It’s twice as nice for Ellison’s Alyssa Ifill and Chaparral’s Christine Kim.
The two Killeen ISD swimmers on Saturday qualified for the UIL Swimming and Diving Championships, marking the second straight season in which the standouts accomplished that feat.
Ifill, a senior, finished second with a time of 23.98 seconds (an Ellison record) in the always-speedy 50-yard freestyle during the Class 5A Region VI meet at Texas A&M’s Rec Center Natatorium in College Station to claim the second and final automatic bid to state.
Kim, a sophomore, finished fourth in the same race, leaving her on the outside looking in at a return to University of Texas’ Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
However, Kim didn’t have to wait long for the door to open.
Her time of 24.66 was one of the eighth-fastest among the eight regions and earned her a call-up to the state meet.
Ifill faced a similar situation in the 100 free after placing third with a 52.19 (also a school record), just .04 behind the second-place time. Her time, though, was well within the call-up range, and a second event awaits Ifill when the state championships take place Feb. 23-24.
The two friends who compete for the same swim club, alternated gold and silver last month at the District 22-5A championships while sharing the award for swimmer of the meet.
Ifill was the league champion in the 100 free and runner-up in the 50 free. Kim claimed the district’s gold in the 50 free and the silver in the 100.