Saturday February 11th, 2017, Josh Davis Natatorium – San Antonio, Texas
This past weekend in San Antonio, eight VS Vikings competed in the TAPPS State
Division 1 Swimming Championships at the Josh Davis Natatorium. This was the first
year the Vikings were competing in Division I as TVS is now a 6A School. Even the fire
alarm going off in the hotel late Friday night couldn’t stop the awesome performance of
the Vikings.

The ending result was extraordinary as the Viking Swimmers were able to surpass last
year’s point total from Division 2 State Championships and bring home three individual
medals.

Olivia G secured the silver medal in the women’s 50 free and a bronze medal in the 100
free. Hanadi A was also able to place 8th in the 500 Free.

Mac B took the bronze in the 100 Back while also placing 5th in the 200 IM.

Tom N was able to take 9th place in the 100 Free and bring home individual points for
the Vikings as well.

All four relay teams were able to score points. On the girl’s side they placed 5th in both
the 200 and 400 Free Relays. The Viking Men were able to take 7th in the 200 Medley
Relay and 9th in the 200 Free Relay.

Congratulations to all of the Viking swimmers who participated in our first go at State
Swimming Championships as a Division I team. It was a fantastic way to cap off the
season and represent The Village School on a state level.

Individual State Swimmers:
Olivia G 50 & 100 Free
Tom N 50 & 100 Free
Mac B 200 IM & 100 Back
Hanadi A 500 Free
Dennis F 100 Back & 100 Fly
Hazel S 100 Breast
Relay State Swimmers:
Nicole K 200 & 400 Free Relay
Rashal G 200 MR & 200 Free Relay

Thank you to our parents, and all who participated, for the support of our Village Swim Team. We could not have been so successful without your help and dedication.

It has been a pleasure getting to help these student-athletes improve both in their swim skills and sportsmanship. From 6th to 8th grade, boys and girls all worked together supporting and pushing each other to be successful. We had a great season, and as a team we improved so much from last season when we came in 6th at HJPC. Also, The Village School still holds 3 HJPC swim records; Boys 200 Medley Relay at 1:58.03, Mac B. 100 IM at 1:00.04, and Olivia G. 50 Free at 25.82.

This season, The Village School finished 3rd and our Boys Team won 1st as the HJPC Champion! For our relays, we scored Girls Medley 7th place, Boys Medley 1st place, & Boys Free 1st place. The top 8 times for individual races were Alex C. 1st 100 Free & 1st 50 Breast, Daniel I. 2nd 50 Free & 1st 50 Back, Matthew W. 3rd 100 IM & 3rd 50 Fly, Cole B. 5th 100 IM & 3rd 50 Breast, Arsyad G. 8th 50 Free & 3rd 100 Free, Shay B. 6th 50 Back, and Gabby B. 50 Fly 8th. Every single student-athlete on the team earned at least two person best times in the season. That was the goal and I am so proud of everyone accomplishing and/or surpassing it! All of the hard work and late night practices have paid off. I loved how excited everyone was for the meet shaking the competition’s hands, saying good luck and good job, cheering on deck, and watching each other’s races. Way to end the season with so many victories and positive attitudes! We represented Village very well.

I look forward to another great season next year, and hopefully in our own Village School pool!

Go Viking!

~Coach Steph Phillips

Friday January 20th, U of H Student Recreation & Wellness Center

Last Friday, January 20th, The VS Vikings competed in the TAPPS Eastern Regional
State Qualifier at the University of Houston Natatorium. This was the first year the
Vikings were competing in Division I as TVS is now a 6A School. The Vikings were up
to the task as they they qualified at least 8 swimmers for Division I State Championships
while finishing 5th in both the Men’s & Women’s competitions. Coach Doug is waiting
for the results of the other two State Regional Qualifiers, taking place on the 25th and
27th to determine which Viking Swimmers will get call-ups to State Finals.

Olivia G took home the gold medal in the women’s 50 free with a time of 24.45 and 2nd
place in the 100 free with a personal best of 53:84. Tom N put up another strong
performance while taking home second place in the 100 free with a time of 52.31 and
3rd place in the 50 free in 23.79. Mac B was his usual rock solid self with a 2nd place
finish in the 200 IM in 2:05.33 and another 2nd place in the 100 back with a time of
54.81.

The Viking relay teams had good results as well. Qualifying for States were both of the
women’s free relays taking 2nd place in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:55.97 and 2nd
place in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:45.00. Both men’s relay teams are looking
for call-ups to states and finished 5th in the 200 Medley Relay and 4th in the 400 Free
Relay.

Congratulations to all of the Viking swimmers who participated in our first go as a
Division I team. There were countless best times swum and they all represented Village
School in a way that would make us all proud. Scoring points and waiting on the results
from the other regional qualifiers are Nicole K 7th place 200 IM, Hazel S 8th place 200 IM
& 6th place 100 Breast, Dennis F 5th place 100 Fly & 7th place 100 Back, and Hanadi A
7th place 500 Free.

Also participating in the regional qualifier were Hazel S, Kyomi O, Katya H, Mia S,
Audrey W, Victoria W, Calvin K & Rashal G.

Individual automatic qualifiers:
Olivia G 50 & 100 Free
Tom N 50 & 100 Free
Mac B 200 IM & 100 BK

Relay Automatic Qualifiers:
Olivia G 200 & 400 Free Relay
Nicole K 200 & 400 Free Relay
Hazel S 200 & 400 Free Relay
Hanadi A 200 & 400 Free Relay

The Village Viking HS starts its second season hoping to build from what was a very successful inaugural season last year that saw 8 swimmers qualify for TAPPS State Championships.

The Lady Viking Swimmers are returning four state qualifiers, Kiera C, Katya H, Nicole K and Hazel S from last year’s team and this year welcome Olivia G. Olivia’s past times make her a hopeful for All-State honors this year.

The Viking Men return one State Qualifier this year, Dennis F, but have added Mac B, and Tom N to the HS roster as hopefuls to qualify and make the trip to State Championships.

With two competitions under their belt this season, the Viking HS Swim Team have two more competitions before year’s end and then they swim once more in January to get ready for the TAPPS Regional State Qualifier on January 20th at the University of Houston. The team practices together on Thursday nights at Westside HS and all the members of the team practice with the local USA Swimming clubs the other days of the week.

The HS Viking Swimmers are led by Coach Doug Buckalew who is in his second year as Head Coach and Director of Swimming. Coach Buckalew is assisted by Stephanie Phillips, who is also in her second year with the VS Swim Program.

Houston Methodist West Hospital will be holding physicals at The Village School Moore Gym on May 18 from 3:00 P.M. – 6:30 P.M.. Cost of the physical will be $25; we ask checks be payable to The Village School.

Students must bring the following forms correctly completed by both student and parent: Physical Evaluation and Medical History Form, Physical Assessment Form, Houston Methodist Physical Consent Form, and the Impact Testing Form. All forms can be found on The Village Athletics website under the tab Student Resources, or click the link below.

As a reminder, students do not need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian but must have all forms correctly completed and signed by parent/guardian in order to be able to have a physical completed.