After only clinching the last spot in finals by just over half a second on Friday, Coppell senior Aurelie Migault entered consolation finals of the girls 100-yard breaststroke on Saturday with another chance at placing high. 

After dropping .08 of a second, she climbed three spots to finish 13th at the  UIL Class 6A Swimming and Diving Meet at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin with a time of 1:05.11. 

Migault and Coppell senior Johan Pretorius both made consolation finals (consisting of the eight swimmers with the fastest times after the top eight) – Migault holding the 13th place she earned last year and Pretorius taking 14th in the boys 100-yard backstroke.  

“It went alright,” Migault said. “I didn’t go my best time, which I was hoping to do at my very last high school meet, but I was happy I was able to final and place 13th.”

With a best time and school record of 1:04.42, Migault’s finals time added almost seven-tenths of a second. However, compared to her final time from the 2019 season, 1:06.29, she shows a large amount of improvement. 

“I felt good [during finals]. I realized my mistake at prelims, which was not going fast enough on my second 50,” Migault said. “I tried to fix it. I guess it didn’t work out too well but I still felt good the whole time and I was just trying to race the other girls in my heat.”

In her second run to state and final time competing for Coppell, Migault met her goal to final again. 

“I was happy I made it,” Migault said. “Since I didn’t go best time [at prelims], I barely made it back to finals. I was looking forward to have another shot at it.”

Migault hopes to continue her swimming career at the United States Military Academy, where she has already received and accepted her appointment. 

The other Coppell swimmer who advanced to state, Pretorius, is also a West Point commit.

Pretorius entered state for the boys 100-yard backstroke for the third year in a row with three goals: make A finals for the first time, have a top-three finish and lower the school record (his own best time of 50.47) below the 50 second mark. 

Though his prelim time of 50.88 confined him to consolation finals (where the highest he could place is eighth) and his final swim resulted in a 14th place finish with a time of 51.31, Pretorius ends his Coppell swim career as nothing less than a high-level competitor. 

As District 5-6A and Region II champion for the 100-yard backstroke – as well as the District 5-6A 200-yard individual medley champion – for this season alone, Pretorius is the most decorated swimmer on the team. A captain in title this year, he previously led the team through achievements since his freshman year, in which he broke the school record for the 100-yard backstroke. This happened again his sophomore and then junior year. With an additional pool record at the Pinkerton Fitness Center during the TISCA Invitational last year in Texarkana, as well as two team school records (in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay), Pretorius has built an illustrious career that marks his final UIL meet as the end of an era for Coppell swim. 

Pretorius was not available for comment. 

The Coppell swim team hosts one more swim meet, though not an official competition or part of the season. The Golden Boot Dual takes place on May 1 at the Coppell YMCA, where Migault and Pretorius will swim one last time.

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