Cats take 9th in state swim competition

ALBUQUERQUE — If nothing else, Clovis High’s boys made a big jump in scoring from last spring’s COVID-delayed state swim meet to this year’s event.

On Thursday at Albuquerque Academy, the Wildcats more than doubled their team tally from last spring, finishing ninth in team standings with 99 points.

Clovis scored in seven events, highlighted by a 3-5 finish from junior Thomas Palla (4 minutes, 59.43 seconds) and sophomore Porter Kidd (5:00.53) in the 500 freestyle.

“It was huge that we got individual medals for two swimmers in the 500 free,” Wildcats co-coach Gordy Westerberg said. “Being in the top eight at the state championships is a very big deal.”

Los Alamos took the team title with 338 points, followed by Eldorado (237) and host Academy (233).

“I was thrilled that we ended up in the top 10,” Westerberg said of the team standings. “We (more than) doubled the number of points that we scored at the 2021 state championships, (going) from 45 to 99.”

The only other top-eight finish for the Cats came in the 400 freestyle relay, with junior Clayton Hogan, sophomore David Reeb, Palla and Kidd swimming a time of 3:26.21, good for eighth place.

“We were only 17 points away from seventh place and 54 points out of fourth,” Westerberg said. “That seems like a lot, but that’s the exact number of points we improved by from last year.

“We’re graduating zero seniors, so I believe that in another year we’ll be able to close that gap with the same improvement we had this year.”

The CHS girls were slated for state competition on Saturday.