to being a litmus test, showing Hayes where the squad is in terms of progress, the Fall Invitational will be a preview of the region’s field. Except for El Paso High, Lubbock ISD’s rival, all teams from the region will be in attendance, allowing the group to know what it takes to reach its goal of getting back to state in Austin.

“Our mantra this week is take risks. It doesn’t mean you go out and get a lifetime best in the first 50 of your 500 free, but go out there and push people,” Hayes said. “I’m very excited about this one.”