With warmups at 11 a.m. and pictures at 5 p.m., members of the swim team just hope that they make it to both without arriving late. On Oct. 18, 2025, the Texas High Tigersharks competed against three teams from Carrollton, Texas on the same day as the annual homecoming dance. Only three days later, they swam against J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas.
A Home Meet For Hoco
The homecoming dance remains an iconic moment for the school year, and its rich tradition balances school spirit with excitement on the dance floor. While many students woke up that morning with the intention to spend the day getting ready for the event, swimmers instead woke up with the intention to swim fast at their meet held at Texarkana College.
Some athletes on the team felt concern regarding the limited time between the swim meet and homecoming.
“I really didn’t think I would have enough time [to get ready],” sophomore Ansley Adams said. “I thought I would end up being late to pictures.”
Despite time constraints, participants of the meet managed to swim strong and still enjoy the festivities of homecoming.
“I think this whole event shows [our] dedication as [athletes],” A. Adams said. “It shows great dedication to be able to go from your sport into something you really want to do, such as homecoming.”
Like numerous others at Texas High School, the Tigersharks grew anxious about the possibility of the thunderstorm affecting their plans.
“I was a little bit worried about the weather situation and how that would impact both the meet and homecoming,” senior captain Jackson Adams said. “It didn’t impact the meet whatsoever, and while it did affect homecoming, it didn’t have any major negative effects.”
The results of this meet remained mostly positive with the boys earning first place and the girls ranking second.
“I think the meet went well. It’s still early season, so you’re seeing early season results,” J. Adams said. “Everyone’s still tired and sore, but we’re just getting ready and getting amped up and prepared to go fast later on in the season.”
Three Days Later…
Waking up from the combined exhaustion of both homecoming and a swim meet proved difficult. Swimming in another meet just three days later added to this fatigue. At 1:45 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2025, the swim team departed from campus to participate in a duel meet against J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas.
With the two meets held in such a tight succession of one another, swimmers reflect on the differences between them.
“[The swim meets] were different in the levels of competition,” J. Adams said. “On Saturday, we were swimming against a lot slower teams than we did on Tuesday. J.J. Pearce [has] a really fast team.”
The locations of the competitions also presented a difference in the meets. Most competitive pools operate with a distance of 25 yards per lap, while others operate with 25 meters. This might seem like an insignificant change, but because meters are longer than yards, swimming in a pool with meters yields slower results.
“The distance was different,” senior David Carlton said. “We do yards at our pool, but [J.J. Pearce] did meters at their pool, so it’s a very different environment.”
Swimmers who participated in both meets experienced some exhaustion due to the amount of physical exertion, but they know it will help them improve their speed in the long run.
“I think it shows extreme dedication [in] athletes to show up to the meet, even knowing that [they’re] going to get back late at night, [and] knowing that [they’re] going to have practice the next morning,” Carlton said. “Even though it might be hard to get up, I think you [need] to be dedicated [and] want to go to practice and want to be a better swimmer.”
Competitions at this point in the season remain critical for swimmers who want to do well at championship meets later on. While back-to-back meets with practice the next morning might seem overly-ambitious, the Tigersharks understand that the endurance they learn from these experiences gives them an advantage.
“Some of us didn’t even get home until later [than 1 a.m.], and our coaches still told us to be at practice the next morning,” senior Maya Olson said. “That’s what it’s gonna take to be competitive this year. Stop when you’re done and not when you’re tired.”
