Clovis girls swim to district title

HOBBS — Though the Clovis swim team’s season is winding down, things keep heating up for the Wildcats.

This past Saturday the ’Cats journeyed to Hobbs High School for the District 3/4 swim championships and journeyed back with a district title for the girls, a third-place finish for the boys.

“Overall it was a fantastic meet,” Clovis head coach Gordy Westerberg said.

Which might even be understating it. Defending champion Las Cruces had won last year’s girls meet by 40 points, but the Lady Wildcats outswam them Saturday by 18.

“It was a hard-, hard-, hard-fought meet because Las Cruces was going for it,” Westerberg said. "They did not want to lose. It really was a team effort because we had everybody up and down the line, really swimming well — really, really swimming well — and that’s what it was going to take to defeat them.”

Clovis’ boys, considering their competition, did well to finish third behind Las Cruces and Hobbs, just nine points in back of the second-place Eagles. “Which was fantastic,” Westerberg said.

Back on the Clovis girls side, their district championship came with three district and two school records. New district marks were established by: Anya Hammond in the 500 freestyle (5:16.0); Bella Zamora in the 100 backstroke (:58.8), and the 400 freestyle relay team of Anya Hammond, Hannah Luscombe, Maya Hammond and Zamora (3:39.1).

That 400 free relay squad time was also a new school record. And Zamora posted a new school record in the 200 individual medley (2:10.2).

All of the above marks were good for first place in the district meet. Also placing first for Clovis’ girls were Anya Hammond in the 200 freestyle (1:57.0) and the 200 free relay team of Mykala Chavez, Shyann Kissinger, Nina Mead and Maya Hammond (1:45.2).

Finishing first for Clovis’ boys were: the 200 medley relay team of Barrett Bryant, Cade Nordgren, Alex Aburto and Thomas Palla (1:46.5); Bryant in the 200 butterfly (:55.0) and the 100 backstroke (:56.4); and Nordgren in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.7).

New state qualifiers for Clovis were: Katie Reeb in the 200 freestyle (2:04.3); Amber Westerberg in the 200 individual medley (2:18.8) and the 100 butterfly (1:03.8); Tabitha May in the 500 freestyle (5:39.3); and Chavez in the 100 freestyle (:57.5).

And Clovis’ second-place finishers were: Luscombe in the 200 i.m. (2:15.4); Aburto in the 200 (1:48.9) and 500 (5:03.2) freestyles; Cade Nordgren in the 200 i.m. (2:05.3); Amber Westerberg’s 100 fly time; Mead in the 50 free (:26.2); and Kissinger in the 100 free (:56.6).

All in all, a big Saturday for Wildcats swimming.

“Just the start of things,” Coach Westerberg said. “Just the start of things to come.”

Among those ‘things’ will be the state championships, scheduled for the weekend of Feb. 22-23 at Albuquerque Academy High School. So the Wildcats will have time to prepare.

“It’ll be nice to have a weekend off with no competition,” Coach Westerberg said.