Pershing Aquatics Program

Every season, when Pershing’s WaterPandas walk into the District II Championship meet, they aren’t just racing the other middle schools in Houston. They’re racing the clock—and the names on the record board.

The official HISD District II Middle School Records list the fastest swims ever posted by 7th and 8th graders, separated by girls and boys events. It’s a who’s-who of Houston ISD age-group legends… and if you look closely, you’ll see “Pershing ‘Pandas’” all over it.

Pershing already lives on the record board

WaterPandas from past seasons have left a serious mark on District II history:

• In the 7th-grade girls 200 Freestyle, Amber Ketterer set the standard with a blazing 2:16.29 for Pershing.
• In the 8th-grade boys 200 Freestyle, Javier Hernandez’s 1:53.97 remains one of the most dominant middle-school swims ever recorded at Districts.
• Hernandez also owns the 7th-grade boys 100 Freestyle record with a 54.55, making him one of the rare athletes to hold multiple freestyle marks on the same record sheet.
• Butterfly standout Emily Mahan added her name with a 27.89 in the 8th-grade girls 50 Butterfly, giving Pershing a record in one of the most technically demanding sprint stroke events.
• Most recently, in 2025, Daniel Gu exploded onto the scene with a 1:00.19 in the 7th-grade boys 100 IM, giving Pershing the latest addition to its record-book legacy.

Those swims aren’t just fast; they’re the kind of times that keep getting read out loud to new generations of WaterPandas each year as targets.

Spotlight: Daniel Gu, the IM record-holder who’s not done yet

Unlike most names on that record sheet, one of those record-holders is still on deck for Pershing this season.

Now an 8th grader, Daniel Gu returns as the defending District II 7th-grade 100 IM record-holder (1:00.19). That time already put him into rare territory for a 12–13-year-old.

If you look further down the record sheet, the 8th-grade boys 100 IM record stands at 58.89, set by Yung Foo of T.H. Rogers. That means Daniel’s 7th-grade record swim was only 1.30 seconds away from the all-time 8th-grade standard.

For a middle schooler, a drop of 1–1.5 seconds over a year in the 100 IM—especially with another full season of training, growth, and experience—is realistic and very much in play. That puts Daniel firmly in the “on track” conversation to challenge not just final heats, but the fastest 8th-grade IM ever swum in District II history.

Whether or not the record falls, having a current student-athlete already printed on the District II record sheet is a huge point of pride for Pershing and a clear example for younger WaterPandas of what’s possible in this program.

This year’s team: racing toward those standards

Beyond Daniel’s IM storyline, this season’s Pershing roster is young, deep, and balanced across 7th and 8th grade, girls and boys. In early dual meets and invitationals, several WaterPandas have already started closing the gap between “good meet swims” and “record-board territory” in their events.

• In the middle-distance freestyle events (200 Free, 100 Free), Pershing’s core of freestylers is starting to chip away at the times set by Ketterer and Hernandez.
  
• In the 50 Butterfly and 100 IM, the technical events that often decide the overall team score, a few Pandas are beginning to put together clean starts, strong underwater work, and legal strokes that could translate into big time drops by the championship meet.
  
• On the relays, where middle school swimmers often find their biggest jumps, the 7th and 8th grade squads are learning how to time exchanges, keep their nerves under control, and turn four good legs into one great team performance. Several relay groups are already pacing within a few seconds of the historic times posted by West Briar and Bob Lanier on the record board.

What it takes to go from “fast” to “record-fast”

District II records aren’t broken by accident. For a 12- or 13-year-old to hit those times, it takes:

• Consistency at practice – showing up, focusing on technique, underwater work, and race-pace efforts.
• Smart race strategy – knowing how to split a 100 or 200, when to push, and when to hold.
• Details, details, details – starts, turns, breakouts, finishes. At record speed, races are often decided by fractions of a second at the wall.

That’s exactly what the WaterPandas coaching staff is building into daily training: not just yardage, but purposeful sets that prepare swimmers to attack their best events at the end of the season—especially athletes like Daniel, who are close enough to the record that every tenth of a second matters.

Chasing names that look like theirs

One of the most powerful things about this record sheet is that many of the names on it are former HISD middle schoolers who sat in the same classrooms and swam in the same pools as today’s Pandas—including multiple Pershing athletes.

When current swimmers see “Pershing ‘Pandas’” next to records in the 200 Free, 100 Free, 50 Fly, and now the 7th-grade boys 100 IM, it sends a clear message:

WaterPandas don’t just participate at Districts. WaterPandas make history there.

This year’s team may or may not add a brand-new name to the official District II record book—but with every time drop, every clean turn, and every relay that comes together at the championship meet, they are getting closer.

And somewhere in this group of 7th and 8th graders, there is at least one swimmer—maybe a returning record-holder like Daniel Gu, maybe someone whose breakout swim is still coming—who will look up at the board, take a deep breath, and decide:

That record is going to belong to me one day.

Until then, the chase continues.