CATHEDRAL SWIMMERS WIN ANOTHER STATE TITLE

El Paso Times staff report
Sunday, February 5, 2006

AUSTIN — Make it nine in a row.

The Cathedral High School swim team continued its domination of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools state swim meet Saturday, winning its ninth consecutive state championship at the University of Texas.

How good were the Irish? They won every event except one — the 100 butterfly, which ended in a near-photo finish.

"There was just one event we didn't win: We got touched out in the 100 butterfly," Cathedral coach Jack White said. "We really swam fast today. The kids did a good job. Everyone got excited and it was a great team victory for us."

Cathedral finished with 222 team points. San Antonio Central Catholic was a distant second with 71 points.

The Irish also set three TAPPS state records and had two events in which their swimmers finished 1-2-3.

The Cathedral 200 freestyle relay team was first with a time of 1 minute, 29.56 seconds, breaking its own record of 1:30.60 set in 2003.

That team consisted of Vince Gallegos, Josh Bieganowski, Carlos Escarcega and John Azar. Azar, a senior, had a huge day, winning two events and setting state records in both.
He won the 200 individual medley in 1:54.31, besting the old state record of 1:56.00. Azar also won the 100 breaststroke in 59.96, breaking his own state record of 58.11.

"Everyone swam great," Azar said. "I think we all did better than expected. Everyone worked hard for this. They were all on their game, and they all really swam great."

Asked how it felt to set two state records, Azar said, "This is what I swim for. Fun is the most important part of swimming for me. The records are just an added bonus."

Senior Albert Venegas said having such a big day was overwhelming.

"The feeling is amazing," he said of winning state. "You can't really describe it. There's no way to describe how good it feels to live up to the expectations."

Richard Anez, a senior tri-captain along with Azar and Venegas, said performing so well at state was a perfect way to cap his senior season.

"It feels really good because, coming in as a freshman, you're introduced to a tradition of winning," he said. "It's not so much pressure, but you want to live up to what the seniors did when you were a freshman.

"It's good to be a part of this and, in my last year, to be able to keep it going."

The Irish have won the TAPPS regional and state meet nine consecutive times, and they have won a total of 20 state titles in 24 years.