Sachse junior Augustus Friedel smiles for pictures at the UIL Class 6A state swimming and diving championships. He placed third in the 500 freestyle and fifth in the 200 freestyle. Photo courtesy Phillip Wiggins
By David Wolman
Last year, Sachse junior Augustus Friedel was happy just to make the state cut in the 100-meter butterfly.
Friedel finished second at the Region III-6A meet and continued to surprise himself at the Class 6A state meet, where he placed 15th.
As thrilled as Friedel was to compete at state, one of his coaches felt a change in events could potentially allow him to place even higher at last weekend’s meet in Austin. After performing better than expected in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle at a meet last December, one of his coaches encouraged him to continue competing in those two events and give up the 100 butterfly.
It has been a seamless transition for Friedel, who saw his dedication to his new events pay off in a big way Saturday. The Sachse junior finished third in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:28.59 and fourth in the 200 freestyle in 1:38.47 at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
With his third-place finish in the 500 free, Friedel became the first Sachse swimmer in the program’s brief six-year history to earn a medal at the state meet.
“It was very exciting,” head coach Phillip Wiggins said. “It is very hard to qualify for the state meet. So, not only was it impressive that he made state but to finish in the top three was amazing. His swims were not only school and district records, but All-American qualifying times.”
Friedel also teamed with sophomore Noah So, senior Boden Grubisich and sophomore Hudson Grubisich in the 400 freestyle relay. They placed 20th in Friday’s preliminaries with a time of 3:13.39. They are the first relay from Sachse to qualify for the state meet. The group earned its state berth after finishing second at regionals with a time of 3:12.86.
“We’ve always been really close,” So said. “We actually swam together a couple of years ago and are now back together. We swim together for four hours a day. We have really good chemistry.”
So also placed 21st at state in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 58.13.
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