Texas
Nate Germonprez: Texas' Un-Real Breaststroker Becomes #7 Performer in History
2024 Texas Hall of Fame Invite
- November 20-22, 2024
- Where: Lee and Joe Jamail Swimming Center — Austin, TX
- When: 10 am CT prelims/6 pm CT finals
- Participating Teams: Pitt, Stanford, Texas (host), USC, Wisconsin, BYU, Cal Poly
- Meet Info
- Live Results
- Results on Meet Mobile: “Texas Hall of Fame Swimming Invite”
- Day 1 Prelims Live Recap | Day 1 Finals
The Texas Longhorns entered the summer with a lot of weaknesses on paper that needed to be addressed, and via the addition of high profile transfers and international recruits, they have addressed many of those.
The big question mark, though, was the breaststroke leg and whether the Longhorns had someone good enough to challenge for an NCAA title.
The group was led last season by 5th year Jake Foster, who swam 51.22 at a dual meet, and Will Scholtz, who was 52.09 at Big 12s. 52.0 is a nice time by almost any measure, but for a team hoping to climb several rungs on a ladder and challenge for an NCAA title, it wasn’t going to be enough.
The comments read things like “where are the Longhorns going to find a true breaststroker,” referencing the fact that Texas didn’t have a swimmer finish higher than 16th at NCAAs in the 100 breast last year.
But on Thursday morning, they may have found their guy as Nate Germonprez, now a sophomore, turned a corner with a 50.39.
That makes him the 7th-best performer in the history of the event with the 15th best performance ever in a flat-start 100 yard breaststroke. Every time ranked ahead of him was done at a season-ending championship, making Germonprez’s swim the best mid-season time in history.
Top 10 Performers all-Time, Men’s 100 SCY Breaststroke
- Liam Bell, Cal – 49.53 (2024 NCAAs)
- Ian Finnerty, Indiana – 49.69 (2018 NCAAs)
- Max McHugh, Minnesota – 49.90 (2022 NCAAs)
- Caeleb Dressel, Florida – 50.03 (2018 SECs)
- Kevin Cordes, Arizona – 50.04 (2014 NCAAs)
- Carsten Vissering, USC – 50.30 (2019 NCAAs)
- Nate Germonprez, Texas – 50.39 (2024 Texas Invite)
- Caspar Corbeau, Texas – 50.49 (2022 NCAAs)
- Van Mathias, Indiana – 50.57 (2023 NCAAs)
- Brian Benzig, Towson – 50.59 (2024 NCAAs)
Germonprez is a bit of a paradox as a swimmer. He was a very good breaststroker in high school, winning an NCSA title in the 100 breaststroke in 2023. But he was so versatile that his 52.59 as a high school senior was almost overlooked, when in most classes that would make him a big ‘breaststroke’ signing.
We wrote several articles and did interviews in tribute to his versatility (here and here, for example).
He didn’t even swim a breaststroke race at the Olympic Trials, instead opting for the 50 free (53rd) and 200 IM (12th). He would later swim the 100 free (49.46), 200 IM (1:58.11), and the 100 breaststroke (1:00.48) at the Austin Futures meet, winning and going best times in each. His 100 breaststroke time would have put him into the semifinals at Trials.
Is he a real breaststroker? He’s not a pure breaststroker, if that’s what we mean when we say “real,” which is understandable because for most of swimming history, breaststrokers were sort of a different breed.
But he broke the school record of Caspar Corbeau (50.49), who is most certainly primarily a breaststroker (though he can sprint a little bit too).
When Germonprez and Modglin both committed to Texas, it was fun to daydream about what that tandem of versatility could bloom into in the college ranks, and now we’re seeing it happen. As much as Texas needed guys like Chris Guiliano and Kacper Mawiuk and Hubert Kos to move back into the national title picture this quickly, they really needed a breatstroker, and now they have one.
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When it comes to training the doctors and researchers who will staff hospitals, Texas holds its own on the world stage.
Several Texas health and medical institutions landed on U.S. News and World Report’s 2026-27 Best Global Universities list, with three cracking the global top 500 — led by UT Southwestern Medical Center at No. 113.
The list considered 13 indicators and weights to measure global research performance and reputation, ranking the world’s 2,250 top universities.
Here’s a look at how some major public and private health care and medical universities in Texas fared on the list.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Global Ranking: No. 113.
Location: Dallas, Texas.
Type: Public university.
Baylor College of Medicine
Global Ranking: No. 144.
Location: Houston, Texas.
Type: Private university.
University of Texas Health Science Center — Houston
Global Ranking: No. 324.
Location: Houston, Texas.
Type: Public university.
University of Texas Medical Branch — Galveston
Global Ranking: No. 599.
Location: Galveston, Texas.
Type: Public university.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Global Ranking: No. 1,871.
Location: Lubbock, Texas.
Type: Public university.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
AUSTIN – Texas officials are rolling out a new online hub aimed at helping residents spot and report the New World screwworm, a pest Gov. Greg Abbott says threatens livestock, wildlife, and the state’s rural economy.
Abbott announced the launch of screwworm.texas.gov, an enhanced website housed in the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s Disaster Portal that he described as a “one-stop shop” for information and resources tied to the state’s response.
The New World screwworm poses a direct threat to Texas livestock, wildlife, and our rural economy,” Abbott said. “This new website puts essential tools in the hands of our producers, veterinarians, and families. Screwworm.texas.gov delivers the facts, maps, identification methods, and certification resources Texans need to detect problems early and report cases without delay. Now every Texan has the information to act. Texas will protect our land, our animals, and our way of life from this pest.
According to the governor’s office, the site is designed to provide “actionable and reliable multimedia information” about the New World screwworm, including fact sheets, videos, and educational materials.
The portal includes background information, guidance on how to spot the pest, sample collection procedures, Texas Animal Health Commission New World screwworm zone maps, the U.S. Department of Agriculture case dashboard, links to best practices for livestock and wildlife, and details on registering for a new no-cost New World screwworm Certified Inspector Training.
The governor’s office said state and federal partners are working together to detect, control and contain the spread, and that expanding public outreach and providing clear information is a key part of reducing risk.
Abbott’s office also highlighted actions taken by the governor in response to the pest, including:
- Directing the creation of a joint Texas New World screwworm Response Team
- Joining USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to announce a $750 million investment in a new sterile fly production facility in Edinburg
- Issuing a statewide disaster declaration ahead of the first detection
- Deploying state resources and activating the State Emergency Operations Center after the first confirmed Texas cases
- Visiting the Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville for a briefing
- Launching a free online training course to certify more inspectors
- Announcing federal funding to strengthen inspection capacity.
Texans are urged to inspect livestock and pets for wounds and report suspected cases immediately, including in wildlife.
For livestock and pets, suspected cases should be reported to the Texas Animal Health Commission’s 24-hour veterinarian call line at 1-800-550-8242.
For wildlife, reports should be made to Texas Parks and Wildlife’s 24-hour biologists’ call line at 512-389-4505. Officials also warn people not to move affected animals.
More information and updates are available at screwworm.texas.gov and screwworm.gov.
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