Dripping Springs High senior Kylie Ballard’s last competitive swim of her high school career came at a place she always strived to be.
Joined by sophomore teammates Lydia Evans, London Ferris and junior Katie Tuohy, Ballard swam the backstroke leg of the Tiger girls 200-yard medley relay team that finished 10th in the UIL Class 5A state meet at the Lee and Joe Jamail Swim Center Saturday.
Ballard, who was one of six Tiger athletes who made it to the state meet, said reaching the competition was the culmination of hard work paying off. It also provided an “awesome” end to a chapter in her life.
“It was a huge honor to be here today. I’ve always been on the brink of making it (to state),” Ballard said. “So senior year, being able to come here and make it to finals, was a huge way to close my swimming career.”
Andrea McCarthy, Tiger swimming coach, said the Tiger girls relay team has been the “epitome of what our season has been.”
Guiding the relay team was Ballard, who McCarthy said is the team captain and has an “unbelievable attitude” for a high school student. That includes the ability and maturity to deal with the successes and failures that come with competitive swimming, McCarthy said.
“They all respect Kylie because she leads by example,” McCarthy said. “She’s an amazing kid.”
McCarthy lauded the work ethic of the entire team as they navigated through a difficult district that includes powerhouses such as A&M Consolidated.
McCarthy said it was “amazing” for her students to pull together and that she could see they were working together.
She added realizing what their challenges are and realizing how individuals can help the team allowed for success.
“Knowing that we are going into this district and going on to one of the hardest regions in the state, that could have been scary for them,” McCarthy said. “But they didn’t take it as something they couldn’t accomplish.”
A young girls program that has “exploded” in recent years could lead the Tigers in the future. McCarthy anticipates many of the underclassmen on the girls team will return to state next year.
That could include Evans, Farris, Tuohy and junior Lauren Kehm, who made up the Tiger girls 400-yard freestyle relay team that finished seventh in state.
“The girls are having fun and rooting each other on,” McCarthy said. “They’re putting their effort into it. I’m trying to work with them any way I can.”
While the boys team isn’t as large as other programs, McCarthy said the team will return some “good, solid guys” who are going to be juniors and seniors next year. She said once the boys team receives more “mileage” they could see improvement.
The list could include junior Markus Egger, who competed in the boys 500-yard freestyle swim.
Tiger sophomore swimmer Lydia Evans, who moved from Georgia in the middle of the semester, said she plans to work on a return trip to state next season.
Evans said participating in the regional competition was challenging, but competing at state was “eye opening.”
“I’m going to focus on training and definitely get closer with my teammates,” Evans said.
Ballard said she used lessons learned last year while working with former Tiger teammate Micah Slaton, who swam in the Olympic Trials in Omaha last summer and is now swimming at Missouri.
“It’s been an up and down ride to get there and to actually get to state and swim on the team, it’s exciting, but also humbling,” Ballard said.