Roberson’s ninth place leads Aledo state contingent

Sophomore Haley Roberson highlighted a strong finish to the season for the Aledo Swimcats, placing ninth in the girls 200-yard individual medley at the Class 5A State Meet at the University of Texas in Austin Saturday, Feb. 18.

Roberson was one of eight Swimcats competing in the meet, twice as many as they sent the previous season. Four girls and four boys represented Aledo.

Roberson clocked a time of 2:09.67 Saturday, giving her ninth place overall and the top spot in the B (consolation) finals. It was an improvement of more than a full second over her Friday preliminary time of 2:10.76 and narrowly behind her state qualifying time of 2:09.16 that won the 5A Region II Meet.

She also moved up a spot, standing 10th after prelims.

Roberson also placed 14th overall (sixth in consolation) in the girls 500 free, clocking a finals time of 5:14.86, matching her regional winning time. She posted a time of 5:14.12 to stand 13th after Friday’s prelims.

Senior Sam Ogden came into the boys 100 backstroke with a runner-up regional qualifying time of 54.25 seconds, which he matched in the prelims to stand 12th. He finished 12th overall (fourth in consolation) Saturday by improving to a 54.08.

The top 16 swimmers in Friday’s prelims advanced to Saturday’s A (championship) and B (consolation) finals.

The boys 200 medley relay featured Ogden, along with senior Tanner Howse and juniors Porter Lane and Kyle Scharlow. They placed 20th in prelims with a time of 1:43.73. The quartet set a school record at the regional meet with a runner-up time of 1:42.37.

Their state time was the second best in program history in the event.

Freshman Natalie Hutson improved upon her runner-up regional time of 1:02.22 in the girls 100 backstroke by swimming a 1:01.41 for 18th place in the prelims. Sophomore Victoria Crews was 24th in the girls 100 butterfly with a 1:03.07, a drop from her regional runner-up time of 1:00.94.

Roberson, Crews and Hutson were joined by sophomore Corah Satterfield on the girls 200 medley and 200 free relays. The 200 free relay placed 22nd in prelims with a 1:47.18 after finishing second at regionals with a 1:46.13.

The 200 medley, which won regionals with a time of 1:54.40, was disqualified at state because of an early start.

“State was a great experience for all those who attended. We had some great performances and the community, as always, was well represented. I have been so fortunate to coach this group of kids,” Swimcats coach Scott Abel said. “Their hard work really goes under-appreciated. A lot of them swim multiple practices, early mornings/late evenings, swim meets on weekends. Couple this with their workload in school and many of them have jobs. Their ability to show up every day in and out is an inspiration. There is not much this group does not do.

“I want to use this opportunity to personally thank each one of our seniors, Madeline Gordy, Mia Flowers, Sam Ogden and Tanner Howse. I can’t wait to see what you all achieve in your next chapter.  I’m behind you all the way. You’re only limited by the heights of your imagination, so dream big big!”