Cleburne High School junior Samara Harman will be making her third consecutive appearance at the UIL 5A State Swim Meet on Tuesday after qualifying as the Region 2 champion in the 500-yard freestyle.

                She spent the weekend in San Antonio, the site of the boys and girls state contests this year, where she watched her brother, Matthew, win the silver medal in the 100-yard breaststroke. Cleburne was among the competitors in the boys 200-yard medley relay and three individual races.

                Despite her three-year state qualifying statistic, there are no signs of “been there, done that,” in Harman, who has been swimming competitively since she was seven. She learned to swim at the age of one.

                “Every year I’m always nervous,” she said. “It’s always a close race to get to state. It’s new every year. This year has been so different and the hardest training year ever. Your junior year of competition is very critical, in terms of college scholarship offers. This time next year, when I’m a senior, the rosters will have already been filled.”

                Harman views her performances at the Regional contest as consistently her best. Going into the Region 2 contest, she was seeded number two in the 500-yard free—and came away with the gold. She also took the silver in the 200-yard freestyle.

                “Regionals is where I seem to always have my biggest meet,” she said. “I’m still looking for a big state meet for myself. I don’t know why, but I don’t do as well at state. Nerves definitely set in.”

                She is, however, competing in her favorite event, as Harman views herself as a distance swimmer.

                “It’s my favorite,” she said. “When I get in the zone and a pace, I can go forever. I’ve always loved distance swimming.”

                As soon as the State Meet is over Tuesday night, Harman will immediately begin to get ready for next year. She plans to expand her versatility as she looks down the road to her senior year. She will be adding the Individual Medley to her skill set, to show she can do it all.

                “The IM involves all the strokes,” she said. “You have to know them, and have a good technique. Colleges look at someone who can swim all four strokes, both individually and within a relay. Being able to master that makes you versatile—it’s real attention-getting. It’s my least favorite event, but I think it will get me into college.”

                And while Harman is open to all offers and will be thrilled to swim wherever the best opportunity takes her, Texas A & M is where her heart lies.

                “It’s been my dream school since I could talk,” she said. “But I want to continue to compete, so I’m open. I wouldn’t like to go too far from Texas, but I would be okay to go out of state.”

                Another new wrinkle in her senior year will be the absence of a special teammate—her brother. Matthew Harman is a senior at CHS, and is also planning to extend his swimming career into college. Now a state medalist, those plans are looking extremely promising.

                “When I first came to high school, I thought, ‘I have to be here four years?’” she said. “Now, it’s, ‘wait—high school has gone by so fast.’ Next year will be different without Matthew. I’ve been swimming with him the past ten years—with him in the next lane. At Regionals, he’s always at the end of my lane when I finish a race. He’s one of my biggest supporters. It’s going to be sad to have him gone.”

                A passion for the pool in Samara and Matthew is a reflection of their father, who is their inspiration.

                “My dad trains with us every day,” Samara said. “He competes on a Master Swimmer team—he’s phenomenal. He understands us, as swimmers. He’s definitely been a big part of my swimming life. I get mad at myself when I don’t have a good race. I’ll go to him and he’ll just say, ‘Did you do your best? Well, that’s all that matters.’”

                When it comes to her career plans, Harman is inspired by her father and mother, who are both physicians. She is enrolled in Health Science Hospital Rotations this year, and will be taking Pharmacology as a senior.

                “I want to go the college and career route in medicine, that’s for sure,” she said. “While my parents are physicians, I’m looking at being a physician’s assistant or a nurse practitioner. “

                While she is happy to talk about the future, Harman remained focused on the ‘now’ as she discussed Tuesday’s State Meet. UIL COVID procedures implemented for 2020-21 not only divided the state contest into two events—boys and girls—to reduce crowd capacity, they were moved from The University of Texas to a larger facility, North East ISD’s Bill Walker and Josh Davis Natatorium. Preliminaries will begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, followed by finals at 5 p.m.

                “I’ve never competed in San Antonio, but I will be able to swim in the pool Sunday and Monday to get used to it,” she said. “Maybe the change in locations will be a good thing for me.”