District Champions

'SA TIMES - Central High School swimming coach David Hague doesn't mind getting a little wet this time of year.

Saturday at McMurry University, he got more than just a little wet.

It is customary for the winning teams at the District 3-5A Swimming and Diving Championships to toss their head coaches into the pool after receiving their trophy.

Hague and his wife, assistant coach Val Hague, went in the water twice.

For the second year in a row, the Central teams swept the district meet. For the boys, it was their fourth consecutive title, an unprecedented feat for the program.

"It is pretty unique," Hague said. "We started with a tie four years ago, and that was unexpected. That was an awesome meet for us. We had to win the last relay. Then we had it at our place and we won by quite a bit. Last year, we tied again. It came down to the last relay again, and we won it."

This year's meet was closely contested between the Bobcats and Odessa High until Central took four of the top five spots in the 100-yard freestyle. Central outscored Odessa High in four of the next five events (including wins in both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays) to secure the title. The Bobcats won with 106 points to Odessa High's 83.

Central was led individually by junior Zach Daniel, who swept the 50 and 100 freestyle races. He edged out Odessa High's Josh Clark by two-hundredths of a second in the 50 freestyle and beat Clark by almost a second and a half in the 100 freestyle. He took home four gold medals as he was a member of both of the Bobcats' winning relays.

"I just felt it," Daniel said. "I knew I wanted to win. I knew I had to win, so I just went for it. I knew I was going to have some competition in the 50. I knew it was going to be close. I just had to step up and do my best, and I did it."

Central junior Matt McLaughlin was named the Male Swimmer of the Year after winning the 200 freestyle and finishing second to defending state runner-up Madison Gibson of Odessa High in the 100 butterfly. McLaughlin also led off both of Central's winning relays.

The Bobcats had no other individual champions, but they did have several second-place finishes, including Eric Faust in the 200 and 500 freestyle, John Hague in the 100 backstroke and Matthew Mahler in the 100 breaststroke. Central's 200 medley relay finished second to Odessa High.

The six finalists in each event also qualified for the Region I-5A meet in two weeks in Lubbock. The Central boys will be represented by 10 individuals and three relays.

And with no seniors on the team, the squad will be back in a year to try to make it five district titles in a row.

"We are doing something right," Daniel said.

The Lady Cats won the girls team title with 87.5 points. Midland High was a distant second with 56.5. Midland Lee was third with 53. Central broke open a close race with the Midland schools after winning the 200-freestyle relay. After taking a four-point lead following that race, the Lady Cats scored 32.5 points in the meet's final three events, using their depth to score points in the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke and then winning the 400 freestyle relay.

"We didn't know where the girls would end up, but it is a big win for them, too," Hague said. "Team depth and winning all three relays was all part of the deal."

The bulk of Central's points came from a sweep of the three relays. Each win was worth 14 points to the team. Despite not having an individual champion, the Lady Cats counted on their depth to repeat as champions.

Central had several runner-up finishes, including sophomore Alex Porter in the 200 and 500 freestyle, Haleigh Williamson in the 100 backstroke and Jasmine Yohman in the 100 breaststroke.

Hague was named both boys and girls Coach of the Year.

District 3-5A Swimming and Diving Championships