The 2025 Region V-6A Swimming & Diving Championship took place this past weekend at the Cy Fair ISD Natatorium from February 6th-8th. There were 31 schools competing at this Regional Meet, and it was a VERY FAST AND TALENTED Region!

Senior Korbin Irvine, our awesome diver, finished his diving career in 7th on the 1m with a score of 344.40.

It was a great meet for our Stratford swimmers as well! The boys finished a half-point behind Katy Tompkins to take 2nd place with a score of 259.5, qualified for State in three relays (and two broke school records), and also qualified in four individual events! The girls took 2nd behind Cinco Ranch with 195 points, qualified for State in two relays (both broke school records), and also qualified in four individual events! This was definitely one of the best Regional finishes Stratford has had in recent history. You can view full meet results HERE.

To advance to state, a swimmer must finish in 1st or 2nd place in one of eight Regions in the state in finals. Then the next fastest eight times in each event get called up for a total of three heats of eight that compete at the state level.

RELAYS

Our relays were on fire with five out of six advancing to State, and four broke school records!!

• The boys’ 400 freestyle relay with junior Brock Hunter (47.25), senior Julian Hemmer (45.29), senior Nathan Moss (46.61), and junior James Hackney (45.90) broke their own school record they swam a week ago at District (3:05.80) to go 3:05.05 and get a 1st place finish in a nail-biting race from start to finish!

• The girls’ 200 freestyle relay also are State-bound and set a school record of their own with a time of 1:36.46 and a 1st place finish in an exciting race! Powering this impressive relay were junior Sophia Giesecke (24.20), junior Molly Kate Minyard (24.39), senior Elle Burke (24.12), and senior Izzy Glover (23.75).

• The boys’ 200 freestyle relay was blazing fast with Hunter (21.24), Hemmer (20.36), Ricky Conticello (21.02), and Hackney (21.23), finishing in 1:23.85 (0.32 seconds behind 1st) and snagging a school record in that relay!

• The girls’ 400 freestyle relay was powerful and fun to watch as well with Glover (53.19), Minyard (53.29), Giesecke (52.59), and Burke (52.20) going 3:31.27 to finish 2nd, and, surprise, get a school record!

• The boys’ 200 medley relay fought hard each leg to finish 4th and earned a call-up to State as well with a time of 1:35.11 with Jack Robertson (back, 24.04), Conticello (breast, 26.24), Marin Pavlin (fly, 22.93), and Vince Nguyen (free, 21.90). Well done, boys!!

• The girls’ 200 medley relay also finished a respectable 13th with senior Sarah Beth Roady (back, 29.50), freshman Paige Buri (breast, 32.74), junior Lilli Oteiza (fly, 28.31), and sophomore Maria Luisa Becerra Arreola (free, 25.97).

INDIVIDUAL

We are State-bound in eight individual events!

• For the boys, Moss qualified for State in the 200 and 500 freestyles. He finished 2nd in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:41.23 from lane 6 and out-touched 3rd place by 0.05 second! In the 500 freestyle, Moss swam a 4:32.80 (about 2 seconds off the current school record set in 2008) and finished in 2nd place, only missing 1st by 0.04 second!
• Hemmer qualified for State in the 100 freestyle. He had a strong, powerful stroke and was fun to watch dominating, finishing 2nd with a time of 45.91!
• Hunter tied for 3rd in the 50 freestyle with a smokin’-fast time of 20.96 and earned a call-up to State!
• On the girls’ side, Giesecke was unstoppable in her 100 butterfly, looking strong the entire race and finishing 2nd with a time of 55.46 and also qualifying for State! Giesecke also got a call-up for finishing 3rd in the 100 breaststroke in an insane time of 1:03.75 (about 0.50 second off the school record set in the ‘90s!)
• Burke got a call-up in the 100 back, finishing in 4th place with a 57.98 and swimming with a long, graceful, and efficient stroke!
• Glover also earned a call-up spot in the 50 free with her 6th-place scramble to earn a well-deserved spot on the State team! Let’s go!!

Other impressive finals finishes in this FAST Region were:

• Burke: 4th in 200 IM (2:07.80)
• Minyard: 5th in 500 free (5:15.87), 7th in 200 free (1:58.53)
• Glover: 11th in 100 free (54.10)
• Roady: 12th in 500 free (5:21.13)

• Hemmer: 5th in 50 free (21.07)
• Hunter: 12th in 100 free (47.96)
• Hackney: 7th in 100 fly (51.61), 9th in 200 free (1:43.10)
• Pavlin: 9th in 100 back (53.69)
• Sophomore Koki Yamamoto: 10th in 100 breast (59.50)
• Conticello: 15th in 100 breast (1:01.16)

Congratulations to our entire team that represented Stratford well! And a special thank you to our coaches who helped get so many to State: Head Coach Casandra Brisbin and Assistant Coaches Joe McCommons and Blocker Duncan!

Next up: UIL State 6A Meet in Austin at The University of Texas’s Lee & Joe Jamail Swim Center. Prelims will be on February 21st, followed by finals on the 22nd. Both sessions will be in the morning. GO BIG GREEN!