Raasch, Tamplen bring first season to a successful end
By Robert Morgan | Published Thursday, February 19, 2009
If the first year of swimming at Decatur High School is a sign of things to come for the district's newest sport, head coach Doris Dennard is in for quite a ride.
Five of the team's seven members qualified for the Class 4A regional swimming and diving championships last weekend in Fort Worth. Two of the Eagles made it through the prelims and finished among the top competitors after the final round Saturday at Wilkerson Grienes Coliseum.
Senior Tyler Tamplen, who qualified in three events, and freshman Hayley Raasch made a big splash in their final races of the season. Both finished in the top eight to finish among the elite at the 4A regionals but were just short of making it to the state finals.
Dennard said the learning experience this year for everyone involved is the foundation of what she believes will be a very big and successful program in years to come.
"It was a very successful first season as well as a learning season for me and the swimmers. All the swimmers improved on their times throughout the season, with the beginner swimmers dropping more time," Dennard said. "I expect it to grow some next year. I think it will take four to five years before we can get a full team. There has been a lot of interest from students and parents."
First place in each event qualifies for the state championships. The UIL then takes the next eight fastest in the state from the eight regions to complete the 16 qualifiers.
All 3A and under schools have to compete at the 4A level in swimming and soccer.
Raasch had the top showing at regionals in the 100-meter backstroke. The talented ninth grader captured fifth place with a time of 1 minute, 9.75 seconds.
The first four finishers in the finals were seniors, making her the fastest underclassman at the meet. She was fourth in the prelims where she stopped the clock at 1:09.38.
Tamplen, the only senior on the team, had a busy weekend as he competed in two individual events and one relay. His top showing came in the 200 freestyle where he advanced to the finals en route to finishing eighth overall with a time of 2:06.51.
The pool shark was seventh in the prelims where he posted a personal-record time of 2:01.68. He also competed in the 100 freestyle where he was 11th in the prelims at 56.18.
The Decatur 200 freestyle relay team completed its successful run at regionals. The foursome of freshman Zachery Baird, freshman Joel Hinson, sophomore Daniel Jordan and Tamplen finished 14th in the prelims at 1:53.35.
