Sanchez has to do it quickly

McALLEN — In the 50-yard freestyle, there simply isn’t any time to make even one mistake.

For 23 seconds, eight swimmers battle to get even a tenth of a second’s worth of separation. One missed stroke or poorly executed breath can send a competitor from first to eighth in what seems like an instant.

Obviously, at the regional swim meet in Brownsville, McAllen Memorial junior Ricardo Sanchez didn’t have such worries. Sanchez, who also won the 100 fly and was a part of Memorial’s 400 freestyle relay champion, won the 50 free by 1.24 seconds over Victoria’s Justin Priesmeyer.

“This past month, I’ve been practicing real hard on my turns and my starts,” Sanchez said. “On the 50, you have to have a perfect start and perfect turns. It’s so short.”

Memorial coach Roxanne Balducci stresses that to Sanchez. She reminds Sanchez of the importance of the fundamentals in any race, especially the 50 free.

In other races of longer distances, a competitor as skilled as Sanchez might be able to overcome a mistake. That isn’t possibly, however, in the 50.

“The three key things are the start, the turn and the finish,” said Balducci, who would probably be proud that Sanchez mentioned the same keys. “It’s an all-out sprint. You’ve got to go out there and get after it.

“In the 50, there can’t be any mistakes. It’s so quick, so fast and everyone’s there.”

When he dives into the pool for the 50 free at the Jawail Swimming Center, Sanchez will be competing for the first time as an individual. He said he is expecting to be nervous until he steps onto the starting block.

Then, when he dives into the pool, all of those nerves will be gone. He won’t have time to think about all the splashing going on around him, or the screaming of the fans.

“It’s going to be tough,” Sanchez said. “I expect to make it to the finals.”

His coach, meanwhile, sounds like she won’t have time to be nervous during the race, either. If Sanchez, who is ranked 16 going into the state meet, can drop his time just a little bit, he could be able to make the finals.

And when he tries to do that, his coach will be feeling many of the same emotions.

“It’s very intense. You’re trying to time it and watch it and it just happens so quick,” Balducci said. “It’s like there and you look up at the clock and try to see who out-touched who. It’s amazing.”

Brian Sandalow covers high school swimming for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4436.