Copperas Cove AquaDawgs compete at District 12-6A meet

By TJ MAXWELL

Cove Leader-Press

BELTON – The Copperas Cove AquaDawgs swim team competed in the District 12-6A meet at the Roy and Jean Potts Swim Center in Belton over the weekend.

The young squad qualified in several events for the Region II-6A meet to be held at the Mansfield ISD Natatorium in Mansfield on Feb. 1-2.

Leading the way for the AquaDawgs was junior Robert “Ryan” Lippert. He qualified in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke.

Lippert nabbed the bronze medal in the 50 free with a time of 23.43 seconds. Ellison senior Jalen Piper finished first with a time of 22.53 with Waco Midway senior Minh Nguyen taking second with a mark of 23.18.

Lippert finished just off the podium in the 100-yard back stroke with a time of 59.88 seconds. Ellison junior Patrick Quinn won the race with a time of 56.81 with Belton freshman Matthew Snyder (58.41) and Killeen sophomore Tyler Norrie (59.78) rounding out the podium winners.

Junior Justin Green also qualified in the 100-yard butterfly with a fifth-place finish and time of 58.79 seconds. Ellison’s Piper won the event with a time of 52.86 seconds followed by Harker Heights sophomore Timothy Brooks (53.25), Belton sophomore Ethan Rodriguez (57.75) and Belton junior mason Sanders (58.53).

The Copperas Cove boys’ foursome of Green, freshman Jacob Knutson, junior Alexander Rosenbaum, and Lippert finished just off the podium with a fourth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3 minutes, 49.43 seconds. Midway took the top spot with a time of 3:31.06 while Belton finished second with a mark of 3:34.32 and Temple rounded out the medalist with a third-place time of 3:46.13.

The Cove girls’ foursome of sophomore Carina Lippert, sophomore Taylor Gwen, sophomore Madison Sutton and sophomore Paola Rosario-Diaz also qualified in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a fourth-place finish and time of 2:02.74. Belton took the top spot with a mark of 1:43.55 followed by Midway (1:50.58) and Ellison (1:54.67).

Also competing for the AquaDawgs girls’ squad were:

200-yard medley relay

Sutton, Rosario-Diaz, Lippert and Gwen (7^th – 2:26.98)

200-yard freestyle

Sophomore Alexis Hermosillo (16^th – 3:16.76) and sophomore Leilani Darnell (18^th – 3:32.97)

200-yard individual medley

Sutton (14^th – 3:15.86)

50-yard freestyle

Rosario-Diaz (8^th – 28.63 seconds), Gwen (16^th – 30.95), freshman Ahrian Stewart (26^th – 37.38) and freshman Briana Martinez (30^th – 49.87).

100-yard butterfly

Lippert (12^th – 1:24.06), sophomore Isabelle Avilla (15^th – 1:41.72) and freshman Annalynn Barnicoat (16^th – 1:49.90)

100-yard freestyle

Freshman Danielle Bailey (23^rd – 1:18.84) and Stewart (25^th – 1:28.02)

500-yard freestyle

Hermosillo (13^th – 8:56.51) and Darnell (14^th – 9:35.38)

100-yard back stroke

Avilla (14^th – 1:30.86) and Barnicoat (18^th – 1:48.73)

100-yard breaststroke

Bailey (17^th – 1:45.75)

400-yard freestyle relay

Sutton, Gwen, Lippert and Rosario-Diaz (7^th – 4:46.31)

Also competing for the AquaDawgs boys’ squad were:

200-yard medley relay

Lippert, junior Roberto Knepp, Green and Rosenbaum (7^th – 1:57.08)

200-yard freestyle

Rosenbaum (9^th – 2:13.09), senior Eric Blakeley (11^th - 2:22.30), sophomore Parker Freeman (13^th – 2:33.48) and sophomore David Burrus (14^th – 2:34.03)

200-yard individual medley

Senior Abdiel Hernandez-Lopez (11^th – 2:43.92), Knepp (12^th – 2:54.12) and sophomore Jordan Morrison (13^th – 2:55.42)

50-yard freestyle

Salvador Ramirez-Equihua (21^st – 30.16), sophomore Gerron Snell (25^th – 33.55) and senior Devin Hardy (28^th – 51.37)

100-yard butterfly

Morrison (12^th – 1:20.06)

100-yard freestyle

Blakeley (9^th – 1:01.26), Burrus (13^th – 1:07.85), Ramirez-Equihua (15^th – 1:10.60), freshman Justin Delgado (16^th – 1:12.23) and senior Dimas Bonet (20^th – 1:16.84)

500-yard freestyle

Rosenbaum (11^th – 6:27.77), Freeman (13^th – 7:02.46) and freshman Wesley Hotz (14^th – 8:02.83)

200-yard freestyle relay

Hernandez-Lopez, Blakeley, Knutson and Green (7^th – 1:47.43)

100-yard back stroke

Knutson (10^th – 1:11.71), Hotz (16^th – 1:44.94) and Hardy (17^th – 2:21.70)

100-yard breaststroke

Knepp (11^th – 1:22.87), Hernandez-Lopez (12^th – 1:23.25) Delgado (14^th – 1:33.12) and Bonet (17^th – 1:48.57)