The colder temperatures began to wane this weekend, and Sophianne Cortes followed suit by turning up the heat at the state capital. Competing in two events, the 50 freestyle and the 100 butterfly, the lone Rough Rider had her work cut out for her as she faced off against several talented athletes from across Texas, all putting pedal to the metal as they tried for a spot on the winners' podium. The prelims on day one were a great indicator of how the rest of the meet would go, Sophianne swimming for times of 24.08 seconds in the freestyle and 57.04 in the butterfly, seeding #7 and #5 respectively. She followed up that stellar performance with an even better one on day two. In her first race, Sophianne not only secured 5th place but also set a school record for the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.90 seconds! On top of that, in the 100 butterfly, she finished half a second faster than previous and earned bronze, marking her as the first Rough Rider swimmer to win a medal at state!
Congratulations on this momentous accomplishment, Sophianne! Way to finish off an already fantastic Saginaw season with a bang!