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Dayan Rodriguez Vallejo, a breaststroke specialist out of McAllen, Tx., has announced his commitment to the University of Tennessee Southern (UT-Southern). A member of the high school class of 2022, Rodriguez Vallejo currently trains with Mission Marlins Aquatics in Mission, Tx.
I am excited to announce my commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at The University of Tennessee Southern. When I visited the campus and met Coach Peterson I felt he can help me swim at a higher level. The campus has a feel good atmosphere and I am certain that I am going to excel as a student and as an athlete. GO FIREHAWKS!!
Rodriguez Vallejo holds Futures qualifying times in the 100 breast in short-course yards along with the 100 and 200 breast in the long course pool. In addition to competing with the Mission Marlins, Rodrigues Vallejo competes at the high school level with McAllen Memorial High School.
At Memorial, Rodriguez Vallejo has qualified for the UIL State Championships three years in a row. His sophomore year of high school, McAllen Memorial competed in the 6A division (biggest schools), but the past two years they have competed in the 5A division (smaller schools). He also owns the school records in the 100 breastroke and the 200 IM (SCY).
He projects to make an immediate impact with UT-Southern, holding lifetime bests in the breaststroke events that would’ve finished in the top four of the Mid-South Conference Championships last year.
Best Times SCY:
- 100 breast- 57.99
- 200 breast- 2:08.69
- 200 IM- 1:59.60
At the 2022 UIL 5A State Championships, Rodriguez Vallejo placed ninth in the 100 breast (58.02), just off his 57.99 PB from December. He also finished 10th in the 200 IM, clocking 1:59.79 (against just off his best of 1:59.60), and was also a member of Memorial High School’s 400 free relay.
Last summer, Rodriguez Vallejo swam the 50 breast, 100 breast, 200 breast, and 200 IM at Speedo Sectionals in Austin (LCM), achieving new personal bests in each event. The 200 breast was his best finish of the meet, coming in 27th with a time of 2:29.41. This was over a second drop from his previous best, set just one week prior. Then, about a month later at the NCSA Championships, Rodriguez Vallejo re-lowered his best down to 2:28.87.
UT-Southern is an NAIA school that competes in the Mid-South Conference, or MSC. At the 2022 MSC Championships, the Firehawk men finished fourth out of nine teams. Rodriguez Vallejo’s best times would have placed him second in the 100 breast and fourth in the 200 breast, had he competed at last year’s championships. The Firehawks’ top finishes in these events last year were 19th and 14th, respectively.
When Rodriguez Vallejo arrives on campus in the fall, he will be joined by fellow class of 2022 recruits Grady Wheeler and Thomas Mussman, both of whom specialize in sprint freestyle.
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