Azle’s swimming season came to a close Feb. 8 at the Region 2-5A Swimming Championship in Mansfield after getting third place as a team at their district meet.

At the regional meet, the 200m Medley Relay team placed 15th, the 400m Freestyle Relay team placed 8th, senior captain Karla Rodriguez placed 12th in the 200m freestyle and junior captain Kayley Brekel placed 15th in the 50m freestyle.

“We showed up and showed out,” senior captain Kaylee Daniels said. “All of our girls qualified for regionals, which is really hard to do. Overall, I think our season was very successful this year.”

Going into the season, the team only had four returners with the rest either being freshmen or new to swimming. The team started swimming in August and

“It’s a lot of teaching and a lot of learning,” Brekel said. “Even within the late months, we’re still trying to teach and get them to understand the basics.”

Rodriguez and senior LaynieBeth Hodges said their season wouldn’t have been as successful without the help of their head coach Amy Estes.

“Coach Estes is one of the best coaches,” Rodriguez said. “She’s amazing, and she knows how to talk to you even when you’re going through something really hard. She knows how to redirect you really well, and she’s just a great coach.”

Hodges said the team is very close, which has made encouraging each other and accomplishing more as a team a lot easier.

“Everyone in swim is amazing and we just all understand each other very well,” Hodges said. “We all definitely grew to love each other for what everybody comes with.”