EDDY PRATHER
The District 5-5A swim championships were held a few days early Thursday, Jan. 22, to get ahead of incoming weather, and the Azle Hornets delivered a strong showing at the Northwest ISD Aquatic Center.
“We had an outstanding meet, with nearly everyone hitting PRs and peaking at exactly the right time,” head coach Amy Estes said
On the girls side, Kayley Brekel finished third in both the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle and helped the 200-yard freestyle relay place third, with all swimmers posting personal records. Mavis Caldentey qualified for regionals in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle, recording PRs in both events, and was also a member of the qualifying 200 freestyle relay. Ava Dash added a fifth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle and sixth place in the 100-yard backstroke, while contributing to the relay. Sophia Roark rounded out the relay squad that advanced to regionals.
The Azle boys also punched their ticket to regionals with strong relay performances. JP Bryan, Nathan Allen, Christian Fernandez and Tanner Gray teamed up to finish fourth in the 400-yard freestyle relay and fifth in the 200-yard freestyle relay to qualify.
Estes said the results reflected the resilience and growth of the entire program.
Photos Courtesy Amy Estes
