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Current and Former Texas Longhorns Take on Summer League Coach’s Challenge

When you live in Austin, Texas, a very active town with a huge swimming base, you can expect that any given citizen is probably a better dwimmer than one might expect from the population as a whole.

And with the influence of the legendary University of Texas swimming program, when you start looking around deck at summer league meets, there’s always a legend or two floating around in some capacity (including, at one point in his life, our own Gold Medal Mel, who is a former Austin-area ‘swim dad’).

So when Austin summer leagues host “coaches’ relays,” sometimes they serve as more than just a sideshow.

Above, Steve Navarro, a coach of the Lake Hills Splashers, shares a video of last night’s coaches’ relays. Some of the names you might recognize in this relay include 5-time NCAA Champion, 27-time NCAA All-American, 1996 Olympic medalist Whitney Hedgepeth; former NCAA qualifier Alison Soelter; former Texas swimmer Ben Anderson; Texas commit and 2015 high school state champion Mason Tenney; and 2015 NCAA Champion in the 200 breaststroke and 400 IM Will Licon. We’re told that another NCAA Champion, Joseph Schooling, was scheduled to participate, but had something come up at the last moment.

That’s a really impressive field, although it shows in some regard how much training matters in swimming – on a pure-speed 25, these world-class swimmers didn’t look as dominant as one might expect.

Good fun was had by all, and there was a free relay as well, but nobody filmed that one as some illegal bodysuits may have been in play.

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CT Swim Fan
9 years ago

That’s awesome, bet the little kids love that part of the meet.

Jack dunworth
9 years ago
Phil Jackson
9 years ago

Keep an eye on Mission Viejo this weekend. Licons longcourse debut

Phil Jackson
9 years ago

That freestyle anchor was out of this world

Bossanova
9 years ago

So that’s where Will Licon was… swimming in a summer league meet!

weirdo
9 years ago

where is will licon this summer? he hasn’t swum at any meets? injured? scared? ha!

TMD
Reply to  weirdo
9 years ago

Check out SMOC this weekend- Lincon is listed on he Psych Sheets

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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