Friendswood teams swim on
By Corey Roepken
The Daily News
Published February 16, 2007
FRIENDSWOOD — The Friendswood High School girls and boys swimming teams will not need any cannonballs to splash onto the statewide scene this weekend.
Both Friendswood have won six straight regional titles, but neither the boys nor the girls team has finished in the top five at the Class 4A state meet. That likely will change this weekend with four standout individuals wearing Mustang blue and white.
Senior Jack Foreman, junior Jenny Claydon, sophomore Cole Cragin and freshman Caroline McElhanny all won four regional titles two weeks ago. Today, they begin their quest to build on that success with state championships. Or, in Cragin’s case, another state championship.
The First
Cragin was so good at the outset of his high school career, coach John Little expected him to qualify for the championship final in the 100-yard backstroke at the state meet.
Then a freshman, Cragin proved him right. Then he won it to become Friendswood’s first state swimming champion. That means he’ll be the first to defend a state title this weekend.
“It hasn’t really hit me yet,” Cragin said. “I’m sure it will when I get there.”
Cragin will swim the butterfly and backstroke events and both freestyle relays. Last season, he won regional titles in the butterfly, backstroke, the medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay. Little said a technical error in his butterfly stroke kept him from finishing in the top four at the state meet.
That was fixed long before this week, and Cragin’s seed time is more than 1.5 seconds ahead of the next fastest qualifier. He also has a significant edge in the backstroke.
“He’s a good technical swimmer,” Little said. “That really is a big asset for him.”
The Next
With 10 regional titles and three state medals to her credit, Claydon has done everything but win a state championship. She enters this weekend with the top seed time in the 100 freestyle and the second fastest seed time in the 200 freestyle.
Could this be the year she breaks through?
“I hope so,” she said. “But I don’t want to assume I’m going to automatically win.”
That, Little said, is what makes Claydon such a good athlete.
She finished second in both events as a sophomore and second in the 200 freestyle as a freshman. None of that success has satisfied her. Little said she comes to practice with the same upbeat-yet-focused attitude every day.
Claydon is seriously considering swimming for Penn or Brown (both Ivy League schools) or Emory (another highly competitive academic college). She said she enjoys the individual nature of the sport, but also enjoys cheering for her teammates.
Her specialty is freestyle, but Little said she could qualify for the state meet in any event.
“She really is great to work with,” he said. “She is always applying herself and paying attention. If she needs to change something, she works hard at it. She never has a down day.”
The Phenom
McElhanny’s success is nothing short of mind-boggling.
As a high school freshman, McElhanny’s seed time (2 minutes, 3.57 seconds) in the 200 individual medley would qualify as an NCAA Division I ‘B’ standard. That means after the NCAA takes all of the NCAA ‘A’ standard (automatic) qualifiers, McElhanny’s time would be put on the list for consideration to swim in the NCAA Division I Championships.
Her seed time is more than 6.5 seconds ahead of the next fastest qualifier at this weekend’s state meet, and she would be a favorite to swim in the championship final of the boys individual medley event. Her seed time is two seconds faster than the state record.
“She’s pretty amazing,” Little said. “The state meet will be real interesting. She’ll finally be up against the fastest girls who will at least chase her pretty good.”
McElhanny is also a big favorite in the butterfly and will swim on the medley and 200 freestyle relays that should score big points.
Perhaps the most telling thing about McElhanny isn’t that she’s so good. It’s that she’s ultra competitive. She said she has embraced the excitement of a championship race since she was 9 years old and waded through a 3-inch growth spurt last year.
Ultimately, she hopes to earn a college swimming scholarship and become a doctor.
“I’ll always known where I stand,” she said. “I’ve always been level-headed because I know I’ve gone through hard times. It can be taken away from you as fast as it’s given to you.”
The Surprise
Unlike most of his teammates, Foreman never has swum a lap for a club team. That’s what makes this season’s success so stunning.
The freestyle specialist did not swim in the state meet as a freshman and never has swum in the championship final of an individual event at the state meet. That could change this weekend with the 100 and 200 freestyles.
“It’s real uncommon for someone to go as fast as he has without having a good club background,” Little said. “He’s had to make more use of his time to be so productive.”
Though it isn’t noticeable from afar, Foreman has great strength that his teammates notice. Combine that with solid technique and conditioning, Little said, and Foreman has all the tools to swim fast.
Foreman said he would be happy simply to qualify for a championship final this weekend. It will be the last competitive meet of his career before he heads off to college to pursue a career in the medical field. Winning a medal, he added, would be a crowning achievement for a career that never was about winning state titles.
“That’d be a pretty big accomplishment,” he said. “I really wouldn’t expect that to happen. If it does, then great.”
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Other Local Qualifiers
Six other Galveston County athletes have qualified for the state swimming and diving championships in individual events.
Swimmer; School; Event
Kacie Baker; Clear Creek; Breaststroke
Lauren Lundquist; Friendswood; 50 freestyle
Mark Steblein; Dickinson; 1-meter diving
Kasie Talon; Dickinson; 1-meter diving
Matthew Troquille; Dickinson; 500 freestyle
Melissa Watson; Friendswood; Breaststroke
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