DOUBLE GOLD - Friendswood junior Cole Cragin set two new state records at the UIL Class 4A state swim meet in Austin. Cragin set a new state mark in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly and was named as the Class 4A Boys "Swimmer of the Year." (Photo by Dr. David Davis)
Friendswood junior Cole Cragin broke a state record in both individual events that he competed in at the UIL Class 4A state swim meet. One of the records was his from a year ago in the 100 backstroke and the other was in the 100 butterfly where he placed second last year behind Nick Kalivas of Richardson Pearce who won with a time of 50.77 to set a new state mark to barely finish ahead of Cragin who took the silver medal in 51.42.
But this year -- Cragin sent a strong message to the rest of the best at this year's meet that he was the swimmer to beat and he did so in record-setting style leaving no doubt as to who is the all-time best in the state in his two events. And with one more year to go, Cragin believes he can set even lower times before he is finished at the high school level.
"I knew coming in that I could set the records," Cragin said. "I was swimming more against the clock that I was the competition."
Cragin didn't have much competition at the district and regional meets so his times were deceptive when posted with the other swimmers from across the state prior to the start of the state meet. However -- it only took Cragin to swim in the preliminary heats to show his competition that they weren't in the same league.
Cragin broke both state marks in the prelims and then set new records in the state finals to the applause of the crowd to claim both gold medals. He was also named as the Class 4A Boys "Swimmer of the Year" voted on by the state swim coaches and tournament officials.
"I wasn't sure I would get the top award, but I was hoping they would give me some consideration," Cragin said.
In the 100 fly -- Cragin broke the state mark of 50.77 with a new record of 50.27 in the prelims and then broke that in the finals with a time of 49.87.
In the 100 back - Cragin bettered his own mark of 50.54 with a new mark at 49.25 and then bettered that record in the finals with a time of 48.63 which brought the swim crowd to their feet -- especially as Cragin, not only shattered his state record, but left his competition completely behind as second place was timed in 52.35.
"I am really proud of Cole and all of his hard work," head coach John Little said. "He has really matured physically and mentally and he will only get stronger. I really wasn't surprised to see his dominating performance over the other swimmers. He is a great racer."
Friendswood scored 40 teams points to finish 16th overall which is about as good as they could have hoped for since they didn't have many others qualify at the state level.
The 200 medley relay quartet of Cragin, Steven Yospur, Jason Yarberry, and Jared Maloy was the only team event for the Friendswood boys, but they were disqualified in the consolation finals and didn't score any points. Cragin's two first-place finishes totaled 40 points.
Girls finish in 9th place
The Friendswood Lady Mustangs finished second place last year at the state meet. Despite being very young this year, the Lady 'Stangs still came through with a ninth place finish which please coach Little.
"With so much inexperience, I am very pleased that the girls were able to finish in the top 10," Little said. "The competition gets tougher every year and the girls stepped up to do a great job."
Freshman Caroline McElhaney helped the Lady Mustangs to their top finish in school history last year as she set a new state record in the 200 IM and won another gold medal in the 100 butterfly while helping two relay teams pick up another gold medal and a silver.
However, McElhaney no longer swims for Friendswood as she moved to Austin to attend Austin Westlake, who won the 5A crown this year, and to train for the Olympic trials. McElhaney, who is now a sophomore, wasn't eligible to swim for Westlake this season as she had to sit out a year according to UIL rules to establish her residency.
Despite her absence, the Lady Mustangs were able to continue their dominance at district and regional champions while scoring 72 points for a ninth place finish at the state meet.
Dallas Highland Park won their seventh straight state championship with 236 points, but got some strong competition from Katy Seven Lakes who scored 204 points. Seven Lakes moves up to 5A next year after the recent UIL realignment. Montgomery was a very close third place with 202 points as Highland Park didn't run away with the state title this year.
Senior Jenny Claydon, who has medaled every year at state since she was a freshman, wasn't able to return home with a medal her final year. Claydon is the only senior on the team and had won two silver medals in the 100 and 200 free style over the past three years while picking up a gold with the 200 free relay last year.
The University of Penn signee decided to broadened her swimming this year and concentrated on the 100 butterfly and 200 IM. She won the district and regional gold medals in both events, but ran into some very strong competition in both events where she finished fifth in the 200 IM and only 45 hundredths of a second behind the third place finisher. Claydon finished seventh in the 100 fly.
"Jenny is the most decorated girl swimmer in Friendswood High School history," said coach Little. "I don't have the words to really express what she has meant to this swim program. She is not only an outstanding champion, but she has always been a shining light and positive example to the other swimmers and to the students at Friendswood HS. She will be greatly missed next year, but she has a bright future."
The Lady Mustangs quartet of freshman Kelsey Castro, sophomore Melissa Watson, Claydon, and sophomore Lauren Lundquist placed sixth in the 200 IM relay with a time of 1.55.37 in the finals.
Watson won the consolations finals in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:59.13 placing her ninth overall. Watson placed 11th in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:09.14.
Lundquist placed 14th overall in the 100 freestyle with a time of 56.73.
Castro placed 15th in the 500 free with a time of 5:44.39.
The Friendswood swim team competed at the Class 4A state swim meet held
at the University of Texas Swim Center in Austin. The girls finished in
ninth place while the boys finished 16th. Junior Cole Cragin set two new
state swim marks in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke. (Photo by Dr. David Davis)
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