March 2015 – South Florida Aquatic Club's Blog

SOFLO, FGC Swimmers Shine At All-Star Meet; SOFLO’s Kathleen Golding Wins Six Events

By Sharon Robb

March 30, 2015—South Florida Aquatic Club swimmers had a great showing and represented the Florida Gold Coast well at the annual All-Star Dual Meet at Indian River State College held in Fort Pierce this past weekend.

In the opening session despite less than ideal weather conditions, Kathleen Golding, 14, won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:53.23 and 400-yard individual medley in 4:28.44 ahead of Florida Swimming’s Sage Kemeny in 4:36.82.

Golding continued her winning ways in the second session capturing both the 200-yard individual medley in 2:04.86 and 500-yard freestyle in 4:59.14.

On the third and final day, Golding won the 100-yard freestyle in 51.86 and 200-yard breaststroke in 2:23.13.

Leonardo Mateus, won the 1,650-yard freestyle in 16:30.09 and was fifth in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:54.39.

Isabella DiSalvo posted a best time in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:24.63. Molly Golding scored in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:14.89 and swam best times in the 100-yard individual medley and 50-yard freestyle. Kayla Cunningham had a best time in the 100-yard butterfly.

In the boys races, John Paul Handal dropped 3.40 in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:21.80.

SOFLO’s 8-year-old Erika Pelaez led off the FGC’s runner-up 10-and-under 200-yard medley relay that was second in 2:08.32 with teammates Michelle Fernandez, Liah Perez and Isabella Chambers.

Rafael Rodriguez, 14, was a member of the runner-up boys 13-14 200-yard medley relay in 1:42.26 with Tyler Zuyus, Izaak Bastian and Eric Mathews.

Other FGC individual champions were:

Joshua Zuchowski, 10, 50-yard backstroke, 28.56; 100-yard breaststroke, 1:15.61; 100-yard backstroke, 1:00.93; 50-yard breaststroke, 33.70; 50-yard butterfly, 29.29.

Matthew Tarafa, 10, 100-yard freestyle, 58.79; 50-yard freestyle, 26.86.

Izaak Bastian, 14, 100-yard breaststroke, 59.99, breaking a minute for the first time with a career-best time; 200-yard breaststroke, 2:12.30.

Sebastian Lares, 10, 200-yard individual medley, 2:23.53; 200-yard freestyle, 2:07.53; 100-yard butterfly, 1:05.97.

Joshua Curtis, 12, 50-yard freestyle, 24.98.

Isabella Chambers, 10, 50-yard breaststroke, 34.55.

Liah Perez, 10, 50-yard butterfly, 29.86.

FGC relay winners were:

Boys 10-and-under 200-yard medley relay in 2:00.05 with Sebastian Lares, Joshua Zuchowski, Finn Winkler and Matthew Tarafa.

Boys 10-and-under 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:48.75 with Dylan Felt, Agustin Rodriguez, Kaii Winkler and Joshua Zuchowski.

Florida Swimming continued its win streak over Florida Gold Coast. The defending champion swept the combined, girls and boys team titles.

Florida Swimming won the combined, 810-510; the girls, 424-212; and the boys, 350-286.

After a rainy warm-up session on Friday night, Florida Swimming led from the opening day and built on its lead in every session.

The Florida Gold Coast coaching staff was Richard Garza, Julie Smiddy; 10-and-under girls Norman Abril; 10-and-under boys SOFLO’s Bianca Muniz; 11-12 girls Cathy Silveira; 11-12 boys, Jonathan Zuchowski; 13-14 girls Marcelo Gatti and 13-14 boys Greg Stallworth.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

South Florida Aquatic Club Well-Represented For All-Star Weekend; Bianca Muniz On All-Star Coaching Staff

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

March 25, 2015—The Florida Gold Coast will be well-represented with a star-studded roster for this weekend’s All-Star dual meet at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce.

The Florida Gold Coast All-Stars 132-member team will compete against defending champion Florida Swimming on Saturday and Sunday in three timed final sessions.

South Florida Aquatic Club, defending FGC Junior Olympic champion, is sending 19 swimmers to the two-day meet. It is the second largest contingent SOFLO has qualified in its 15-year history.

SOFLO age group coach Bianca Muniz is a member of the FGC All-Star coaching staff. She will coach the talented 10-under boys group.

SOFLO has ten girls and nine boys competing. The girls are sisters Kathleen, 14, Molly, 11, and Sally, 10, Golding; Valentina Carrion, 12, Kayla Cunningham, 11, Isabella DiSalvo, 12, Erika Pelaez, 8, Delanie Perez, 14, Jennifer Rodriguz, 14, and Marianna Serrao, 13.

The boys are John Paul Handal, 12, Zackary Harris, 10, Jie Hoon Lee, 12, Leonardo Mateus, 13, Brandon Moran, 13, Samuel Quintero, 14, Rafael Rodriguez, 13, Nicolas Rossi, 12, and Gabriel Segui.

Kathleen Golding is seeded first in the 400-yard individual medley and 500-yard freestyle, 4:55.09.

Last year Golding won the 100-yard freestyle in 51.76, 200-yard breaststroke in 2:24.38, 200-yard individual medley in 2:04.55, and 400-yard individual medley in 4:24.66

The meet, which encourages camaraderie and sportsmanship, is a good stepping stone to the junior national and national level.

The events are timed finals with sessions at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday.

Florida Gold Coast All-Stars are the underdogs. Florida Swimming dominates the meet annually although last year the FGC All-Star team had one of its finest showings.

Florida Swimming won the combined, 656.50-614.50 and women’s, 354.50-281.50 team titles. Florida Gold Coast won the boys team title, 333-302.

Among FGC champions were: Madelyn Hebert, 10, 50-yard butterfly, 29.70 and 50-yard breaststroke, 35.17; Andrea Santander, 12, 100-yard freestyle, 52.79, 50-yard freestyle, 24.40, 100-yard backstroke, 1:00.14, 50-yard breaststroke, 31.95; Savanna Yates, 100-yard breaststroke, 1:11.04, 100-yard individual medley, 1:00.28, 200-yard individual medley, 2:11.93; Jessica Nava, 14, 100-yard butterfly, 56.30, 200-yard butterfly, 2:03.65; Joshua Zuchowski, 9, 50-yard backstroke, 31.58, 100-yard backstroke, 1:06.45, 50-yard butterfly, 29.68, 100-yard individual medley, 1:07.33, 100-yard butterfly, 1:05.39; Varis Monroe, 10, 50-yard freestyle, 27.15; Victor Valdes, 10, 100-yard breaststroke 1:17.71; Aaron Rodriguez, 12, 50-yard freestyle, 24.29; Rafael Rodriguez, 12, 100-yard freestyle, 52.56, 500-yard freestyle, 4:58.01, 200-yard freestyle, 1:51.43, 100-yard individual medley, 1:00.19, 200-yard individual medley, 200-yard individual medley, 2:07.35; Aaron Rodriguez, 12, 50-yard backstroke, 27.74, 100-yard backstroke, 1:01.22; Gabriel Segui, 12, 100-yard breaststroke, 1:10.90; Nicholas Vale 12, 100-yard butterfly, 58.52, 50-yard breaststroke, 31.86; Nicholas Sharp, 14, 1,650-yard freestyle, 16:31.25; Alberto Gomez, 14, 200-yard breaststroke, 2:10.96, 200-yard individual medley, 1:57.76, 400-yard individual medley, 4:09.83; and Brandon Vives, 14, 100-yard breaststroke, 1:02.30.

The age group divisions featured in the 25-yard short course meet are 10-and-under, 11-12 and 13-14.

The FGC All-Star team was selected from the March 3-5 FGC Junior Olympics. The swimmers who finished in the Top 6 places qualified.

Among FGC’s boys top-seeds for the meet are:

Josh Zuchowski, 10, 50-yard backstroke, 28.49; 100-yard breaststroke 1:12.94; 100-yard individual medley, 1:03.39; 100-yard backstroke, 1:01.28; 50-yard breaststroke, 33.37; 50-yard butterfly, 27.91; Kaii Winkler, 9, 100-yard freestyle, 57.85; 200-yard freestyle, 2:04.43; Sebastian Lares, 10, 200-yard individual medley, 2:24.18; 100-yard butterfly, 1:03.79; Matthew Tarafa, 10, 50-yard freestyle, 26.19; and Joshua Curtis, 12, 50-yard freestyle, 24.65.

The FGC’s girls top-seeds are:

Isabella Chambers, 10, 100-yard breaststroke, 1:16.57; Nicole Aguilar, 10, 100-yard individual medley, 1:10.30; 100-yard butterfly, 1:06.21; Mattie Barfield, 12, 100-yard backstroke, 1:00.42; and Liah Perez, 10, 50-yard butterfly, 29.14.

FGC All-Star swimmers will get their uniforms and meet teammates and coaches during a meeting and warm-up session on Friday night.

FGC is expected to dominate the relays, always a strongpoint, and several individual events. Could this year be the year FGC pulls it off?

Several FGC awards will be presented after the meet including the Carol Englehart Spirit Award for overall leadership and sportsmanship. Each age group assistant will also give a plaque to the swimmers who make the greatest impact on their age group team.

IF YOU GO
WHAT: Florida Swimming vs. Florida Gold Coast All-Star Dual Meet
WHEN: Saturday, Session I, 9 a.m. and Session II, 5 p.m.; Sunday, Session III, 9 a.m.
WHERE: Indian River State College, 3209 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce
ADMISSION: $5, heat sheets per session $3.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

South Florida Aquatic Club Three-Peats At FGC Senior Championships; Sweeps All Three Titles For First Time

By Sharon Robb

March 22, 2015—Just when you think it can’t get any better, it did for South Florida Aquatic Club.

Not only did SOFLO get its three-peat, but swept all three team titles—combined, women’s and men’s—for the first time in the club’s 15-year history Sunday night at the Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships at Academic Village Pool in Pembroke Pines.

For the third year in a row, SOFLO won the combined and women’s team titles and for the first time the men’s team title.

It was also the third year in a row SOFLO has won both the Florida Gold Coast Junior Olympics and Senior Championships in the short course season.

SOFLO won the combined team title with a team record 3,080.50 points. SOFLO has never amassed 3,000 points in any major meet. Gulliver Swim Club was second with 2,356 and Swim Fort Lauderdale was third with 2,045.

SOFLO won the women’s team title with 1,697.50 points followed by Swim Fort Lauderdale with 1,087 and Gulliver Swim Club with 1,059.50.

SOFLO made more history by winning the men’s team title for the first time with 1,383 points. Gulliver Swim Club was second with 1,296.50 and Azura Florida Aquatics with 1,217.50.

The men’s victory was even more impressive because several of its swimmers were unattached including Jorge Murillo Valdes, Julien Pinon, Jonathan Farah and Max and Sam Asnis.

After getting dunked in the pool for only the third time in his coaching career, SOFLO head coach Chris Anderson was still somewhat shocked at his team’s accomplishments.

“I am really shocked we found a way on our staff to actually win the men, women and combined for the first time and combined three years in a row,” a soggy Anderson said.

“I am extremely happy. We had 23 people in our Asteroids and lessons program come up over the last five years and be point scorers and be on our relays. It’s a huge testament to what we are doing.”

SOFLO dominated the meet from the opening day buoyed by depth, talent and relays.

“It is slightly overwhelming to cultivate a team and culture of getting the kids to work hard for a goal and to actually pull it off three years in a row,” Anderson said. “I’m not sure I envisioned three years in a row.

“To win the men’s title is a huge feather in our cap. That was our weakest part but we actually worked hard at the 10-11 age group to perform when they got to this level. This was a six-year long term plan.”

While winning the first two years was great, Anderson said this time around “for sure is the sweetest.

“For our volunteers, officials and coaching staff to be able to do this three years in a row; for our men to click like they did; for our women to continue their success and to have the pros fire on all cyclinders is a huge accomplishment,” Anderson said.

“I’m not complacent, but I am very happy where we are at. Of course, there is more to do. We want to take our senior kids to the next level but as far as the clear path, the right path, we have definitely taken the right road.”

Three-time Jamaican Olympian and world record holder Alia Atkinson broke another Jamaican national record, this time in the 50-yard freestyle in 22.74, bettering her previous best of 23.01. Atkinson also won her signature event, the 100-yard breaststroke in 58.08.

Atkinson was also a member of SOFLO’s winning 200-yard medley relay in 1:43.53 with teammates Kelley Heron, Valentina Artemeva and Kathleen Golding.

Other individual winners for SOFLO were:

Kelley Heron won the 15-16 100-yard backstroke in 58.22 and second in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:08.44.

Jessica Rodriguez won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:05.01 and was fifth in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:09.94.

Carolina Colorado, swimming unattached for SOFLO, won the open 100-yard backstroke in 53.72 and 200-yard individual medley in 2:02.62. Colorado was also second in the 50-yard butterfly in 24.76.

Colombian Jorge Murillo Valdes won the 100-yard breaststroke in 53.62 and was second in the 50-yard butterfly in 22.88.

Other SOFLO finalists were:

Melissa Marinheiro was second in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 17:05.16. She was also tenth in the 50-yard butterfly in 27.28 and tenth in the 50-yard freestyle in 25.08.

Kathleen Golding was second in the open 200-yard individual medley in 2:03.60. She was also fourth in the 50-yard butterfly in 26.02 and sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:06.63.

Valentina Artemeva was second in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:01.37 and second in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.85.

SOFLO’s women’s 400-yard medley relay was second in 3:54.72 with Heron, Rodriguez, Artemeva and Golding.

Kylie Herman was fifth in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 18:10.04 and Lilli Calero was ninth in 18:42.45.

Natasha Testa was seventh in the 50-yard butterfly in 27.67 and Jessica Rodriguez in 27.92.

CJ Kopecki was second in the 1,650-yard freestyle in a career-best 16:12.62, dropping from 16:12.62. Ricardo Roche was sixth in 16:38.91, Jordan Colon was nineh in 16:44.72 and Juan Diaz was tenth in 16:45.96.

Timothy Wynter was second in the 100-yard backstroke in 52.94 and fourth in the 50-yard butterfly in 23.14.

Julien Pinon, swimming unattached for SOFLO, was second in the 50-yard butterfly in 23.27, third in the 100-yard backstroke in 52.53 and fourth in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:55.88.

Juan Lucas was seventh in the 100-yard backstroke in 54.48, Esteban Diaz-Velasco was eighth in 54.54 and Bruno Berti was tenth in 55.97.

Jonathan Farah, swimming unattached, was third in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:01.81 and fifth in the 100-yard backstroke in 53.92 and Ryan Capote was seventh in 55.36.

Ervin Marin was fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:00.60, seventh in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:58.04 and tenth in the 50-yard butterfly in 24.39.

Bruno Berti was eighth in the 50-yard freestyle in 22.55.

A field of more than 500 swimmers from 32 teams competed in the three-day meet that was hosted by SOFLO for the second consecutive day.

The meet featured most of the Florida Gold Coast teams. In addition to SOFLO and Azura, among teams entered are St. Andrew’s Swimming, Miami Swimming, Gulliver, Coral Springs Swim Club, Pompano Beach, Swim Fort Lauderdale, Wahoos of Wellington, Metro Aquatics, Lake Lytal Lightning, AquaKids Sharks, Performance Aquatics, Boca Raton and Plantation Swim Team.

SUNDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. South Florida Aquatic Club 3,080.50, 2. Gulliver Swim Club 2,356, 3. Swim Fort Lauderdale 2,045, 4. Miami Swimming 1,368.50, 5. Azura Florida Aquatics 1,357.50, 6. Metro Aquatic Club of Miami 1,262.50, 7. Coral Springs Swim Club 1,069.50, 8. Boca Raton Swim Team 672, 9. Pompano Beach Piranhas 572, 10. Plantation Swim Team 474.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. SOFLO 1,697.50, 2. Swim Fort Lauderdale 1,087, 3. Gulliver Swim Club 1,059.50, 4. Miami Swimming 863.50, 5. Coral Springs Swim Club 560.50, 6. Metro Aquatics 527.50, 7. Pompano Beach Piranhas 491, 8. Boca Raton Swim Team 408, 9. Wahoos of Wellington 395, 10. Performance Aquatics 384.50.

MEN’S TEAM TOTALS: 1. SOFLO 1,383, 2. Gulliver 1,296.50, 3. Azura 1,217.50, 4. Swim Fort Lauderdale 958, 5. Metro Aquatics 735, 6. Coral Springs Swim Club 508, 7. Miami Swimming 505, 8. Miami Dade County 281, 9. YMCA of Broward County 280.50, 10. AquaKids Sharks 280.

WOMEN HIGH POINT: 1. Allison Kopas, SFTL 191, 2. Jessica Rodriguez, SOFLO 180.50, 3. Laine Morgan, Miami Swimming 177, 4. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 165, 5. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 162; SOFLO: 7. Carolina Colorado 159, 8. Kelley Heron 152, 10. Kathleen Golding 147, 14. Melissa Marinheiro 134, 28. Valentina Artemeva 84, 32. Star Fassler, 82, 37. Kylie Herman 76, 50. Lisa Blackburn 55,66. Liz Travieso 42, 68. Lilli Calero 39, 72. Natasha Testa 37, 81. Delanie Perez 28, 85. Elise Larin 26, 92. Jennifer Rodriguez 22, 99. Abby Oyetunji 19, 108. Vanessa Mesa 16, 121. Jennifer Martin 11, 121. Stephanie Mlujeak 11, 121. 11, 131. Alexandra Crespo 8, 142. Isabella DiSalvo 4, 151. Raquel Lugo 2.

MEN HIGH POINT: 1. Nick Carter, Gulliver 192, 2. Nikita Tretyakov, SFTL 188, 3. Miguel Cancel, Gulliver 183, 4. Luke Smutny, AK Sharks 176, 5. Julien Pinon, SOFLO 164; SOFLO: 8. Ervin Marin 156, 10. Jonathan Farah 145, 11. Timothy Wynter 131, 13. Jorge Murillo Valdes 122, 15. CJ Kopecki 117, 17. Ryan Capote 104, 28. Juan Lucas 93, 46. Jordan Colon 62, 46. Kevin Porto 62, 48. Bruno Berti 59, 60. Leonardo Mateus 49, 61. Ricardo Roche 48, 63. Max Asnis 47, 69. Esteban Diaz-Velasco 40, 70. Samuel Quintero 39,73. Juan Diaz 36, 80. Rafael Rodriguez 32, 82. Gustavo Valery 31, 92. Alfredo Mesa 26, 112. Sam Asnis 16, 117. Brandon Moran 14, 125. Matthew Menocal 10, 127. Gabriel Segui 9, 137. Brendan Cassie 6, 145. Simon Ortiz 3.

WOMEN

200-yard medley relay: 1. SOFLO 1:43.53 (Kelley Heron, Valentina Artemeva, Alia Atkinson, Kathleen Golding), 2. Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:46.88, 3. Miami Swimming 1:47.79.

100-yard backstroke: 15-16, 1. Kelley Heron, SOFLO 58.22, 2. Melannie Vargas, Miami-Dade 58.62, 3. Brooke Ellis, Gulliver 1:00.01; SOFLO: 11. Liz Travieso 1:02.41; Open, 1. Carolina Colorado, SOFLO 53.72, 2. Laine Morgan, Miami Swimming 56.10, 3. Amanda Tipton, Swim Fort Lauderdale 56.33; SOFLO: 19. Carly Swanson 1:03.01.

1,650-yard freestyle: 1. Catalina Galea Berraud, Swim Fort Lauderdale Unattached 17:01.55, 2. Melissa Marinheiro, SOFLO 17:05.16, 3. Cloe Bedard-Khalid, Metro Aquatics 17:11.31; SOFLO: 5. Kylie Herman 18:10.04, 9. Lilli Calero 18:42.45, 13. Alexandra Crespo 19:53.37.

50-yard butterfly: 15-16, 1. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 26.21, 2. Isabella Pittinger, Coral Springs 26.78, 3. Paloma Sanchez, Miami Swimming 26.93; SOFLO: 7. Natasha Testa 27.67, 9. Jessica Rodriguez 27.92, 13. Liz Travieso 28.45; Open, 1. Catalina Mendieta, PAQ 24.74, 2. Carolina Colorado, SOFLO Unattached 24.76, 3. Kelly Harrington, Boca Raton 24.95; SOFLO: 4. Kathleen Golding 26.02, 10. Melissa Marinheiro 27.28, 14. Vanessa Mesa 27.77, 17. Carly Swanson 28.19.

100-yard breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Jessica Rodriguez, SOFLO 1:05.01, 2. Allison Kopas, Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:05.96, 3. Fatimah Westbrook, Pompano Beach 1:07.08; SOFLO: 13. Kelley Heron 1:11.11; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 58.08, 2. Valentina Artemeva, SOFLO 1:01.37, 3. Caitlin Ahern, Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:04.26; SOFLO: 6. Kathleen Golding 1:06.63, 13. Elise Larin 1:09.44, 17. Delanie Perez 1:11.22.

50-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Catharine Cooper, Coral Springs Swim Club 23.79, 2. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 24.34,3. Fatimah Westbrook, Pompano Beach 24.75; SOFLO: 15. Liz Travieso 26.00, 17. Abby Oyetunji 26.10; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 22.74, 2. Valentina Artemeva, SOFLO 23.85, 3. Kelly Harrington, Boca Raton 24.01; SOFLO: 10. Melissa Marinheiro 25.08, 11. Jennifer Martin 24.98, 18. Vanessa Mesa 25.61, 20. Carly Swanson 25.78.

200-yard individual medley: 15-16, 1. Allison Kopas, Swim Fort Lauderdale 2:04.79, 2. Kelley Heron, SOFLO 2:08.44, 3. Brooke Ellis, Gulliver 2:08.55; SOFLO: 5. Jessica Rodriguez 2:09.94; Open, 1. Carolina Colorado, SOFLO Unattached 2:02.62, 2. Kathleen Golding, SOFLO 2:03.60, 3. Amanda Tipton, Swim Fort Lauderdale 2:04.75; SOFLO: 17. Delanie Perez 2:16.99, 19. Kylie Herman 2:18.39.

400-yard medley relay: 1. Swim Fort Lauderdale 3:50.75 (Amanda Tipton, Caitlin Ahern, Elizabeth Zubero, Allison Kopas), 2. SOFLO 3:54.72 (Kelley Heron, Jessica Rodriguez, Valentina Artemeva, Kathleen Golding), 3. Miami Swimming 3:56.61.

MEN

200-yard medley relay: 1. Metro Aquatics 1:35.90 (Aitor Fungairino, Bernardo Lima, Alejandro Carriazo, Adrian Moya), 2. Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:37.11, 3. Metro Aquatics 1:37.38, 4. SOFLO A 1:37.49 (Timothy Wynter, Ervin Marin, Juan Lucas, Ryan Capote), 10. SOFLO B 1:42.73 (Gustavo Valery, Brendan Cassie, Alfredo Mesa, Bruno Berti).

100-yard backstroke: 15-16, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, Swim Fort Lauderdale 48.90, 2. Alberto Gomez, Miami-Dade 50.86, 3. Julien Pinon, SOFLO Unattached 52.53; SOFLO: 7. Juan Lucas 54.48, 8. Esteban Diaz-Velasco 54.54, 10. Bruno Berti 55.97, 14. Kevin Porto 56.04, 20. Ricardo Roche 58.43; Open, 1. Nick Carter, Gulliver 48.49, 2. Timothy Wynter, SOFLO 52.94, 3. Nicolas Oberndorfer, Gulliver 53.50; SOFLO: 5. Jonathan Farah, SOFLO Unattached 53.92, 7. Ryan Capote 55.36, 15. Leonardo Mateus 58.34.

1,650-yard freestyle: 1. Franco Lupoli, Azura 15:35.65, 2. CJ Kopecki, SOFLO 16:12.62, 3. Matthew Fisher, Boca Raton 16:13.98; SOFLO: 6. Ricardo Roche 16:38.91, 9. Jordan Colon 16:44.72, 10. Juan Diaz 16:45.96, 13. Kevin Porto 16:48.37, 16. Sam Asnis 16:59.80, 19. Matthew Menocal 17:10.16.

50-yard butterfly: 15-16, 1. Raphael Marcoux, Swim Fort Lauderdale 22.91, 2. Julien Pinon, SOFLO 23.27, 3. Maximilian Garcia-Del Pozo, Metro Aquatics 23.45; SOFLO: 10. Ervin Marin 24.39, 13. Juan Lucas 24.73, 17. CJ Kopecki 25.13, 19. Alfredo Mesa 25.21, 20. Gustavo Valery 25.25; Open, 1. Nick Carter, Gulliver 22.19, 2. Jorge Murillo Valdes, SOFLO Unattached 22.88, 3. Rob Ballestas, Miami Swimming 23.13; SOFLO: 4. Timothy Wynter 23.14.

100-yard breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Tristian Celestin, Azura 59.35, 2. Alberto Gomez, Miami Dade 59.40, 3. Jose Pascual, Coral Springs 59.92; SOFLO: 4. Ervin Marin 1:00.60, 17. Brendan Cassie 1:04.89; Open, 1. Jorge Murillo Valdes, SOFLO Unattached 53.62, 2. AJ Reid, Miami Swimming 59.04, 3. Jonathan Farah, SOFLO Unattached 1:01.81; SOFLO: 14. Samuel Quintero 1:07.95, 16. Gabriel Segui 1:09.12.

50-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Raphael Marcoux, Swim Fort Lauderdale 21.08, 2. Philippe Marcoux, Swim Fort Lauderdale 21.45, 3. Nikita Tretyakov, Swim Fort Lauderdale 21.47; SOFLO: 8. Brunto Berti 22.55, 14. Gustavo Valery 22.81; Open, 1. Nick Carter, Gulliver 21.04, 2. Julius Petzold, Miami Swimming 21.30, 3. Joseph Donato, Miami Dade 21.59; SOFLO: 11. Ryan Capote 21.69, 12. Timothy Wynter 22.04.

200-yard individual medley: 15-16, 1. Niktia Tretyakov, Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:50.64, 2. Miguel Cancel, Gulliver 1:51.90, 3. Alberto Gomez, Miami Dade 1:53.03; SOFLO: 4. Julien Pinon 1:55.88, 7. Ervin Marin 1:58.04, 16. Max Asnis 2:04.03, 17. Bruno Berti 2:04.99, 20, Ricardo Roche 2:06.43; Open, 1. Carlos Herrera, Azura 1:51.68, 2. Nicholas Nord, Gulliver 1:56.59, 3. Jonathan Farah, SOFLO Unattached 1:57.59; SOFLO: 14. Leonardo Mateus 2:06.40, 17. Gabriel Segui 2:12.50.

400-yard medley relay: 1. Metro Aquatics 3:28.83, 2. Gulliver 3:32.59, 3. Swim Fort Lauderdale 3:33.82; 6. SOFLO A 3:37.40 (Timothy Wynter, Ervin Marin, Juan Lucas, Ryan Capote).

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

SOFLO Leads FGC Senior Championships After Day Two

By Sharon Robb

March 21, 2015—Jessica Rodriguez and Kathleen Golding highlighted another good showing of South Florida Aquatic Club swims Saturday night at the Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships at Academic Village Pool in Pembroke Pines.

Rodriguez, 16, won the 200-yard breaststroke in a career-best time 2:17.38, nearly three seconds ahead of Allison Kopas, 16, of Swim Fort Lauderdale. Her previous best was 2:19.68.

Golding, 14, won the women’s 400-yard individual medley in 4:17.41, also a career-best time, lowering her previous best of 4:21.14. She topped an impressive field that included Kelly Fertel, 17, of Gulliver and Amanda Tipton, 18, of Swim Fort Lauderdale.

“Those were two good solid times peaking into national level swims,” SOFLO coach Chris Anderson said.

Three-time Jamaican Olympian and world record holder Alia Atkinson, 26, broke her national record in the 100-yard butterfly, winning in 52.62, nearly three seconds ahead of teammate Carolina Colorado.

Earlier, Colorado, 27, swimming unattached for SOFLO, had knocked off Atkinson in the 50-yard backstroke, 25.07-25.42.

SOFLO’s Valentina Artemeva, 28, was second in the 200-yard breaststroke in a career-best 2:16.48, bettering her previous best of 2:20.97.

Colombian Jorge Murillo Valdes, 23, swimming unattached for SOFLO, won the 200-yard breaststroke in a best time 1:57.81, the only swimmer in the field to dip under 2 minutes. His previous best was 2:04.55.

SOFLO won the women’s 800-yard freestyle relay in 7:32.27 with Atkinson, Kelley Heron, Melissa Marinheiro and Golding.

Entering the third and final day, South Florida Aquatic Club will go after a three-peat. SOFLO is trying to win the Senior Championships and Junior Olympics in the same short course season and looks to be in the driver’s seat.

SOFLO leads the combined team standings with 2,068.50 points. Gulliver Swim Club is second with 1,519.50 points and Swim Fort Lauderdale is third with 1,301. The top three teams are the only ones to break 1,000 points.

SOFLO also leads the women’s team standings with 1,109.50 points ahead of Gulliver (695.50) and the men’s results with 959 points, also ahead of Gulliver (824).

Among other top SOFLO swims:

Juan Lucas, 16, won the B final of the 100-yard butterfly in 53.40 with an impressive time drop. His previous best was 55.63. CJ Kopecki, 15, was second in the B final in the 100-yard butterfly in 53.63.

Ervin Marin, 15, was third in the 400-yard individual medley in a best tie 4:06.54. His previous best was 4:07.57. Marin was third in the 200-yard breaststroke in a best time 2:09.24, dropping from 2:09.91. Marin also won the B final of the 200-yard freestyle in a best time 1:44.23, dropping from 1:45.39.

Florida State-bound Jordan Colon, 17, won the B final of the 50-yard backstroke in a best tie 27.01, dropping from 28.14.

Kelley Heron, 15, was second in the 50-yard backstroke in a best time 27.78, dropping from 28.19.

Abby Oyetunji, 15, was second in the B final of the 200-yard freestyle in a best time 1:58.82, the first time she cracked 2 minutes. Her previous best was 2:02.32.

Anderson was impressed with the team’s second day swims.

“This is the meet we really tried to focus on and really tried to peak at,” Anderson said. “We wanted to finish off the short course season right before long course and end on a high note as far as short course.

“Our swimmers had some great time drops and swims. Tonight goes to the Gold Group and National Group. They did a really good job executing their races.

“Our kids are really improving, building confidence and pushing their bodies a lot stronger because of pride which we have been trying to do and instill in these kids for a while now,” Anderson said.

A field of more than 500 swimmers from 32 teams are competing in the three-day meet, the last major meet of the short course season for age group swimmers.

The meet has attracted most of the Florida Gold Coast teams. In addition to SOFLO and Azura, among teams entered are St. Andrew’s Swimming, Miami Swimming, Gulliver, Coral Springs Swim Club, Pompano Beach, Swim Fort Lauderdale, Wahoos of Wellington, Metro Aquatics, Lake Lytal Lightning, AquaKids Sharks, Performance Aquatics, Boca Raton and Plantation Swim Team.

SATURDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. South Florida Aquatic Club 2,068.50, 2. Gulliver 1,519.50, 3. Swim Fort Lauderdale 1,301, 4. Miami Swimming 931, 5. Azura Florida Aquatics 858.50, 6. Metro Aquatic Club of Miami 784, 7. Coral Springs Swim Club 617.50, 8. Boca Raton Swim Team 434.50, 9. Pompano Beach Piranhas 380, 10. Plantation Swim Team 310.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. SOFLO 1,109.50, 2. Gulliver 695.50, 3. Swim Fort Lauderdale 686, 4. Miami Swimming 538, 5. Metro Aquatic Club of Miami 337.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. SOFLO 959, 2. Gulliver 824, 3. Azura Florida Aquatics 775.50, 4. Swim Fort Lauderdale 615, 5. Metro Aquatic Club of Miami 447.

WOMEN

200-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 1:51.02, 2. Caroline Schirmer, St. Andrew’s 1:52.76, 3. Allison Kop,as Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:55.31; SOFLO: 10. Lilli Calero 2:03.18, 12. Abby Oyetunji 1:58.82; Open, 1. Nicole Urquidi, Gulliver 1:49.14, 2. Alina Schulhofer, PAQ 1:50.33, 3. Melissa Marinheiro, SOFLO 1:51.49; SOFLO: 15. Kylie Herman 1:57.85.

50-yard backstroke: 15-16, 1. Melannie Vargas, Miami Dade 27.09, 2. Kelley Heron, SOFLO 27.78, 3. Paloma Sanchez, Miami Swimming 28.39; SOFLO: 4. Jessica Rodriguez 28.87, 6. Liz Travieso 29.20, 10. Star Fassler 29.52; Open, 1. Carolina Colorado, SOFLO Unattached 25.07, 2. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 25.42. 3. Laine Morgan, Miami Swimming 26.07; SOFLO: 8. Melissa Marinheiro 27.65, 13. Kathleen Golding 27.98.

200-yard breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Jessica Rodriguez, SOFLO 2:17.38, 2. Allison Kopas, Swim Fort Lauderdale 2:20.73, 3. Victoria Miyamoto, Pompano Beach 2:22.34; SOFLO: 8. Star Fassler 2:32.92; Open, 1. Kelly Fertel, Gulliver 2:15.26, 2. Valentina Artemeva, SOFLO 2:16.48, 3. Elizabeth Zubero, Swim Fort Lauderdale 2:18.95; SOFLO: 5. Lisa Blackburn 2:23.00, 11. Delanie Perez 2:32.85, 15. Elisa Larin 2:37.88.

100-yard butterfly: 15-16, 1. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 56.20, 2. Caroline Schirmer, St. Andrew’s 58.97, 3. Natalya Wozab Unattached 1:00.12; SOFLO: 4. Kelley Heron 1:00.37, 15. Natasha Testa 1:02.04; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 52.62, 2. Carolina Colorado, SOFLO 54.01, 3. Catalina Mendieta, PAQ 55.80; SOFLO: 18. Kylie Herman 1:01.46, 19. Vanessa Mesa 1:01.63.

400-yard individual medley: 15-16, 1. Allison Kopas, Swim Fort Lauderdale 4:25.31, 2. Jessica Rodriguez, SOFLO 4:31.77, 3. Brooke Ellis, Gulliver 4:32.85; SOFLO: 8. Star Fassler 4;48.48; Open, 1. Kathleen Golding, SOFLO 4:17.41, 2. Kelley Fertel, Gulliver 4:19.72, 3. Amanda Tipton, Swim Fort Lauderdale 4:21.02; SOFLO: 6. Kylie Herman 4:50.26, 7. Jennifer Rodriguez 4:50.50.

800-yard freestyle relay: Open, 1. SOFLO 7:32.27 (Alia Atkinson, Kelley Heron, Melissa Marinheiro, Kathleen Golding), 2. Gulliver 7:37.97, 3. Swim Fort Lauderdale 7:47.56.

MEN

200-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:38.57, 2. Julian Pinon, SOFLO Unattached 1:40.37, 3. Luke Smutny, AquaKids Sharks 1:40.50; SOFLO: 8. CJ Kopecki 1:44.46, 11. Ervin Marin 1:44.23, 15. Kevin Porto 1:46.11, 16. Max Asnis 1:47.21, 18. Alfredo Mesa 1:48.33, 19. Juan Lucas 1:49.46; Open, 1. Nick Carter, Gulliver 1:39.21, 2. Timothy Wynter, SOFLO 1:42.47, 3. Bryce Pierce, Coral Springs 1:43.08; SOFLO: 5. Ryan Capote 1:45.70, 17. Jordan Colon 1:48.37.

50-yard backstroke: 15-16, 1. Nikita Tretyajov, Swim Fort Lauderdale 23.62, 2. Julien Pinon, Unattached SOFLO 24.57, 3. Jose Llanio, Metro Aquatics 24.88; SOFLO: 6. Bruno Berti 25.57, 9. Gustavo Valery 25.69, 10. Juan Lucas 25.74, 13. Esteban Diaz-Velasco 26.07, 14. Kevin Porto 26.33, 20. Alfredo Mesa 27.29; Open, 1. Nick Carter, Gulliver 22.42, 2. Rob Ballestas, Miami Swimming 25.04, 3. Julius Petzold, Miami Swimming 25.22; SOFLO: 8. Ryan Capote 26.19, 11. Jordan Colon 27.01, 16. Leonardo Mateus 28.25.

200-yard breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Alberto Gomez, Miami Dade 2:06.84, 2. Jose Pascual, Coral Springs 2:07.09, 3. Ervin Marin, SOFLO 2:09.24; SOFLO: 16. Ricardo Roche 2:19.55; Open, 1. Jorge Murillo Valdes, SOFLO Unattached 1:57.81, 2. Marco Guarente, Azura 2:01.99, 3. Cole Moreno, Gulliver 2:17.06; SOFLO: 8. Samuel Quintero 2:24.33.

100-yard butterfly: 15-16, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, Swim Fort Lauderdale 49.47, 2. Julien Pinon, SOFLO Unattached 50.05, 3. Luke Smutny, AquaKids 50.39; SOFLO: 11. Juan Lucas 53.40, 12. CJ Kopecki 53.63, 20. Alfredo Mesa 56.13; Open, 1. Nick Carter, Gulliver 49.16, 2. Rob Ballestas, Miami Swimming 50.15, 3. AJ Reid, Miami Swimming 51.34; SOFLO: 9. Jonathan Farah, SOFLO Unattached 53.18, 16. Jorge Murillo Valdes 52.26, 17. Timothy Wynter 52.34.

400-yard individual medley: 15-16, 1. Miguel Cancel, Gulliver 3:57.77, 2. Alberto Gomez, Miami Dade 4:02.21, 3. Ervin Marin, SOFLO 4:06.54; SOFLO: 5. CJ Kopecki 4:09.79, 11. Max Asnis 4:21.07, 16. Bruno Berti 4:29.18, 23. Matthew Menocal 4:36.23; Open, 1. Marco Guarente, Azura 4:04.82, 2. Nicholas Nord, Gulliver 4:06.49, 3. Nicolas Oberndorfer, Gulliver 4:11.26; SOFLO: 5. Jonathan Farah 4:16.00, 13. Leonardo Mateus 4:26.55, 18. Brandon Moran 4:48.18.

800-yard freestyle relay: Open, 1. Metro Aquatics 6:48.72 (Alejandro Carriazo, Alejandro Arrieta, Aitor Fungairino, Miguel Madeira), 2. Swim Fort Lauderdale 6:56.57, 3. Gulliver 6:56.96, 5. SOFLO 7:10.99 (Ryan Capote, Kevin Porto, CJ Kopecki Timothy Wynter).

IF YOU GO

What: Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships

When: Today, 8:30 a.m.-12:01 p.m. prelims, 5-7:30 p.m. finals.

Where: Academic Village Pool, 17191 Sheridan Street, Pembroke Pines

Admission: $3 per session, $3 heat sheet per session. For information call 954-538-3721.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

South Florida Aquatic Club Opens With Big Night At FGC Senior Championships

By Sharon Robb

March 20, 2015—Two-time defending champion South Florida Aquatic Club turned in one of its finest opening night performances in a major meet Friday night at the Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships at Academic Village Pool in Pembroke Pines.

SOFLO swimmers broke three national records and two Florida Gold Coast records.

After Day One, SOFLO leads the combined team scoring with 1,283 points. Gulliver Swim Club is second with 890.50 and Swim Fort Lauderdale is third with 672. SOFLO leads the men’s standings with 625 followed by Azura Florida Aquatics, 498, and Gulliver, 449 and women’s standings with 658 followed by Gulliver with 441.50 and Swim Fort Lauderdale with 356.

Three-time Jamaican Olympian and world record holder Alia Atkinson, 26, of SOFLO, was a triple winner breaking three national records and Florida Gold Coast record with career-best times.

Atkinson won the 200-yard butterfly in 1:57.71, bettering her previous time of 2:01.00. She also broke the FGC record of 1:58.71 set a year before she was born by Pam Hayden.

Atkinson also won the 50-yard breaststroke in 26.86, bettering her previous time of 26.96 and 100-yard individual medley in 54.01. Her previous time was 54.41.

Colombian Jorge Murillo Valdes, swimming unattached for SOFLO, was a double winner. He broke the Florida Gold Coast record of three-time Olympian Vlad Polyakov of Coral Springs Swim Club in the 50-yard breaststroke in 24.74. The previous record of 24.82 was set in 2009. Valdes also won the 100-yard individual medley in 51.31. Both were career-best times.

SOFLO’s Kelley Heron, 15, won the 100-yard individual medley in a career-best 59.87. It was the first time she cracked one minute and won her first senior age group title in the event. Her previous best was 1:01.13.

SOFLO swept the women’s 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays. SOFLO won the 200 free relay in 1:33.95 with Atkinson, Kathleen Golding, Valentina Artemeva and Lisa Blackburn and 400 free relay in 3:27.88 with Artemeva, Melissa Marinheiro, Atkinson and Golding.

Golding, 14, finished second in the 500-yard freestyle in a career-best time 4:54.43. She was also second in the 100-yard freestyle in 51.58.

Jessica Rodriguez was second in the 15-16 50-yard breaststroke in 30.59 and 100-yard individual medley in 1:01.31. Artemeva was second in the open in 27.68 followed by teammate Lisa Blackburn (29.84), a national record holder in Bermuda and at 43, the oldest swimmer competing in the meet.

Colombian Carolina Colorado, swimming unattached for SOFLO, was second in the 100-yard individual medley in 56.77.

Jamaican national record holder Timothy Wynter of SOFLO was second in the open 200-yard backstroke in 1:54.17 and 100-yard individual medley in 53.54. Julien Pinon, swimming unattached for SOFLO, was second in the 200-yard butterfly in 1:49.41 and third in the 100-yard individual medley in 53.63. Teammate Ervin Marin was second in the 50-yard breaststroke in 27.73. CJ Kopecki was third in the 15-16 500-yard freestyle in 4:40.20 and Rafael Rodriguez was second in the open 500-yard freestyle in 4:44.37.

“The kids swam phenomenal,” SOFLO head coach Chris Anderson said. “For sure this was one of our better nights in a major meet.

“It was an overall team effort. The 15-16 and Open categories have our people competing, racing and having fun.”

SOFLO’s pro swimmers had a big night, all swimming career-best times in the finals. “If those kids are producing now, they are all going to go faster,” Anderson said.

SOFLO has the largest contingent of swimmers (61) in the meet.

“The girls are having fun, the guys are having fun,” Anderson said. “They are competing. It looks like they want to race and swim fast in their home pool. We did well last year but it’s an entirely different mood this year. It’s a more mature mood of both fun and fast racing. We are showing that we are more than just an age group club.”

In other opening night highlights:

Kyla Valls, 16, of Miami Swimming was a double winner. Valls outsprinted Catharine Cooper of Coral Springs Swim Club to win the 100-yard freestyle in 51.41-51.75. She came back in the next event to win the 200-yard butterfly in a best time 2:02.65, dropping from 2:02.77.

Nick Carter, 25, of Gulliver Swimming won the 200-yard backstroke in 1:46.93 and 100-yard freestyle in 46.08.

Brothers Raphael and Philippe Marcoux of Swim Fort Lauderdale finished one-two in the 100-yard freestyle, 45.97-46.52. Raphael was also second in the 100-yard individual medley in 53.31.

Swim Fort Lauderdale swept the men’s relays. The 200-yard freestyle relay of Philippe Marcoux, Raphael Marcoux, Scott Clark and Nikita Tretyakov won in 1:25.18. The foursome also won the 400 free relay in 3:07.94.

A field of more than 500 swimmers from 32 teams are competing in the three-day meet.

FRIDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. South Florida Aquatic Club 1,283, 2. Gulliver 890.50, 3. Swim Fort Lauderdale 672, 4. Miami Swimming 560, 5. Azura Florida Aquatics 546, 6. Metro Aquatics 454, 7. Coral Springs Swim Club 392, 8. Pompano Beach 258, 9. Boca Raton Swim Team 213, 10. Plantation Swim Team 200.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. SOFLO 658, 2. Gulliver 441.50, 3. Swim Fort Lauderdale 356, 4. Miami Swimming 334, 5. Pompano Beach Piranhas 231.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. SOFLO 625, 2. Azura 498, 3. Gulliver 449, 4. Swim Fort Lauderdale 316, 5. Metro Aquatics 280.

WOMEN

200-yard freestyle relay: Open, 1. SOFLO A 1:33.95 (Alia Atkinson, Kathleen Golding, Valentina Artemeva, Lisa Blackburn), 2. Miami Swimming 1:37.50, 3. Gulliver 1:37.71, 10. SOFLO B 1:41.58 (Melissa Marinheiro, Kelley Heron, Carly Swanson, Liz Travieso).

200-yard backstroke: 15-16, 1. Allison Kopas, SFTL 2:04.20, 2. Caroline Schirmer, SAS 2:05.77, 3. Melannie Vargas, MDC 2:05.89; SOFLO: 4. Kelley Heron 2:06.04, 9. Star Fassler 2:17.70, 11. Stephanie Mlujeak 2:16.58, 15. Abby Oyetunji 2:19.67; Open, 1. Carolina Colorado, SOFLO Unattached 1:56.23, 2. Amanda Tipton, SFTL 1:58.67, 3. Melissa Marinheiro, SOFLO 2:03.41; SOFLO; 17. Carly Swanson 2:15.44, 19. Isabella DiSalvo 2:15.88.

100-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 51.41, 2. Catharine Cooper, Coral Springs 51.75, 3. Caroline Schirmer, SAS 53.32; SOFLO: 7. Kelley Heron 54.41; Open, 1. Laine Morgan, Miami Swimming 51.42, 2. Kathleen Golding, SOFLO 51.58, 3. Andrea Santander, Gulliver 51.63; SOFLO: 10. Melissa Marinheiro 53.49, 17. Kylie Herman 55.15, 20. Vanessa Mesa 55.98.

200-yard butterfly: 15-16, 1. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 2:02.65, 2. Brooke Ellis, Gulliver 2:03.72, 3. Victoria Miyamoto, Pompano Beach 2:08.71; SOFLO: 4. Jessica Rodriguez 2:10.33, 8. Natasha Testa 2:22.34; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 1:57.71, 2. Kelly Fertel, Gulliver 2:03.95, 3. Laine Morgan, Miami Swimming 2:05.89; SOFLO: 10. Kylie Herman 2:15.73.

50-yard breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Fatimah Westbrook, Pompano Beach 30.30, 2. Jessica Rodriguez, SOFLO 30.59, 3. Victoria Miyamoto, Pompano Beach 31.26; SOFLO: 12. Star Fassler 33.33; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 26.86, 2. Valentina Artemeva, SOFLO 27.68, 3. Lisa Blackburn, SOFLO 29.84; SOFLO: 12. Delanie Perez 32.48, 13. Elise Larin 32.49, 15. Jennifer Rodriguez 32.96.

100-yard individual medley: 15-16, 1. Kelley Heron, SOFLO 59.87, 2. Jessica Rodriguez, SOFLO 1:01.31, 3. Brooke Ellis, Gulliver 1:01.33; SOFLO: 7. Star Fassler 1:02.98, 19. Raquel Lugo 1:08.94; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 54.01, 2. Carolina Colorado, SOFLO Unattached 56.77, 3. Laine Morgan, Miami Swimming 58.03; SOFLO: 6. Lisa Blackburn 58.55, 7. Kathleen Golding 58.67, 17. Elise Larin 1:05.57, 18. Vanessa Mesa 1:05.85, 19. Isabella DiSalvo 1:06.34.

500-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Luisa Braga, Azura Unattached 4:59.68, 2. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 5:03.27, 3. Victoria Miyamoto, Pompano Beach 5:05.15; SOFLO: 10. Lilli Calero 5:24.07; Open, 1. Nicole Urquidi, Gulliver 4:51.53, 2. Kathleen Golding, SOFLO 4:54.43, 3. Andrea Santander, Gulliver 4:54.46; SOFLO: 4. Melissa Marinheiro 4:56.53; SOFLO: 10. Kylie Herman 5:12.50.

400-yard freestyle relay: 1. SOFLO A 3:27.88 (Valentina Artemeva, Melissa Marinheiro, Alia Atkinson, Kathleen Golding), 2. Swim Fort Lauderdale 3:32.17, 3. Gulliver 3:32.37, 11. SOFLO B 3:43.72 (Kelley Heron, Abby Oyetunji, Kylie Herman, Carly Swanson).

MEN

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:25.18 (Philippe Marcoux, Raphael Marcoux, Scott Clark, Nikita Tretyakov) 1:25.18, 2. Miami Swimming 1:26.91, 3. Metro Aquatics 1:26.99, 5. SOFLO A 1:28.03 (Timothy Wynter, Ryan Capote, Alfredo Mesa, Ervin Marin), 10. SOFLO B 1:30.07 (Matthew Menocal, Bruno Berti, CJ Kopecki, Kevin Porto).

200-yard backstroke: 15-16, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:46.29, 2. Miguel Cancel, Gulliver 1:49.14, 3. Alberto Gomez, Miami Dade 1:51.46; SOFLO: 6. Esteban Diaz-Velasco 1:54.29, 7. Juan Lucas 1:56.35, 8. Kevin Porto 1:57.73, 14. Ricardo Roche 2:00.89, 16. Bruno Berti 2:03.11, 19. Matthew Menocal 2:08.32; Open, 1. Nick Carter, Gulliver 1:46.93, 2. Timothy Wynter, SOFLO 1:54.17, 3. Nicolas Oberndorfer, Gulliver 1:55.23; SOFLO: 4. Jonathan Farah, Unattached 1:56.50, 9. Jordan Colon 2:00.37, 12. Leonardo Mateus 2:04.70, 13. Samuel Quintero 2:08.69.

100-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Raphael Marcoux, SFTL 45.97, 2. Philippe Marcoux, SFTL 46.52, 3. Luke Smutny, AquaKids Sharks 47.30; SOFLO: 10. Alfredo Mesa 49.59, 11. CJ Kopecki 48.33, 14. Gustavo Valery 49.92, 15. Kevin Porto 50.01, 16. Max Asnis, SOFLO Unattached 50.05, 18. Matthew Menocal 50.55; Open, 1. Nick Carter, Gulliver 46.08, 2. Joao Vyttor Silveira, Unattached CSSC 46.70, 3. AJ Reid, Miami Swimming 47.13; SOFLO: 7. Ryan Capote 48.28, 8. Timothy Wynter 48.37.

200-yard butterfly: 15-16, 1. Luke Smutny, AquaKids Sharks 1:48.28, 2. Julien Pinon, SOFLO-Unattached 1:49.41, 3. Miguel Cancel, Gulliver 1:49.71; SOFLO: 4. CJ Kopecki 1:53.79, 9. Juan Diaz 1:59.81, 10. Max Asnis, SOFLO Unattached 2:01.04; Open, 1. Rob Ballestas, Miami Swimming 1:50.54, 2. Nicholas Nord, Gulliver 1:51.17, 3. Fernando Bohorquez, Azura 1:52.02; SOFLO: 6. Jonathan Farah, SOFLO Unattached 1:58.10.

50-yard breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Tristian Celestin, Azura 27.65, 2. Ervin Marin, SOFLO 27.73, 3. Jose Pascual, Coral Springs 27.87; SOFLO: 17. Ricardo Roche 30.07, 19. Brendan Cassie 30.14; Open, 1. Jorge Murillo Valdes, SOFLO Unattached 24.74, 2. AJ Reid, Miami Swimming 27.10, 3. Francisco Calderon, Azura 28.24; SOFLO: 11. Brandon Moran 31.64, 12. Samuel Quintero 31.88, 18. Simon Ortiz 38.23.

100-yard individual medley: 15-16, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, SFTL 50.47, 2. Raphael Marcoux, SFTL 53.31, 3. Julien Pinon, SOFLO Unattached 53.63; SOFLO: 5. Ervin Marin 55.07, 10. Juan Lucas 57.61, 15. Alfredo Mesa 56.97, 19. Gustavo Valery 57.69; Open, 1. Jorge Murillo Valdes, SOFLO Unattached 51.31, 2. Timothy Wynter, SOFLO 53.54, 3. AJ Reid, Miami Swimming 53.61; SOFLO: 4. Jonathan Farah, Unattached 54.84, 10. Ryan Capote 56.92, 11. Rafael Rodriguez 56.93.

500-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Miguel Cancel, Gulliver 4:31.35, 2. Luke Smutny, AquaKids Sharks 4:38.90, 3. CJ Kopecki, SOFLO 4:40.20; SOFLO: 5. Ervin Marin 4:43.79, 9. Juan Lucas 4:48.63, 10. Kevin Porto 4:40.35, 11. Samuel Asnis, Unattached 4:49.93, 13. Max Asnis, Unattached 4:50.97, 16. Ricardo Roche 4:52.10, 18. Matthew Menocal 4:52.79; Open, 1. Franco Lupoli, Azura 4:27.13, 2. Rafael Rodriguez, SOFLO 4:44.37, 3. Nicholas Nord, Gulliver 4:45.25; SOFLO: 4. Jordan Colon 4:47.48, 8. Ryan Capote 4:51.90, 9. Leonardo Mateus 4:53.93.

400-yard freestyle relay: 1. Swim Fort Lauderdale 3:07.94 (Philippe Marcoux, Raphael Marcoux, Scott Clark, Nikita Tretyakov), 2. Metro Aquatics 3:09.76, 3. Gulliver 3:09.89, 7. SOFLO A 3:15.20 (Timothy Wynter, Ryan Capote, Alfredo Mesa, CJ Kopecki), 9. SOFLO B 3:17.67 (Ervin Marin, Kevin Porto, Matthew Menocal, Bruno Berti).

IF YOU GO

What: Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships

When: Today-Sunday

Schedule: Saturday, 8:30-11:30 a.m. prelims, 5-7:15 p.m. finals; Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-12:01 p.m. prelims, 5-7:30 p.m. finals.

Where: Academic Village Pool, 17191 Sheridan Street, Pembroke Pines

Admission: $3 per session, $3 heat sheet per session. For information call 954-538-3721.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

Host SOFLO Goes For Three-Peat At FGC Senior Championships

By Sharon Robb

March 19, 2015—South Florida Aquatic Club, coming off successful Junior Olympic and Speedo Champion Series meets, will try to keep the momentum going at this weekend’s Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships.

The host and defending champion will try to win its third consecutive senior title when the three-day meet gets under way Friday at Academic Village Pool in Pembroke Pines.

SOFLO is trying to sweep both the JO and Senior Championship meets for the third year in a row during the same season.

The 15-year-old club has been working towards moments like this since its early years of existence.

Last year SOFLO won the combined team title with 1,740 points and women’s team title with 977 points. Azura Florida Aquatics defending men’s champion.

A field of more than 500 swimmers from 32 teams will compete for the next three days. Host SOFLO is the largest team with 62 swimmers. Azura has the second largest contingent.

“We are going to do it the same way we have the last two years,” SOFLO coach Chris Anderson said. “We have the depth but this year we have a lot more quality to go with it.

“We had a wonderful team dinner tonight,” Anderson said. “The kids are very motivated about doing their best and excited about being a team player. They are motivated to cheer on their training partners and do best times. It’s going to be a great meet.”

Among SOFLO’s top seeds are three-time Jamaican Olympian and world record holder Alia Atkinson, 26, competing in nine events; Colombian Jorge Murillo Valdes, 23, swimming unattached for SOFLO; Valentina Artemeva, 28, Melissa Marinheiro, 17, Kelley Heron, 15, Jessica Rodriguez, 16, and Ervin Marin, 15.

Among Azura’s top-seeds are Tristan Celestin, 16; Franco Lupoli, 21; Fernando Alatorre, 16; Marco Guarente, 18; Mateo Gonzalez, 18; and Carlos Herrera, 20.

Swim Fort Lauderdale, Gulliver, Coral Springs Swim Club, St. Andrew’s Swimming, Miami Swimming, AquaKids Sharks, Pompano Beach Piranhas, Lake Lytal Lightning and Metro-Dade also have top-seeded swimmers.

IF YOU GO

What: Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships

When: Friday-Sunday

Schedule: Friday, 8:30-11:30 a.m. prelims, 5-7:30 p.m. finals; Saturday, 8:30-11:30 a.m. prelims, 5-7:15 p.m. finals; Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-12:01 p.m. prelims, 5-7:30 p.m. finals.

Where: Academic Village Pool, 17191 Sheridan Street, Pembroke Pines

Admission: $3 per session, $3 heat sheet per session. For information call 954-538-3721.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

South Florida Aquatic Club Makes Team History At Speedo Champions Series

By Sharon Robb

March 15, 2015—South Florida Aquatic Club posted its highest finish in team history at the four-day Speedo Sectional Championships that ended Sunday at Plantation Aquatic Complex.

SOFLO finished fourth in the combined team standings with 639 points; the women’s team finished second with 395 points and men’s team was sixth with 244 points at the Speedo Champions Series Southern Zone South Sectional Championships.

It was SOFLO’s best finish since it’s been competing in the meet since 2002.

“This is huge for the team,” SOFLO coach Chris Anderson said. “It shows how well-rounded we are. I thought we could do it. It’s nice to see it actually come true.”

“We swam pretty solid, I’m pretty happy,” Anderson said. “I think we turned some heads. It shows that the things that we are doing really work. We are getting it done and that’s a testimony to our entire staff.”

SOFLO competed against a world-class field over four days. Several of its swimmers did not swim a full schedule of races. World record holder Alia Atkinson swam only two races. Valentina Artemova didn’t compete on the third day in favor of training. Lisa Blackburn swam prelims but not finals on Sunday. A handful of swimmers were unattached and unable to score points.

“Those things alone and the fact we basically gave away 200 points is a good sign we can still do better,” Anderson said. “We had another overall team performance to finish the meet.”

Carolina Colorado of Colombia, swimming unattached for SOFLO, was second in the 200-meter backstroke in 2:15.84. Colorado finished fourth among high point awards with 85 points.

Melissa Marinheiro was sixth in the 800-meter freestyle in 9:16.85. SOFLO teammates Lilli Calero, Jessica Rodriguez, Kathleen Golding, Jennifer Rodriguez, Carly Swanson and Marinheiro all swam best times.

Colombia’s Jorge Murillo-Valdes, competing unattached for SOFLO, won the 200-meter breaststroke in 2:16.43, his fastest unshaved and unrested time. He was among the Top 15 high point with 55 points.

CJ Kopecki finished seventh in the 200-meter butterfly in a career-best 2:09.09. It was the first time he broke 2:10. Teammate Julien Pinon swam a best time 52.88 in the 100-meter freestyle, the first time he cracked 53 seconds.

Timothy Wynter was eighth in the 200-meter backstroke in 2:13.80.

Rafael Rodriguez was eighth in the 1500-meter freestyle in a best time 16:49.01. Leonardo Mateus also swam a best time 17:16.79.

“It’s good to see our men’s team is emerging from a little boy team to a powerhouse in the Gold Coast and that’s what we are trying to achieve,” Anderson said.

“I think what we did at this meet is definitely going to build confidence. I am ecstatic what’s happening with the older athletes. I really feel they are stepping up and emerging into world-class swimming. I feel that is where SOFLO is heading.”

SUNDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura Florida Aquatics 855.50, 2. Seacoast Swimming Association 747, 3. Phoenix Swimming 695, 4. South Florida Aquatic 639, 5. Gator Swim Club 625, 6. Bluefish 621, 7. Blue Dolfins 576, 8. Swim Fort Lauderdale 292, 9. Auburn Aquatics 246.50, 10. Greater Holyhoke YMCA 236.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Seacoast 550, 2. SOFLO 395, 3. Gator Swim Club 355, 4. Swim Fort Lauderdale 276, 5. Phoenix Swimming 263.50.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura 725.50, 2. Phoenix Swimming 431.50, 3. Bluefish 359, 4. Blue Dolfins 343, 5. Gator Swim Club 270, 6. SOFLO 244.

HIGH POINT AWARDS

WOMEN: 1. Andreina Pinto, Gator Swim Club 100, 2. Kyra Sarazen, Seacoast 92, 3. Erin Voss, Greater Holyhoke YMCA 87; SOFLO: 4. Carolina Colorado 85, 14. Valentina Artemova 49, 16. Kathleen Golding 48, 25. Claire Donahue 37, 32. Alia Atkinson 34, 34. Melissa Marinheiro 32, 41. Lisa Blackburn 24, 61. Kelley Heron 12, 68. Jessica Rodriguez 10.

MEN: 1. Maxwell Miranda, Bluefish 88, 2. Carlos Herrera, Azura 77, 3. Pawel Korzeniowski, Poland 76; SOFLO: 14. Jorge Murillo Valdes 55, 39. Timothy Wynter 28, 40. CJ Kopecki 26, 42. Rafael Rodriguez 23, 46. Julien Pinon 22, 47. Marc Rojas 21, 207. Samuel Asnis 1.

WOMEN

800-meter freestyle: 1. Andreina Pinto, Gator Swim Club 8:44.62, 2. Luisa Braga, Unattached 9:05.50, 3. Kate Magill, Seacoast 9:07.78; SOFLO: 6. Melissa Marinheiro 9:16.85, 26. Kylie Herman 9:50.78, 38. Lilli Calero 10:07.70, best time.

200-meter butterfly: 1. Andreina Pinto, Gator Swim Club 2:12.26, 2. Isabel Reis, Seacoast 2:17.95, 3. Alena Kraus, MACG 2:18.11.

100-meter freestyle: 1. Sandrine Mainville, Canada 55.58, 2. Michelle Williams, Unattached 56.07, 3. Hannah Riordan, Auburn Aquatics 56.19; SOFLO: 23. Melissa Marinheiro 1:01.26, best time.

200-meter breaststroke: 1. Martha McCabe, Canada 2:26.74, 2. Hilda Luthersdottir, Gator Swim Club 2:27.71, 3. Lindsey Swartz, Pine Crest 2:37.03; SOFLO: 10. Jessica Rodriguez 2:42.72, best time, 17. Kathleen Golding 2:47.78, best time, 31. Jennifer Rodriguez 2:55.00, best time.

200-meter backstroke: 1. Erin Voss, HYV 2:10.80, 2. Carolina Colorado, SOFLO-Unattached 2:15.84, 3. Kyra Sarazen, Seacoast 2:19.79; SOFLO: 17. Kelley Heron 2:27.15, 32. Jessica Rodriguez 2:39.41, 74. Carly Swanson 2:39.22, best time.

400-meter freestyle relay: 1. Blue Dolfins 4:05.72 (Madison Floyd, Kaitlyn Hunt, Ashley Boddiford, Kelsey Hahn), 2. Phoenix Swimming 4:08.47, 3. North Shore 4:09.37, 5. SOFLO A 4:05.32 (Kelley Heron, Kathleen Golding, Melissa Marinheiro, Kylie Herman), 26. SOFLO B 4:24.30 (Abolade Oyetunji, Star Fassler, Jessica Rodriguez, Lilli Calero).

MEN

1500-meter freestyle: 1. Alejandro Gomez, Gator Swim Club 15:48.25, 2. Franco Lupoli, Azura 16:05.35, 3. Luke Nelson, Seacoast 16:07.57; SOFLO: 8. Rafael Rodriguez 16:49.01, best time, 17. Leonardo Mateus 17:16.79, best time.

200-meter butterfly: 1. Marcin Cieslak, Gator Swim Club 2:00.53, 2. Zack Chetrat, Unattached 2:00.64, 3. Maxwell Miranda, ABF 2:00.79; SOFLO: 7. CJ Kopecki 2:09.09, best time.

100-meter freestyle: 1. Pawel Korzeniowski, Poland 50.16, 2. Marcelo Chierighini, Auburn Aquatics 50.35, 3. Renzo Tjon A Joe, Auburn Aquatics 50.44; SOFLO: 11. Julien Pinon 52.88, best time.

200-meter breaststroke: 1. Jorge Murillo-Valdes, SOFLO-Unattached 2:16.43, 2. Nicholas D’Innocenzo, Gator Swim Club 2:17.22, 3. Marco Guarente, Azura 2:20.78.

200-meter backstroke: 1. Zachary Poti, Blue Dolfins 2:03.86, 2. Quinn Cassidy, Unattached 2:05.42, 3. Michael Choate, ABF 2:07.34; SOFLO: 8. Timothy Wynter 2:13.80.

400-meter freestyle relay: 1. Azura 3:31.66 (Marco Guarente, Raiz Tjon-A-Joe, Mateo Gonzalez, Carlos Herrera), 2. Bluefish 3:37.85, 3. Lake Lytal Lightning 3:39.40, 11. SOFLO A 3:44.79 (CJ Kopecki, Timothy Wynter, Ryan Capote, Alfredo Mesa), 22. SOFLO B 3:59.79 (Ricardo Roche, Rafael Rodriguez, Leonardo Mateus, Esteban Diaz-Velasco).

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

SOFLO’s Colorado, Artemeva Win On Day Three Of Speedo Champions Series At Plantation Aquatic Complex

By Sharon Robb

March 14, 2015—Two-time Colombian Olympian and national record holder Carolina Colorado swam her fastest time in three years to win the 100-meter backstroke on Day Three of the Speedo Sectional Championships Saturday night at Plantation Aquatic Complex.

In an exciting race, Colorado, 27, outsprinted Erin Voss, 16, of Greater Holyoke YMCA to win by 1/100th of a second in 1:01.75 at the Speedo Champions Series Southern Zone South Sectional Championships.

Colorado of South Florida Aquatic Club came close to her career-best of 1:01.41. Colorado was also fourth in the 50-meter butterfly in 27.49.

“That was a pretty big accomplishment for her,” SOFLO coach Chris Anderson said. “She was ecstatic. She didn’t think she could do that but that’s what we were suppose to do. The hard work is paying off.”

SOFLO teammate Valentina Artemeva of Russia won the 50-meter breaststroke in 31.66 and came back to go a best time in the 50-meter butterfly in 27.90 to finish sixth overall.

“I was very happy with Valentina’s swim and she was happy as well,” Anderson said. “To win and then come back and do a best time in the 50 fly with a wonderful start is great. The work in the gym is paying off. She went 1:11.55 in the relay.”

SOFLO finished fourth in the women’s 400-meter medley relay in 4:29.31 with Melissa Marinheiro, Valentina Artemeva, Kathleen Golding and Kelley Heron.

“I know it’s hard but Valentina is swimming more events and competing more,” Anderson said. “She is pushing her body further than she has in the past but it will pay off down the road.”

Bermuda national champion Lisa Blackburn won the consolation final of the 50-meter breaststroke in 34.14. At 43, Blackburn is the oldest swimmer in the field.

SOFLO teammate Jessica Rodriguez, 16, was seventh in 35.61. Elise Larin, 13, one of the youngest swimmers in the meet, was seventh in the “D” final in 37.56.

Olympic gold medalist Claire Donahue, training with SOFLO, was second in the 50-meter butterfly, just 1/10th behind Sviatlana Khakhlova of Club Seminole, 26.85-26.86.

Kathleen Golding, 14, was sixth in the 200-meter individual medley in 2:22.97, just getting out-touched by Lindsey Swartz, 18, of Pine Crest.

Golding was also eighth in the 400-meter freestyle in 4:29.79. Teammate Melissa Marinheiro was sixth in 4:27.83.

Colombian Jorge Murillo-Valdes and Jamaican Timothy Wynter were SOFLO’s highest finisher in the men’s competition.

Murillo-Valdes was second in the 50-meter breaststroke in 28.63. Wynter was fourth in the 100-meter backstroke in 58.93 and Marc Rojas was fifth in 30.25.

“We had people in all the heats, it was a pretty solid night,” Anderson said.

CJ Kopecki was 12th in the 400-meter freestyle in a best time 4:14.42, a drop of 10.01.

“Jorge had a good swim being unshaved and unrested. CJ Kopecki is having huge time drops. Our younger level senior athletes are coming together.”

It was an all-international night with swimmers from nine countries each winning an individual event in the women’s and men’s competition.

Club Seminole and Auburn Aquatics each had two winners in the men’s races.

Belarus’ Pavel Sankovich won the 100-meter backstroke in 56.47 and Club Seminole teammate Mateo DeAngulo of Colombia won the 400-meter freestyle in 3:57.50.

Former Florida Gold Coast swimmer Felipe Lima of Auburn Aquatics won the 50-meter breaststroke in 27.93 and teammate Marcelo Chierighini won the 50-meter freestyle in 22.97. Both swimmers are Brazilian.

Azura Florida Aquatics has all but wrapped up the combined team title with 665 points. Seacoast has 548 points and SOFLO is third with 545.

Azura also leads the men’s team standings with 552. Phoenix Swimming is second with 325 and SOFLO is fifth with 198.

Seacoast Swimming and SOFLO are battling it out in the women’s competition. Seacoast leads with 391 and SOFLO has 347.

All three SOFLO places are the team’s highest showing in the meet’s history.

A capacity field of 650 swimmers from 60 teams will wind up competition on Sunday with prelims at 9 a.m. and finals at 5 p.m.

SATURDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura Florida Aquatics 665, 2. Seacoast Swimming Association 548, 3. South Florida Aquatic Club 545, 4. Phoenix Swimming 534, 5. Bluefish 461, 6. Blue Dolfins 431, 7. Gator Swim Club 401, 8. Swim Fort Lauderdale 210, 9. Auburn Aquatics 168, 10. Club Seminole 166.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Seacoast 391, 2. SOFLO 347, 3. Gator Swim Club 213, 4. Phoenix Swimming 208, 5. Swim Fort Lauderdale 203.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura 552, 2. Phoenix Swimming 325, 3. Bluefish 271, 4. Blue Dolfins 264, 5. SOFLO 198.

WOMEN

100-meter backstroke: 1. Carolina Colorado, SOFLO-Unattached 1:01.75, 2. Erin Voss, Greater Holyhoke YMCA 1:01.76, 3. Kyra Sarazen, Seacoast 1:03.64.

50-meter breaststroke: 1. Valentina Artemeva, SOFLO 31.66, 2. Hilda Luthersdottir, Gator Swim Club 31.76, 3. Patricia Casellas, Azura 33.27; SOFLO: 9. Lisa Blackburn 34.14, 15. Jessica Rodriguez 35.61, 31. Elise Larin 37.56.

50-meter butterfly: 1. Sviatlana Khakhlova, Club Seminole 26.85, 2. Claire Donahue, Unattached-KY 26.86, 3. Sandrine Mainville, Canada 27.21; SOFLO: 4. Carolina Colorado 27.49, 6. Valentina Artemeva 27.90, 32. Carly Swanson 32.29.

200-meter individual medley: 1. Hilda Luthersdottir, Gator Swim Club 2:15.41, 2. Erin Voss, Greater Holyhoke YMCA 2:19.61, 3. Kyra Sarazen, Seacoast Swimming 2:21.81; SOFLO: 6. Kathleen Golding 2:22.99, 26. Jessica Rodriguez 2:30.84.

50-meter freestyle: 1. Sandrine Mainville, Canada 25.62, 2. Michelle Williams, Unattached, 3. Arlene Semeco, CSSC 26.07.

400-meter freestyle: 1. Andreina Pinto, Gator Swim Club 4:12.56, 2. Mary Smutny, AquaKids Sharks 4:24.95, 3. Alena Kraus, Makos Aquatics 4:26.19; SOFLO: 6. Melissa Marinheiro 4:27.83, 8. Kathleen Golding 4:29.79, 28. Kylie Herman 4:42.88.

400-meter medley relay: 1. Swim Fort Lauderdale 4:24.65 (Amanda Tipton, Caitlin Ahern, Elizabeth Zubero, Allison Kopas), 2. Gator Swim Club 4:27.37, 3. Seacoast 4:28.67, 4. SOFLO A 4:29.31 (Melissa Marinheiro, Valentina Artemeva, Kathleen Golding, Kelley Heron), 17. SOFLO B 4:46.46 (Carly Swanson, Jessica Rodriguez, Kylie Herman, Abolade Oyetunji).

MEN

100-meter backstroke: 1. Pavel Sankovich, Club Seminole 56.47, 2. Albert Subirats, Auburn Aquatics 56.71, 3. Zachary Poti, Blue Dolfins 57.80; SOFLO: 4. Timothy Wynter 58.93, 22. Esteban Diaz-Velasco 1:02.73, 30. Juan Lucas 1:04.94.

50-meter breaststroke: 1. Felipe Lima, Auburn Aquatics 27.93, 2. Jorge Murillo-Valdes, SOFLO-Unattached 28.63, 3. Carlos Herrera, Azura 29.41; SOFLO: 5. Marc Rojas 30.25, 17. Ervin Marin 32.07.

50-meter butterfly: 1. Pawel Korzeniowski, Poland 24.04, 2. Albert Subirats, Auburn Aquatics 24.54, 3. Mateo Gonzalez, Azura 25.21; SOFLO: 15. Timothy Wynter 26.98, 32. Alfredo Mesa 28.12.

200-meter individual medley: 1. Marcin Cieslak, Gator Swim Club 2:02.55, 2. Pavel Sankovich, Club Seminole 2:02.70, 3. Brian Poon, Phoenix Swimming 2:05.65; SOFLO: 30. Ervin Marin 2:19.91.

50-meter freestyle: 1. Marcelo Chierighini, Auburn Aquatics 22.97, 2. Renzo Tjon A Joe, Auburn Aquatics 23.14, 3. Pawel Korzeniowski, Poland 23.30.

400-meter freestyle: 1. Mateo DeAngulo, Club Seminole 3;57.50, 2. Franco Lupoli, Azura 3:59.65, 3. Alejandro Gomez, Gator Swim Club 4:01.32; SOFLO: 12. CJ Kopecki 4:14.42, 27. Rafael Rodriguez 4:16.69, 28. Samuel Asnis 4;18.20, 32. Ervin Marin 4:23.02.

400-meter medley relay: 1. Azura 3:54.18 (Fernando Alatorre, Marco Guarente, Mateo Gonzalez, Carlos Herrera), 2. Bluefish 3:55.60, 3. Blue Dolfins 3:56.60, 6. SOFLO A 4:05.31 (Timothy Wynter, Marc Rojas, Alfredo Mesa, Ryan Capote), 12. SOFLO B 4:14.17 (Esteban Diaz-Velasco, CJ Kopecki, Ervin Marin, Juan Lucas).

IF YOU GO

What: Speedo Champions Series Southern Zone South Sectional Championships

When: Today, prelims 9 a.m., finals 5 p.m.

Where: Plantation Aquatic Complex, 9151 NW Second St., Plantation.

Admission: $3 per person, heat sheets $3 per session. For information call 954-452-2526.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

SOFLO Relay Wins On Day Two Of Speedo Champions Series At Plantation Aquatic Complex

By Sharon Robb

March 13, 2015—With a strong anchor leg from Kelley Heron, South Florida Aquatic Club won the women’s 800-meter freestyle relay Friday night at the Speedo Sectional Championships at Plantation Aquatic Complex.

The relay won in 8:35.30 with Melissa Marinheiro, Kathleen Golding, Alia Atkinson and Heron at the Speedo Champions Series Southern Zone South Sectional Championships.

After two days with a record 41 swimmers entered, SOFLO is fourth with 362 points, its highest placing at a sectional meet in team history.

SOFLO’s women’s team is second with 236 points and men’s team is fifth with 126.

“We had a lot of fun, the kids swam well tonight,” SOFLO coach Chris Anderson said.

Anderson was most impressed with the camaraderie between SOFLO’s older and younger swimmers.

“I am really enjoying how the older kids are supporting the younger kids, and younger kids are supporting each other,” Anderson said. “It’s a really well-oiled team right now and looks good. It wasn’t just an individual who stood out, it was the team that stood out in my mind.”

Among some of SOFLO’s top performers were:

SOFLO’s world record holder and three-time Olympian Alia Atkinson was second in the 200-meter freestyle in 2:03.24. She was also second in the 100-meter butterfly in 1:00.61.

Kathleen Golding won the consolation final of the 200-meter freestyle in 2:06.36. At 14, Golding is one of the youngest swimmers in the field. Melissa Marinheiro, 17, was third in the consolation final and 11th overall in 2:07.27. Kelley Heron was second in the “D” final in 2:11.01

In the 100-meter breaststroke, SOFLO’s Valentina Artemeva was third in 1:11.70 and teammate Lisa Blackburn, at 43, the oldest swimmer in the meet, was fourth in 1:13.57 in the championship final. Jessica Rodriguez, 16, was eighth in the consolation final in 1:17.99 after going 1:16.06 in prelims.

Golding was fourth in the 400-meter individual medley in 5:03.51.

Heron, 15, was seventh in the 50-meter backstroke final in 32.40.

CJ Kopecki, 15, was fourth in the “D” final of the 200-meter freestyle in 2:00.08 and came back to win the bonus final in the 400-meter individual medley in 4:47.50.

Marc Rojas, 21, was second in the consolation final of the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:07.15.

Julien Pinon, 16, swimming unattached because of his commitment to the French junior national team, won the bonus final of the 50-meter backstroke in 29.70. Esteban Diaz- Velasco, 15, (30.66) and Alfredo Mesa, 16, (30.73) were fourth and fifth respectively.

“Our young athletes are going best times at night after coming back from attacking the morning,” Anderson said. “It’s a great tribute to what we are trying to do due to the fact we are not totally rested. We are having fun and racing.

“Tonight, by far, was SOFLO’s best Speedo Championships day or night,” Anderson said. “I am happy with the older kids. They are working so hard and swimming fast twice, attacking the morning and coming back at night.”

Another impressive win was Olympic gold medalist Claire Donahue, 26, in the 100-meter butterfly. The Western Kentucky graduate won her signature event in 59.90. She was the only swimmer under 1 minute.

Donahue is currently training with SOFLO in Pembroke Pines. Her training partners, Alia Atkinson (1:00.61) and Carolina Colorado (1:01.99) finished second and third.

“Claire is excited with the work she is putting in consistently in long course,” SOFLO coach Chris Anderson said. “She is starting to feel a lot better as far as consistency in training. She had a nice smile on her face after a wonderful fly. It was a nice confidence-booster.”

Saturday’s events are 100-meter backstroke, 50-meter breaststroke, 50-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, 50-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle and 400-meter medley relay.

A capacity field of 650 swimmers from 60 teams are competing in the four-day meet.

FRIDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura Florida Aquatics 446, 2. Seacoast 383, 3. Phoenix Swimming 372, 4. South Florida Aquatic Club 362, 5. Bluefish 319, 6. Blue Dolfins 275, 7. Gator Swim Club 219, 8. Greater Holyhoke YMCA 114, 9. North Shore 113, 10. Exeter 99.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Seacoast 261, 2. SOFLO 236, 3. Phoenix 153.50, 4. Bluefish 141, 5. Gator Swim Club 105.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura 361, 2. Phoenix 218, 3. Bluefish 178, 4. Blue Dolfins 170, 5. SOFLO 126.

WOMEN

200-meter freestyle: 1. Andreina Pinto, Gator Swim Club 2:01.78, 2. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 2:03.24, 3. Erin Voxx, Holyhoke 2:05.25; SOFLO: 9. Kathleen Golding, 2:06.36; 11. Melissa Marinheiro, 2:07.27.

100-meter breaststroke: 1. Hilda Luthersdottir, Gator Swim Club 1:08.15, 2. Martha McCabe, Unattached PC 1:09.87, 3. Valentina Artemeva, SOFLO 1:11.70; SOFLO: 4. Lisa Blackburn, 1:13.57, 16. Jessica Rodriguez, 1:17.99.

50-meter backstroke: 1. Sviatlana Khakhlova, Club Seminole 29.35, 2. Carolina Colorado, Unattached-SOFLO 29.50, 3. Kyra Sarazen, Seacoast 30.91; SOFLO: 7. Kelley Heron, 32.40.

100-meter butterfly: 1. Claire Donahue, Unattached-Western Kentucky 59.90, 2. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 1:00.61, 3. Carolina Colorado, Unattached-SOFLO 1:01.99.

400-meter individual medley: 1. Andreina Pinto, GSC 4:51.25, 2. Erin Voss, Holyhoke 4:51.62, 3. Emma Whall, Seacoast 5:01.89; SOFLO: 4. Kathleen Golding, SOFLO 5:03.51.

800-meter freestyle relay: 1. SOFLO “A” 8:35.30 (Melissa Marinheiro, Kathleen Golding, Alia Atkinson, Kelley Heron), 2. Gator Swim Club 8:37.25, 3. Seacoast 8:44.51; 17. SOFLO “B” 9:16.02 (Kylie Herman, Abolade Oyetunji, Lilli Calero, Jessica Rodriguez).

MEN

200-meter freestyle: 1. Daniele Tirabassi, Club Seminoles 1:52.18, 2. Mateo De Angulo, Club Seminole 1:52.52, 3. Julio Galofre, Unattached 1:53.90; SOFLO: 28. CJ Kopecki, 2:00.08.

100-meter breaststroke: 1. Felipe Lima, Auburn Aquatics 1:01.70, 2. Jorge Murillo Valdes, Unattached SOFLO 1:02.64, 3. Marco Guarente, Azura 1:05.19; SOFLO: 10. Marc Rojas, 1:07.15.

50-meter backstroke: 1. Kellen Gray, Exeter 27.73, 2. Mathew England, Seacoast 28.11, 3. Fernando Alatorre, Azura 28.75; SOFLO: 17. Julien Pinon, Unattached 29.70, 20. Esteban Diaz-Velasco, 30.66, 21. Alfredo Mesa, 30.73.

100-meter butterfly: 1. Pawel Korzeniowski, Poland 52.77,2. Pavel Sankovich, Club Seminole 52.78, 3. Albert Subirats, Auburn Aquatics 54.11; SOFLO: 13. Julien Pinon, Unattached 57.55.

400-meter individual medley: 1. Maxwell Miranda, ABF 4:29.33, 2. Nicholas D’Innocenzo, GSC 4:30.42, 3. John Fulginiti, BD 4:35.87; SOFLO: 17. CJ Kopecki, 4:47.50, 20. Rafael Rodriguez, 4:54.33.

800-meter freestyle relay: 1. Azura Florida Aquatics 7:51.61 (Carlos Herrera, Mateo Gonzalez, Fernando Alatorre, Franco Lupoli), 2. Blue Dolfins 8:02.03, 3. Seacoast 8:05.18, 6. SOFLO “A” 8:07.96 (Timothy Wynter, Marc Rojas, CJ Kopecki, Ervin Marin), 12. SOFLO “B” 8:20.18 (Ryan Capote, Rafael Rodriguez, Jordan Colon, Juan Lucas).

IF YOU GO

What: Speedo Champions Series Southern Zone South Sectional Championships

When: Today-Sunday

Schedule: Saturday, 9 a.m. prelims, finals 5 p.m.; Sunday, prelims 9 a.m., finals 5 p.m.

Where: Plantation Aquatic Complex, 9151 NW Second St., Plantation.

Admission: $3 per person, heat sheets $3 per session. For information call 954-452-2526.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

South Florida Aquatic Club Sweeps Relays On Day One Of Speedo Champions Series At Plantation Aquatic Complex

By Sharon Robb

March 12, 2015—South Florida Aquatic Club got off to a great start Thursday night at the Speedo Sectional Championships at Plantation Aquatic Complex.

SOFLO swept the women’s relays and had six swimmers in the Top 20 of the men’s distance event at the Speedo Champions Series Southern Zone South Sectional Championships.

SOFLO won the women’s 200-meter medley relay in 1:58.17 with Melissa Marinheiro, Valentina Artemova, world record holder Alia Atkinson and 14-year-old Kathleen Golding.

SOFLO’s “B” relay was 13th in 2:08.15 duplicating its entry time with Kelley Heron, Lisa Blackburn, Kylie Herman and Carly Swanson.

SOFLO also won the women’s 200-meter freestyle relay in 1:47.60 with Artemova, Lisa Blackburn, Atkinson and Golding. Its’ “B” relay was 17th in 1:56.43 with a young lineup of Melissa Marinheiro, Kelley Heron, Carly Swanson and Kylie Herman.

SOFLO’s “A” men’s 200-meter medley relay of Timothy Wynter, Marc Rojas, CJ Kopecki and Ryan Capote was sixth in 1:50.50.

SOFLO’s men’s “B” 200-meter medley relay was 11th in 1:55.05 with another young lineup of Esteban Diaz-Velasco, 15, Ervin Marin, 15, Alfredo Mesa, 16, and Juan Lucas, 16.

SOFLO’s “A” relay was ninth in the 200-meter freestyle relay in 1:40.95 with Ryan Capote, Marc Rojas, Timothy Wynter and Ervin Marin. SOFLO’s “B” relay was 14th in 1:43.67 with Juan Lucas, CJ Kopecki, Esteban Diaz-Velasco and Alfredo Mesa.

SOFLO’s distance swimmers did well in the 800-meter freestyle with six swimmers placing in the Top 20.

Rafael Rodriguez, 13, was SOFLO’s top men’s finisher placing seven in the 800 in a best time 8:44.12, a 22.87-second drop.

CJ Kopecki, 15, was ninth in 8:47.20, also a best time and drop of 2.03 seconds.

Samuel Asnis, 16, was 16th in a best time 8:59.17, a 0.87 drop. Ricardo Roche, 15, was 17th in a best time 9:01.20, a 59.12 time drop. Juan Diaz, 15, was 18th in a best time 9:03.84, dropping 1:12.84 minutes. Leonardo Mateus, 13, was 20th in a best time 9:04.16, dropping 1:11.14 minutes.

SOFLO is fifth in the combined team standings with 171 points. The women’s team is third with 88 points and men’s team is fourth with 83 points.

“I thought we started off really well the first night,” SOFLO coach Chris Andersons said. “Our relays looked great and we had some personal bests in the 800. Our team really came together.”

Kate Magill of Seacoast Swimming Association and Franco Lupoli of Azura won the distance freestyle events.

Magill, 15, won the women’s 1500-meter freestyle in a career-best 17:26.51, dropping 42.69 from her previous best. She won by nearly 11 seconds.

Lupoli, 20, won the men’s 800-meter freestyle in 8:18.57, outsprinting Alejandro Gomez of Gator Swim Club by a half second, 8:18.57-8:19.06.

A capacity field of 650 swimmers from 60 teams are competing in the four-day meet. A full schedule resumes on Friday with prelims and finals.

THURSDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. Seacoast Swimming Association 192, 2. Azura Florida Aquatics 188, 3. Phoenix Swimming 183, 4. Bluefish 182, 5. South Florida Aquatic Club 171.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Seacoast 132, 2. Bluefish 94, 3. SOFLO 88.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura 152, 2. Phoenix 100, 3. Bluefish 88, 4. SOFLO 83.

WOMEN

1500-meter freestyle: 1. Kate Magill, SSA 17:26.51, 2. Catalina Galea Berraud, Unattached 17:37.23, 3. Emma Whall, SSA 17:48.42; FLORIDA: 4. Florencia Almada, SWIM 17:57.39, 5. Stephanie Campo, CSSC 18:08.40, best time, 8. Nicole Gomez, NPB 18:15.02, best time, 10. Cassidy Blackwin, SAS 18:20.31, best time, 12. Audra Duffy, BD 18:29.34, 18. Madeline Ayres, NPB 18:42.94, 19. Cameron Thomas, SF 18:44.50, 21. Ashley Herrod, WOW 18:51.03, 25. Lauren Griffith, SWIM 19:07.37.

200-meter medley relay: 1. SOFLO 1:58.17 (Valentina Artemova, Alia Atkinson, Kathleen Golding, Melissa Marinheiro), 2. Swim Fort Lauderdale 2:00.92, 3. Seacoast 2:03.55.

200-meter freestyle relay: 1. SOFLO 1:47.60 (Valentina Artemova, Lisa Blackburn, Alia Atkinson, Kathleen Golding), 2. Seacoast 1:50.84, 3. Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:51.22.

MEN

800-meter freestyle: 1. Franco Lupoli, Azura 8:18.57, 2. Alejandro Gomez, Gator Swim Club 8:19.06, 3. Maxwell Miranda, ABF 8:20.29; FLORIDA: 4. Nicholas Sweetser, Gator Swim Club 8:20.97, 6. Daniel Young, SWIM 8:43.25, 7. Rafael Rodriguez, SOFLO 8:44.12, best time, 8. Matthew Fisher, Boca Raton 8:47.05, 9. CJ Kopecki, SOFLO 8:47.20, best time, 11. Matthew Strickland, SWIM 8:47.85, 13. Mark Burnley, YBC 8:51.77, 14. Cameron Anderson, MCA 8:55.73, 15. Nicholas Pacitti, PST 8:56.65, 16. Samuel Asnis, SOFLO 8:59.17, 17, Ricardo Roche, SOFLO 9:01.20, best time, 18. Juan Diaz, SOFLO 9:03.84, best time, 20. Leonardo Mateus, SOFLO 9:04.16, best time, 22. Matthew Taddonio, Boca Raton 9:04.91, 23. Darrien Heil, GCST 9:06.03, 25. Kevin Porto, SOFLO 9:09.58, 26. Grant Dodge, NPB 9:11.86, 28. Dylan Allen, SFTL 9:17.20.

200-meter medley relay: 1. Azura 1:46.63 (Mateo Gonzalez, Marco Guarente, Carlos Herrera, Franco Lupoli), 2. Blue Dolfins 1:48.17, 3. Bluefish Swim Club 1:48.70.

200-meter freestyle relay: 1. Azura 1:36.01 (Carlos Herrera, Marco Guarente, Mateo Gonzalez, Franco Lupoli), 2. Blue Dolfins 1:38.25, 3. Phoenix Swimming 1:38.97.

IF YOU GO

What: Speedo Champions Series Southern Zone South Sectional Championships

When: Today-Sunday

Schedule: Friday, prelims 9 a.m., finals 5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. prelims, finals 5 p.m.; Sunday, prelims 9 a.m., finals 5 p.m.

Where: Plantation Aquatic Complex, 9151 NW Second St., Plantation.

Admission: $3 per person, heat sheets $3 per session. For information call 954-452-2526.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
htp://www.swim4soflo.com