Kingwood Swim and Dive Team Regions Finish – Girls 1st place and Boys 3rd place, Headed to State!
The Kingwood Varsity Swim Team has once again dominated and finished strong at Districts and Regions heading to state. Fantastic work was done by all of our KHS swimmers at Regions, putting their best efforts into a team win for both boys (3rd place) and girls (1st place)! The girls grabbed the team title, winning all three relays, and the boys in two relays, qualifying for state in all three! Lizzie Watson captured swimmer of the meet on the girl’s side!
Lizzie Watson Girls High Point, photo credit to Mr. and Mrs. Bingley’s 2023-2024 Photo Archives
Starting with districts, Lizzie Watson was awarded swimmer of the meet due to her exceptional performance, which earned her the most points out of any girl competing. She was a part of the first-place 200-yard medley relay team and 400 freestyle relay team, taking first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:52.40 and the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.82. Way to go, Lizzie!
Some other vital swimmers this year who made it into the top 3 in their events include Ava Casperson, Eddie Jin, Joshua Yates, Blane Gerth, Sophia Le Maire, Audrey James, Lauryn Bingley, Christina Donahue, Audrey Kalvaitis, Tyler Grafmiller, Billy Krebs, Trevor James, Emma Heun, Samantha Thibodeaux, Shelby Joslin, and Johnny Durkan. Congrats to Kingwood Varsity Swim!
Girls 1st Place District Team, photo credit to Mr. and Mrs. Bingley’s 2023-2024 Photo Archives
The Boy’s team finished 3rd with hopes of having a great season finish at state. The state team has been announced, and the team has nine days to prepare and finish, representing Kingwood with a strong showing.
We had a chance to interview some of our seniors headed to state along with Coach Robinson. Here is what they had to say. Eddie Jin is a senior on the Boy’s team who signed with the University of North Carolina in the fall to swim and represent Kingwood High School at the next level. Ava Casperson, a leader in and out of the pool, will be headed to Rice University in the fall.
Boys are Third Place in a tough region!
“To prepare, we are resetting our mental and preparing ourselves and our bodies for Stat. The meet is a whole different beast, and will create a new slate of challenges we have to overcome. ” – Eddie Jin
Bringing the energy to Regions and District! (Kingwood Swim and Dive)
“I am trying to be an uplifting positive leader going into state. I always do my best at meets where the team environment is exciting so I hope to be a contributor to bringing the energy to state! I am looking forward to having a team filled with positive people! The competition at state is good but I think our team can do pretty well this year. As a whole we have put in the work since August, so I trust that our results at state will show the effort we have given!”- Ava Casperson
Last but not least is a shout-out to Coach Robinson. This picture below from Regions says it all. Coach Robinson’s commitment and dedication to this team is unmatched. He expects the best in and out of the pool for his swimmers. Our Kingwood High School swimmers go on to some of the best Universities in the United States carrying the Kingwood Swim and Dive torch with the legacy and tradition of excellence established by Coach Robinson in their early years of competitive swimming at Kingwood High School. This is Coach Robinson’s 7th year at KHS, and he has taken his team to state, representing Kingwood very well at state in his six prior years here. Not only has he been able to bring his team to state every year, but Kingwood boys swim has not finished lower than 3rd during his tenure, and the girls have had 4 top 5 finishes in those years.
“Unmatched Enthusiasm from our Coach Robinson who year after year motivates students to bring their best to Kingwood Swim and Dive and Kingwood High School.” – Tamir Shaw
“This year’s team has such a sense of togetherness. I love their spirit, enthusiasm, and belief in one another. They truly care about one another and find success in others success. I think that is what makes this team so successful and they are amazing to coach. Our team is truly coming into form at the perfect time. We have high expectations of excellence and our athletes continue to raise their bar to meet these lofty goals. We are excited for the competition that awaits us in Austin at the state meet and for the potential to perform at an extremely high level.”- Coach Robinson
If you see these swimmers in the hallway this week at KHS, congratulate them for heading to one of the toughest state swim competitions. Girls Team: Lauryn Bingley, Ava Casperson, Christana Donahue, Emma Huen, Audrey James, Audrey Kalvaitis, Sophia Lemaire, Emily Morejon, Sam Thibodeaux, and Lizzie Watson. Boys Team: Johnny Durkan, Ethan Fixmer, Kenneth Foster, Blane Gerth, Trevor James, Eddie Jin, Billy Krebs, Reid Rodriguez, Tyler Grafmiller, and Josh Yates.
Shelby is a Junior who has been a part of the Kingwood Varsity Swim team for 2 seasons. She also has played the cello for over 5 years and is a part of the KHS Varsity Orchestra program. When she is not swimming, playing the cello, or studying, Shelby enjoys getting outdoors and going to the gym. She wanted to write for Mustang Monthly to highlight numerous extracurriculars at Kingwood High School and work on her writing skills.
Tamir is excited to lead Mustang Monthly this year. She is also a junior class officer at KHS and a varsity soccer player for KHS. She is looking forward to capturing what is happening in KHS and the community bringing a fresh look to Mustang Monthly. Tamir will be leading the DECA program for KHS while maintaining her involvement in FCA and Stangs Service Day this coming year giving back to the Mustang community.
When she is not at school, you will find Tamir practicing and playing club soccer many nights and weekends for the HTX Girls Academy U17 team. Service is important to her core as she continues to be involved in her church community at United City as well as volunteering with special needs through Camp Blessing, Special Olympics and the Tops program.
