In what Belen Hurricanes head coach Andi Montaño called “the year of the boys,” five Hurricane swimmers qualified for the Sundance Aquatic Association finals in all three of their individual events at Thursday’s district meet.

Four of them were boys. Brady Peters, the youngest of the group, qualified in the 25 yard breaststroke, 25 yard backstroke and the 100 yard Individual medley in the 8-and-under division. Representing the 9-10 division, Reece Menchaca qualified in the 25 freestyle, 50 freestyle and 25 backstroke; and Zachary Jaramillo in the 25 breaststroke, 25 freestyle and 100 IM. 12-year-old Anthony Trujillo qualified in the 50 freestyle, 50 backstroke and 100 freestyle in the 11-12 division.
Jolene Martinez, 14, was the only female of the 100-plus Hurricane swimmers to accomplish the same. She qualified in the 100 yard backstroke, the 50 yard butterfly and the 100 yard IM.
The Hurricanes hosted the District A meet Thursday and came away with a total of 23 swimmers, 13 of which were boys,  earning 38 spots in Saturday’s Sundance finals. That means the Hurricanes will have representatives in events covering every age division, with some teammates competing against each other.
Individual swimmers qualify for the championships by placing in the top three at their district’s meet. Swimmers who do not qualify this way will qualify for “wild card” spots if they are one of the next four fastest swimmers league-wide.
The other 8-and-under qualifiers were Kade Benavidez in the 25 freestyle and 25 butterfly, Nazarea Layton in the 50 freestyle, Janelle Trujillo in the 25 breaststroke, and Marisol Olivas in the 25 butterfly.
Swimmers qualifying in the 9-10 division were Pilar Aguirre in the 25 butterfly and 100 IM, Gabriella Chavez in the 25 backstroke, Diego Casillas in the 25 back and 50 freestyle, and Maya Montaño in the 50 freestyle.
Representing the Hurricanes in the 11-12 division will be, Mikayla Torres in the 50 backstroke and 50 butterfly, Joelle Benavidez in the 50 backstroke, Arena Lewis in the 100 freestyle, and Madison Casillas in the 50 butterfly.
The 13-14 division had 5 qualifiers, including Colton Lewis in the 100 IM, Roman Prevot in the 50 and 100 freestyle, Justin Cordova in the 100 backstroke, and Emmanuel Chavez and Andrew Brads, both in the 50 butterfly.
The only swimmer to qualify in the oldest division, ages 15-18, was Aaron Gabaldon in the 100 backstroke.
Relays are finals-only, with no qualifying, so some swimmers who didn’t qualify as individuals can still compete with a relay team Saturday.
Montaño said she is pretty happy with the outcome because they are part of a “really tough” district. Last year, the club had only two swimmers qualify in all three of their respective events, so this year it more than doubled.
The swimmers and coaches are now looking forward to the Sundance finals, and are proud of their accomplishments.
“We did better than expected,” Montaño said.