La Grange Swim Team Impresses at Back-to-Back Meets
The La Grange High School Swim Team continues to defy the odds, competing in two swim meets just days apart—on January 7 in Brenham and January 11 in Tomball. The team faces unique challenges, including limited practice time and the lack of a dedicated pool. Despite these hurdles, the Leopards have shown resilience and determination, demonstrating their readiness for the upcoming district meet.
Obstacles
Returning from the Christmas break, the team faced the task of regaining their pre-holiday form. Under UIL regulations, swimmers cannot practice for five consecutive days, further compounding their difficulties. Adding to the challenge, the team lacks a home pool for training and has to travel to Brenham facilities. This logistical hurdle not only limits practice availability but also forces swimmers to adapt quickly to unfamiliar competition settings, with swimmers losing performance levels within 72 hours of inactivity; every moment in the water counts.
Despite practicing only three days a week under these conditions, the team has pressed on with determination.
Brenham Meet
Highlights
At the Brenham meet, the Leopards narrowly missed a team victory, falling short by just 4 points. The smaller La Grange team competed valiantly against a deeper Brenham roster, which benefited from more swimmers scoring points in lower-placing events. Senior team members Celeine Fabre, Madeline Willrich, Laney Herdler, Hunter Sabo, John Kaspar, and Dalton Landis led by example, helping the team secure multiple topthree finishes: Women’s 200-Yard Medley Relay A: 2nd place, 2:13.47 Celeine Fabre, Adysen Janacek, Madeline Willrich, Eleanor Carey Women’s 200-Yard Medley Relay B: 3rd place, 2:27.96 Clara Bundick, Elena Supak, Laney Herdler, Lillian Carey Men’s 200-Yard Medley Relay: 1st place, 2:01.60 Rogan Mihatsch, Gavin Cook, Hunter Sabo, John Kaspar Woman’s 200-yard Freestyle: 1st place, time 2:26.46: Adysen Janacek Men’s 200 yard Freestyle: 3rd place, time 2:23.69: Haygen Mings Women’s 50-Yard Freestyle: 2nd place, 28.84 Eleanor Carey; 3rd place, 32.30 Madeline Willrich Men’s 50-Yard Freestyle: 1st place, 25.60 Hunter Sabo; 2nd place, 27.92 Rogan Mihatsch Woman’s 100 yard Butterfly: 2nd place, time 1:28.85 Elana Supak Men’s 100 yard Butterfly: 3rd place, time 1:25.95 Braxton Landis Woman’s 100-yard Freestyle: 2nd Place, time 1:03.86 Celeine Fabre, 3rd place, time 1:10.79 Clare Bundick Men’s 100-yard Freestyle: 1st place, time 1:00.7 John Kaspar, 2nd place, time 1:06.14 Rogan Mihatsch Women’s 500-Yard Freestyle: 1st place, 7:14.96 Laney Herdler See Women’s 200-Yard Freestyle Relay A: 1st place, 1:59.92 Eleanor Carey, Lillian Carey, Adysen Janacek, and Celeine Fabre Woman’s 200-yard Freestyle Relay B: 2nd place, time 2:13.87 Clara Bundick, Kynzee Swafford, Elena Supak, and Madeline Willrich Men’s 200-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1st place, 1:48.84 Gavin Cook, Dalton Landis, John Kaspar, and Hunter Sabo Woman’s 100 yard Backstroke: 3rd place, time 1:25.79 Laney Herdler Men’s 100 yard Backstroke: 1st place, time 1:16.44 Braxton Landis Woman’s 100-yard Breaststroke: 2nd place, time 1:35.20 Kynzee Swafford, 3rd place, time 1:35.64 Elena Supak Men’s 100-yard Breaststroke: 2nd place, time 1:12.29 Gavin Cook, 3rd place, time 1:22.12 Dalton Landis.
Women’s 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: 1st place, 4:24.84 Eleanor Carey, Madeline Willrich, Celeine Fabre, and Adysen Janacek Men’s 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: 2nd place, 4:07.73 John Kaspar, Rogan Mihatsch, Hunter Sabo, and Gavin Cook
Tomball Meet:
The Frozen
Invitational
At the 2025 Frozen Invitational in Tomball, La Grange faced powerhouse 5A and 6A schools, with over 300 athletes entered in over 700 events. Despite being the only 4A school, the team impressed with strong showings, including a 3rdplace finish in the Women’s 400-Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 4:25.30; relay members included Eleanor Carey, Madeline Willrich, Celeine Fabre, Adysen Janacek.
Additional notable top-16 finishes included: Women’s 200-Yard Freestyle: 8th place Adysen Janacek Women’s 100-Yard Freestyle: 9th place Celeine Fabre; 15th place Paige Michalke Men’s 100-Yard Breaststroke: 9th place Gavin Cook Woman’s 200 Medley Relay A: 10th place Celeine Fabre, Adysen Janacek, Hope Michalke, and Eleanor Carey.
Woman’s 200 Medley Relay B: 14th place Clara Bundic, Elena Supak, Paige Michalke, and Lillian Carey.
Men’s 200 Medley Relay: 15th place Rogan Mihatsch, Gavin Cook, Hunter Sabo, and John Kaspar.
Men’s 200 Yard IM: 16th place Dalton Landis Woman’s 50 Yard Freestyle: 15th Eleanor Carey Woman’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 9th place Eleanor Carey, Paige Michalke, Adysen Janacek, and Celeine Fabre Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 14th place Gavin Cook, Rogan Mihatsch, John Kaspar, and Hunter Sabo Women’s 100 Yard Breaststroke: 16th place Paige Michalke Several swimmers achieved personal bests, including: Lillian Carey: Women’s 200-Yard Freestyle, 2:55.46 Charlotte Griffen: Women’s 200- Yard Freestyle 3:05.69 Haygen Mings: Men’s 100Yard Breaststroke, 1:33.75 Elena Supak: Women’s 100-Yard Breaststroke, 1:31.02
Preparing for District
With the district swim meet scheduled for January 24th in San Antonio, the team remains focused on earning top-four finishes to advance to the regional meet. Despite limited practice opportunities and the absence of a home pool, the Leopards are proving that determination and teamwork can overcome even the toughest obstacles.