Clements boys finish 4th at 6A state; Brown, Fu earn multiple medals
Clements boys finish 4th at 6A state; Brown, Fu earn multiple medals | Sports | fbherald.com
AUSTIN — Regionals didn't go as planned for the Clements; that didn't stop the Rangers from having fun at state.
Clements earned nine medals in five events on Saturday at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.
"Today has been awesome," Clements head coach Lauren Neal said. "The kids had some great races, and we're proud of what we did."
The Ranger boys finished fourth overall in the team standings with 122 points.
"Hopefully, we can carry this energy home," Neal said. "And inspire the future swimmers at Clements."
The Rangers' headlines were junior Logan Brown and sophomore Kayla Fu.
Brown, fresh off helping the Rangers set two state records, returned to the pool the top qualifier in three events.
"I was focused on racing the guys next to me," Brown said about Friday's prelims. "I was trying to stay in my own zone.
"I was really trying to get the record yesterday. Today was about having fun."
Brown set a new state record in the breaststroke with a time of 53.39, and he wasn't sure he had it when he finished his swim on Friday.
"Not at all, I didn't think I had (the record)," Brown said. "I was just focused on the little things like my breakouts and my turns.
"When I looked up at the scoreboard, I was shocked.
"Overall, it was a great feeling."
Brown and his teammates earned a gold, silver and bronze medal.
"I was training with (state) in the back of my head, and I wanted to be here," Brown said. "I wanted to help the team get a medal and get an individual medal.
"The hard work paid off."
The junior Ranger earned gold in his final swim of the night, the boys' 100-yard breaststroke, with a time of 53.68. Teammate Alex Fu finished eighth in the event with a time of 56.97.
Logan earned a silver in the boys' 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:45.26. A new state record time beat by Southlake Carroll freshman Max Williams beat Brown.
The Ranger boys' only relay event, the 200 free, earned a bronze for brown, Kevin Zhou, Fu and Hayden Bellotti with a time of 1:21.62. Bellotti swam the final leg and trailed Southlake Carroll and Humble Kingwood.
Bellotti closed the gap, and the final 40 yards were neck and neck.
Southlake Carroll out-touched the other two relays, and the Dragons broke Clements' day-old record time of 1:21.92 with a mark of 1:21.41.
Brown has dealt with a long journey after injures ended his freshman season, and COVID protocols limited his state opportunities last year. 2022 was Brown's time to shine.
"It has been two years of disappointment and two years of setbacks," Brown said. "This year, I've been training lights out. My teammates have pushed me, and I've pushed my teammates.
"We've made it."
Kayla Fu entered the 2022 state meet with two state medals in tow. She would add two more on Saturday.
After two silvers in 2021, Kayla started her 2022 run in the top spot in the girls' 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.21. She dropped 29th of a second off her prelim time to edge South Lake Carroll's Hailey Heldenbrand (23.05).
Kayla earned the silver in the girls' 100-yard freestyle. She recorded 50.33 seconds behind only San Antonio Johnson's Jada Scott at 49.61.
Alex Fu added the Rangers' medal total with a time of 48.60 in the boys' 100-yard butterfly for the bronze.
Fu was ready for what the next years bring after successful trips to state the past two years.
"This means a lot," Fu said. "I didn't expect to be here, but I'm happy with what I have."
Bellotti earned fifth place in the boys' 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.51. He also finished seventh in the boys' 100-yard freestyle with a time of 44.77.
George Ranch earned three relay swims in the state finals. The Longhorns opened with the girls' 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:50.37.
Karyn Boettcher, Lillie Sczech, Annika Schoditsch and Emily Ford finished 16th in the even.
The Longhorn girls' 200-yard freestyle relay was also 16th with a time of 1:39.27. Sczech, Boettcher, Ford and Schoditsch again swam for George Ranch.
The George Ranch boys' 200-yard freestyle relay finished 15th with a time of 1:29.69 from Kate Boettcher, Carson Smith, Peter Thompson and Brendan Burkett.
Austin's lone swimmer, senior Lawrence Gomez, won the B Final in the #UILState 6A boys 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 55.58. He finishes ninth overall in the event.
