Held at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on Friday, Feb. 23 through Saturday, Feb. 24 as Swim and Dive concluded their 2024 season at the 6A UIL state swim meet. They closed off another victorious season with girls in ninth place and boys in twelfth. 

“I think it [was] pretty fun, I’m super excited that I made State this year,” Violet Hewett ‘25 said. “I think we had a great turnout and our girls are really dedicated and we all performed well today.”

Competing among some of the best swimmers in the nation, the Warriors were able to send their very best in relays: Namanh Truong ‘26, Leah Zhang ‘26, Sophia He ‘25, Jaden Steen ‘24 in the 200-yard-medley relay, Truong, Hewett, Steen, and He in the 200-yard-freestyle relay, Kevin Qian ‘25, Steven Ma ‘25, Raphael Wang ‘25, and Josh Lee ‘26 in the 200-yard-medley relay, and finally Lee, Harrison Tater ‘27, Julian Rusk ‘27, and Wang in the 200-yard-freestyle relay. 

On the day of finals, the stands were crowded with hundreds of spectators buzzing with excitement. As the official set off the start, the crowd let loose, screaming for their home teams. The girls’ 200-yard-medley relay achieved first place in the B-finals with a time of 1:46.59, finishing in ninth place overall. Next, the 200-yard-freestyle relay went for a solid 1:37.25, dropping 0.85 seconds from their preliminary time to land in seventh place. For Steen, the only senior on both relay teams, these relays were special as they were the last races of her high school career. 

“It was immensely bittersweet,” Steen said. “I was very sad that this was it for my high school swimming career but at the same time I’m super proud of myself [because] I’ve had injuries since sophomore year.” 

To the sounds of the sideline cheering from their teammates, the boys’ 200-yard-medley relay touched for seventh place in the A-finals with a time of 1:33.42. Unfortunately in the 200-yard-freestyle relay, the boys jumped a few places downward in rankings, however, they were still able to score 10 points for Westwood. 

“I was feeling really nervous because a lot can happen in the last leg [of the 200-yard-medley relay],” Lee said. “I just gotta focus on not selling the relay [but] the atmosphere is really hype and we’re all really supporting no matter what time we go. It’s really wholesome.” 

As the swimmers finished up the first half of the meet, it was time to cheer on the dive finals after eight preliminary rounds the night before. Jazzlyn Vaughan ‘26, bronze medalist at Regionals, was seeded 10th and was in a great position to score points for the Warriors. 

“During prelims, I wasn’t diving my best and didn’t think I was going to make finals,” Vaughan said. “I was talking to my mom who told me it’s not over until I decide it’s over and it gave me a confidence boost. My last three dives in prelims were some of my best and I was super excited when I made finals.”

Not only is Vaughan one of the very few divers in Westwood history to qualify for state — but she has now accomplished another impressive feat — becoming Coach Matthew McBrearty’s first diver to make state finals. In finals, she maintained her spot in 10th place, finishing off her last dive gracefully in round eleven, rounding off her score to 378.80 points.

“It’s kinda crazy,” Vaughan said. “I’m just in shock and it just makes me so excited and proud of myself. Since I wasn’t as stressed [for finals] I was diving super well. Overall, I had a great time and also had a lot of fun watching the swimmers swim their finals.”

In individual events, He swam one of the fastest 200-yard-individual-medley races in her high school career, achieving a time of 2:03.24. She also placed top of the state in the 100-yard-butterfly, earning 15 points with a time of 54.79. Truong climbed up a placement to fourteenth in the B-finals for the 50-yard-freestyle, racing a 24.20. Max Laine ‘27 and Ma competed in the 100-yard-breastroke, earning fifteenth place and tenth place respectively. Wang had two groundbreaking swims: going the second fastest high school time in Texas in the 100-yard-breaststroke and simultaneously breaking the school record with a time of 54.62, and fighting for a podium spot in the 200-yard-individual-medley with a time of 1:48.57. 

“I love the people I swim with so I wanted them to do well,” Steen said. “Everyone did amazing.”

The Warriors will continue their hard work in the coming years as their championship team is still relatively young and eager for greater success. In the meantime, the Warriors will be training their hardest to top this astonishing year.