After senior Levi Sandidge touched the wall at the state meet, a smile crept across his face. Sandidge, a member of the varsity swim team, broke the district record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:24.50 and came in 3rd place. This was his third time competing in the state meet.

“I was just excited to be third to touch the wall faster than the guy, like, here’s one of my guys that I’ve been racing a lot against for a while,” Sandidge said.

Sandidge competed on swim teams for years, starting with the City of Richardson swim team before he entered RHS swim. He is a third-generation swimmer at RHS, with his uncle and grandfather also swimming for the school.

“Watching Levi compete at such a high level of competition is something that I have grown accustomed to,” Sandidge’s grandfather and former RHS swimmer Steve Healy said.

This year, Sandidge broke the school record in the 200-yard individual medley set last year. During his time on the swim team, he has set several school records and was named an All-American swimmer for two years.

“He is an intensely dedicated person,” head swim coach Tori Whitehead said. “He spends as much time thinking about swimming and learning about it as he does training.”

Levi’s road to the state swim meet had its challenges. He competed in a difficult region and got sick during the district meet.

“Getting sick and just having to recover and gain my strength back from it and make it to state,” Sandidge said.

The swim team has changed since the team was established in 1969.

Healy and his teammates practiced at Cottonwood Pool and Perkins Natatorium at SMU in basic swimsuits and competed against anyone the coach was able to find.

“The neatest thing that I have seen over the years of watching RHS swimmers is that the program continues to flourish and continues to reach young students by encouraging swimming,” Healy said.

Sandidge has inspired other members of the team through his accomplishments.

“We’re all proud of his amazing journey because he stayed strong the whole time and pushed through when it really mattered,” junior Raine Dai said.

Sandidge hopes to leave a legacy and for other swimmers to eclipse his accomplishments.

“I want to inspire people to see my time, and I want them to try to beat it, go faster,” Sandidge said.