Palo Verde, Coronado set to battle for boys, girls swimming titles
During the week leading up to the Class 5A state swimming and diving meet, Coronado coach David Stump has been doing math.
He said he has a good idea how teams should finish based on the times that were recorded at last week’s regional meet, but there are always some variables that need to be considered.
“There are so many variables,” Stump said. “There are kids at regionals giving 100 percent, and there are others that are fine if they’re in the top four (to qualify for state). You also never know how the north teams are going to swim when they come down from altitude.”
The 5A diving will take place Friday, with the swimming set for Saturday. The diving will be held at UNLV’s Buchanan Natatorium, while the swimming will take place at Pavilion Center Pool.
The Palo Verde boys are gunning for their eighth straight state championship, while the Coronado girls won the 5A Southern Region championship.
Palo Verde coach Brent Gonzalez said how the relays turn out will go a long way in determining whether the Panthers grab another title.
“It’s going to take a whole team effort from our boys,” Gonzalez said. “We only won one of the three relays at regionals, so if we can win two out of three, that would be a big stepping stone.”
Stump said the Coronado boys outswam his projections at regionals. His math had Palo Verde with a 55-point advantage, and the Panthers won by a 461-430 margin.
The Coronado girls ran up 578 points at regionals to beat Palo Verde by 115 points.
“There is some room there for us to compete (on the girls side), but Coronado is tough this year,” Gonzalez said. “They definitely have a good team. I am worried about a couple teams from up north in Galena and Reno.”
Stump agreed that Galena, in particular, is sending “a good number of burners” down and could be a factor in determining the team championship.
Ultimately, Stump said, it’s going to come down to a few points here and there for the boys and girls crowns.
“Palo (boys) have depth, so it would take a pretty big effort,” Stump said. “But when you scored the meet out, if somebody comes in and has a great meet and somebody else is off, you never know what can happen.”
Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.