Grace Swim Team Shines at Texarkana Prelim–Final Meet

December 1, 2025 – The Grace Cougars completed an exceptional weekend of competition at the Texarkana High School Natatorium on November 21 and 22, racing against the strongest field they have encountered this season. With twenty-three schools represented from the Dallas–Fort Worth, East Texas, and Houston regions, and more than four hundred swimmers in attendance, the meet served as both an invaluable benchmark and ideal preparation for the upcoming Regional and State Championships.

Preliminaries and Finals Format

The meet employed a full preliminaries-to-finals structure, allowing swimmers to compete on Friday, regroup, and return on Saturday with renewed focus. Grace’s athletes embraced the challenge with confidence, discipline, and competitive resolve.

Finals Qualifiers

Grace is proud to recognize the following swimmers who advanced to finals in individual events:

  • Mollie Mathis — 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle
  • Ella Buess — 200 Individual Medley, 100 Breaststroke
  • Natalie Jenks — 100 Backstroke
  • Will Means — 100 Breaststroke
  • Daniel Minick — 200 Individual Medley, 100 Butterfly
  • Leonardo Rubio — 200 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly

In addition, all six relay teams qualified for the finals.

A special commendation is extended to Mollie Mathis, Grace’s highest individual qualifier of the meet, placing fourth in the 50 Freestyle and fifth in the 100 Freestyle among a particularly deep and competitive field.

Team Results

Both teams demonstrated impressive overall performances:

  • Girls Team — 7th place, finishing just behind Texarkana
  • Boys Team — 11th place, finishing just behind Bryan Adams High School

Season-Best Performances

One of the most notable achievements of the weekend was that Grace swimmers earned approximately 92 percent season-best times. This outstanding level of improvement reflects the team’s hard work, consistent training, and growing readiness for the championship phase of the season.

Girls Individual Results

  • Georgia Atkinson: 200 Freestyle — 19th; 100 Breaststroke — 22nd
  • Ella Buess: 200 Individual Medley — 13th; 100 Breaststroke — 13th
  • Cora Castle: 100 Butterfly — 24th
  • Audrey Green: 50 Freestyle — 64th; 100 Breaststroke — 27th
  • Ava Green: 50 Freestyle — 37th; 100 Backstroke — 22nd
  • Laura Kate Green: 100 Freestyle — 46th; 100 Backstroke — 29th
  • Natalie Jenks: 200 Freestyle — 20th; 100 Backstroke — 12th
  • Addie Lybrand: 200 Freestyle — 23rd; 100 Backstroke — 33rd
  • Mollie Mathis: 50 Freestyle — 4th; 100 Freestyle — 5th

Girls Relay Results

  • 200 Medley Relay — 11th (Jenks, Buess, Mathis, Castle)
  • 200 Freestyle Relay — 13th (Atkinson, Ava Green, Lybrand, Castle)
  • 400 Freestyle Relay A — 9th (Jenks, Buess, Atkinson, Mathis)
  • 400 Freestyle Relay B — 13th (Ava Green, Audrey Green, Laura Kate Green, Lybrand)

Boys Individual Results

  • Mateo Agudelo: 50 Freestyle — 34th; 100 Freestyle — 27th
  • Sam Doyle: 50 Freestyle — 40th; 100 Freestyle — 39th
  • Will Means: 200 Freestyle — 26th; 100 Breaststroke — 15th
  • Daniel Minick: 200 Individual Medley — 12th; 100 Butterfly — 14th
  • Eli Murphy: 50 Freestyle — 61st; 100 Breaststroke — 37th
  • Leonardo Rubio: 200 Freestyle — 16th; 100 Butterfly — 7th
  • Isaac Stephenson: 200 Individual Medley — 19th; 100 Breaststroke — 18th

Boys Relay Results

  • 200 Freestyle Relay — 14th (Stephenson, Means, Doyle, Agudelo)
  • 400 Freestyle Relay — 12th (Minick, Doyle, Rubio, Agudelo)

The Cougars will return to competition on December 6 at Southern Methodist University in Dallas for a combined High School and Junior High Sprint Meet.