SOFLO Swimmers Shine Over Two Days Of FGC Senior Championships With National Record, Two Futures Cuts

By Sharon Robb

July 30, 2017—South Florida Aquatic Club swimmers are making their mark at the Florida Gold Coast LCM Senior Championships at Michael Lohberg Pool of Champions at Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.

Over two days, four-time Jamaican Olympian Alia Atkinson broke her own national record in the 100-meter freestyle in 55.35, lowering her own record of 56.06 she set three years ago. She now heads to Moscow for the Aug. 2 FINA/Airweave Swimming World Cup Series begins.

Kevin Porto and Juan Diaz made their first cuts for the Aug. 3-6 USA Swimming Futures Championships in Nashville, Tenn.

Porto made it in the 100-meter freestyle off his 50 freestyle relay leadoff leg and Juan Diaz made it in the 200-meter backstroke.

There were other good swims on Saturday night.

Daniela Curbelo was second in the 400-meter individual medley in 5:20.27 with a time drop of 2.27. She was also ninth in the 100-meter butterfly in 1:06.39 with a time drop of 1.75.

Kylie Herman was sixth in the 400-meter individual medley in 5:30.19 with a time drop of 0.59.

Leonardo Mateus was fourth in the 400-meter individual medley in 4:49.40 with a time drop of 3.27.

South Florida Aquatic Club is fifth among combined teams with 372 points. Gulliver, Azura and Metro Aquatics are the top three teams battling it out for the team title headed into the third and final day on Sunday.

SOFLO has 37 swimmers competing in 125 individual events and 14 relays in 10 events. Several swimmers are not competing because of upcoming Futures and Junior Nationals.

The field features 42 Florida Gold Coast teams including Azura Florida Aquatics, Swim Fort Lauderdale, Gulliver Swim Club, Jupiter Dragons, Metro Aquatics, Pine Crest Swimming and East Coast Aquatic Club and several non-FGC teams including Wyoming Aquatics, Quintana Roo, Stone Crabs Swim Team and Sarasota Tsunami.

SATURDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. Gulliver Swim Club 820, 2. Azura Florida Aquatics 786, 3. Metro Aquatics 706, 4. Miami Swimming 485.50, 5. South Florida Aquatic Club 372, 6. Westminster Academy 363,7. North Palm Beach 345, 8. Swim Fort Lauderdale 324, 9. Jupiter Dragons 299, 10. Pine Crest Swimming 292.50.

HIGH POINT LEADERS: GIRLS, 15-16, 1. Amanda Kopas, SFTL 72, 2. Olivia Hernandez, Gulliver 60, 3. Nicole Gomez, NPB 60; SOFLO: 37. Isabella Di Salvo 19; BRST: 47. Emily Chen 9; Open, 1. Elizabeth Zubero, SFTL 64, 2. Brooke Ellis, Gulliver 63, 3. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 54; SOFLO: 6. Daniela Curbelo 42, 7. Alia Atkinson 40, 25. Kylie Herman 24, 69. Katrina Del Vecchio 2, 75. Michelle Marinheiro, 1; BRST: 44. Frances Morales 15, 9. Kaley Creighton 2.

BOYS, 15-16, 1. Mattheus Santos, PB 80, 2. Alexander Gardner, Sarasota 71, 3. John Torres, FFSC 69, SOFLO: 12. Leonardo Mateus 38, 39. Samuel Quintero 15, 44. Luke Lezotte 9, 52. David Avalos Aday 6; Open, 1. Tyler Zuyus, PB 79, 2. Miguel Cancel, Gulliver 70, 3. Luke Smutny, AquaKids Sharks 54; BRST: 22. Miguel Bernotti 27, 47. Jose Garcia 11; SOFLO: 26. Jonathan Farah 24, 32. Juan Diaz 21, 35. Ryan Capote, 18, 68. Heath Brames 4, 73. Kevin Porto 3.

GIRLS

200-meter freestyle: 15-16, 1. Jennifer Secrest, NPB 2:06.87, 2. Olivia Hernandez, Gulliver 2:09.19, 3. Sarah Abril, Gulliver 2:10.53; SOFLO: 19. Maya Coffey 2:17.25, 51. Rebekah Ling 2:24.01, 58. Valentina Carrion 2:31.07; Open, 1. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 2:02.81, 2. Daniela Hernandez, Azura 2:08.88, 3. Mariangela Cincotti, Unattached 2:09.85 SOFLO: 16. Michele Marinheiro 2:15.98, 2:15.50, prelims time drop, 34. Abby Oyetunji 2:20.56.

50-meter backstroke: 15-16, 1. Kayla Kraft, Gulliver 31.75, 2. Gabriella Beltrano, SAS 31.81, 3. Allora Williams, SwimFast 31.88; BRST: 9. Emily Chen 32.19, time drop, 21. Naomi Glanzman 34.80, time drop; SOFLO: 14. Isabella Di Salvo 34.34, 27. Kellie Wilcox 35.32, time drop, 31. Maya Coffet 35.61, time drop, 41. Rebekah Ling 36.30, 45. Alana Acevedo 36.99; Open, 1. Andrea Sansores De La Fuente, QROO 29.95, 2. Suzanne Afchan, WA 30.51, 3. Miriyam, Ghali, PC 31.24; BRST: 26. Frances Morales 34.31, 36. Elizabeth Sikes 35.57, time drop, 46. Jillian Fisher 36.54; SOFLO: 40. Michelle Marinheiro 35.87.

200-meter breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Hannah Virgin, PC 2:36.14, 2. Adrianna Barone, PC 2:48.77, 3. Stephanie Suarez, MAC 2:49.31; SOFLO: 18. Katherine DeBarros 3:06.48; Open, 1. Nicole Hunnewell, FIU 2:37.38, 2. Elizabeth Zubero, SFTL 2:37.84, 3. Andrea Kyriakidis, Hurricanes 2:44.41; BRST: 7. Frances Morales 2:57.82.

100-meter butterfly: 15-16, 1. Alexandra Meszaros, PC 1:01.92, 2. Jennifer Secrest,NPB 1:01.99, 3. Keeley Maduro, PC 1:05.44; SOFLO: 13. Isabella DiSalvo 1:09.86, time drop, 28. Maya Coffey 1:10.72; BRST: 29. Naomi Glanzman 1:11.15; Open, 1. Alessandra Baldari, Unattached 1:01.47, 2. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 1:02.89, 3. Elizabeth Zubero, SFTL 1:03.70; SOFLO: 9. Daniela Curbelo 1:06.39, time drop, 15. Katrina Del Vecchio 1:08.66, 22. Kylie Herman 1:09.51, time drop.

400-meter individual medley: 15-16, 1. Nicole Gomez, NPB 5:08.30, 2. Adrianna Barone, PC 5:17.47, 3. Erin Tague, LLL 5:18.28; Open, 1. Brooke Ellis, Gulliver 5:11.14, 2. Daniela Curbelo, SOFLO 5:20.27, time drop, 3. Acadia Rubin, NPB 5:22.14; SOFLO: 6. Kylie Herman 5:30.19, time drop.

800-meter freestyle relay: 1. Metro Aquatics 8:53.63, 2. Miami Swimming 8:54.91, 3. Gulliver 8:54.98, 6. SOFLO A 9:15.89 (Maya Coffey, Abby Oyetunji, Michelle Marinheiro, Kylie Herman).

BOYS

200-meter freestyle: 15-16, 1. Mattheus Santos, PB 1:55.33, 2. Diego Machado, TSA 1:56.43, 3. Alexander Gardner, SRQ 1:56.68; SOFLO: 14. Leonardo Mateus 2:03.04, time drop; Open, 1. Alex Cronin, Jupiter 1:53.38, 2. Miguel Cancel, Gulliver 1:53.52, 3. Tyler Zuyus, PB 1:54.21; SOFLO: 12. Ryan Capote 1:59.74, time drop prelims, 2:00.43, 13. Heath Brames 2:00.39, time drop, 18. Juan Diaz 2:01.64, 48. Michael Arias 2:07.39; BRST: 11. Carlos Bernotti 1:57.38, time drop.

50-meter backstroke: 15-16, 1. Elvis Kotikovski, PC 27.74, 2. John Torres, FFSC 28.49, 3. Samuel Medina, Unattached 28.63; SOFLO. 28. David Avalos Aday 31.71; Open, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, SFTL 26.78, 2. Patrick Groters, PC 26.89, 3. Daniel Torres, Azura 27.18; SOFLO: 8. Jonathan Farah 28.19, time drop, 11. Ryan Capote 28.82, time drop, 12. Juan Diaz 28.84, 24. Heath Brames 30.74, 30. Wyatt Jennessee 31.33, time drop, 37. Ty Lezotte 31.70, time drop.

200-meter breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Alexander Gardner, SRQ 2:28.62, 2. Miguel Angel Caballero, Unattached 2:30.13, 3. Brandon Moran, Azura 2:31.68; Open, 1. Adan Diaz, Azura 2:19.07, 2. Marcelo Lauzurique, Gulliver 2:23.64, 3. Marco Guarente, Azura 2:24.64; 14. Pedro Bernotti 2:41.37 prelims/2:42.64, 22. David Genz 2:53.45

100-meter butterfly: 15-16, 1. Adrian Aguilar, MAC 56.19, 2. Quoctuan Ho, ECAC 58.36, 3. Diego Machado, TSA 58.39; SOFLO: 23. David Avalos Aday 1:03.16; Open, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, SFTL 55.07, 2. Felipe Zapata, WA 55.18, 3. Edson Lima, Azura 55.43; SOFLO: 19. Jonathan Farah 1:00.10, time drop; BRST: 6. Miguel Bernotti 56.46, time drop, 44. Matthew Taddonio 1:03.85, time drop.

400-meter individual medley: 15-16, 1. Juan Zapata, TSA 4:39.57, 2. Manuel Lopez, MAC 4:45.05, 3. Nestor Montero, MAC 4:48.12; SOFLO: 4. Leonardo Mateus 4:49.40, time drop; Open, 1. Miguel Cancel, Gulliver 4:36.70, 2. Bernardo Abascal, Azura 4:44.00, 3. Julian Enrique Iturbe, Azura 4:48.94.

800-meter freestyle relay: 1. Metro Aquatics 7:47.27, 2. Azura 7:50.74, 3. Gulliver 8:09.87, 5. SOFLO A 8:29.87 (Leonardo Mateus, Heath Brames, Ty Lezotte, Juan Diaz).

IF YOU GO

What: Florida Gold Coast LCM Senior Championships

When: Sunday

Where: Michael Lohberg Pool of Champions, Coral Springs Aquatic Complex, 12441 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs.

Schedule: Sunday, Session V, 8:30 a.m.-1:43 p.m., Session VI, 5-8:04 p.m.

Defending champion: Swim Fort Lauderdale.

Of note: Admission is $5 per session for prelims and $3 per session for finals.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

Florida’s Caeleb Dressel Wins Three Gold Medals In One Day At FINA World Aquatic Championships

By Sharon Robb

Budapest, Hungary, July 29, 2017—In the span of one hour and 42 minutes, University of Florida’s Caeleb Dressel made history Saturday night at the 17th FINA World Aquatic Championships at Duna Arena.

The former Clay High School and Bolles Club swimmer, became the first man to win three gold medals in a single night and first to win the 100 in both the freestyle and butterfly at worlds.

Dressel, 20, won his fourth, fifth and sixth gold medals in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly and 4×100-mixed freestyle relay.

Dressel has already won more gold medals than every other entire national team. Great Britain is second behind him with four golds.

On Sunday, if he wins as a member of the 4×100 medley relay, he will tie Michael Phelps’ all-time record with his seventh gold in a single world championships.

In his first day of the race, Dressel won the 50-meter freestyle in an American record of 21.15. He had the quickest start to top a stacked field of sprinters.

Just 34 minutes later, Dressel won the 100-meter butterfly in 49.86, second fastest on the all-time list and only 4/100ths of a second off Phelps’ world record from 2009.

“Being that close to something feels so good and it was unexpected,” Dressel said. “It is nice to be that close to the record.”

One hour and one awards ceremony later, Dressel finished the night on the winning mixed freestyle relay with Nathan Adrian, Mallory Comerford and Simone Manuel in a world record 3:19.60.

“After the medal ceremony, it is exciting when you have to run to another race,” Dressel said. “It is physically tiring and mentally straining. You gotta take one swim at a time and recover fairly quickly.”

Dressel is the fourth American man to win three individual gold medals at one world championship joining Tim Shaw (1975), Phelps (2003, 2007) and Ryan Lochte (2011).

“There are a lot of young talented guys in USA Swimming,” Dressel said. “Plenty of talent to go around. It is not just all on me.”

Former Bolles swimmer Joseph Schooling of Singapore won his first medal, a bronze in the 100-meter butterfly which he also won at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Schooling tied for third with Great Britain’s James Guy in 50.83.

“It was a fantastic swim, a very close race,” Schooling said. “I feel lucky to have finished third in the end.”

In other races:

American Katie Ledecky won her 14th gold in worlds history in the 800-meter freestyle in 8:12.68, eight seconds slower than her world record.

“I am happy with my gold medals but there is always room for improvement,” Ledecky said. “My time wasn’t as fast as I have been in the past. You take it and it was the end of a long week with lots of ups and downs.”

Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrum won the 50-meter butterfly in a championship record of 24.60.

“I know that I swim really well when I have a warm up race before,” Sjostrum said. “I got a really good start and I could feel I was swimming fast. It felt really good.”

American Kelsi Worrell failed to earn a podium spot but she did break the American record in the 50-meter butterfly in 24.48. She finished fourth among a fast women’s field. She broke the record of 25.50 set by American sprinter Dara Torres in 2009, the supersuit era. Worrell is now tied as the ninth fastest swimmer ever.

Aussie Emily Seebom knocked off Hungarian Katinka Hosszu in the 200-meter backstroke in 2:05.68. Hosszu took silver in 2:05.85, her 12th world medal.

WATER POLO

After knocking off Serbia to get to the finals, Croatia didn’t waste its opportunity and defeated crowd favorite Hungary, 8-6, in the gold medal final. It was the first time Croatia won the gold medal in ten years since the world championships in Australia. Croatia jumped out to a 4-0 lead but Hungary rallied for a 4-4 tie. Early in the fourth, Croatia regained its advantage, 7-4 and went on to finish with another goal. Hungary goalkeeper Marton Vamos was named championship MVP. It would have been Hungary’s fourth world title in ten finals. Hungary has a record 11 medals overall—three gold,seven silver and one bronze. Also at Alfred Hajos Pool, outgoing world champion Serbia defeated Greece, 11-8, for the bronze medal.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

Atkinson, Diaz, Curbelo Top Three Finishes Lead SOFLO On Day One Of FGC Senior Championships This Weekend

By Sharon Robb

July 28, 2017—South Florida Aquatic Club started off on a winning note on opening day of the Florida Gold Coast LCM Senior Championships Friday at Michael Lohberg Pool of Champions at Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.

Four-time Jamaican Olympian Alia Atkinson was a double winner. Atkinson, 28, won the 100-meter freestyle in a best time 55.35, shaving 0.73 off her previous best of 56.08.

Atkinson also won the 50-meter breaststroke in 30.54, just off her best time of 30.11.

Atkinson skipped the FINA World Aquatic Championships and is preparing for the FINA World Cup Prize Money Series.

Daniela Curbelo, 14, was third in the 200-meter butterfly in a best time 2:26.33, dropping 5.52 seconds and dripping below 2:30 for the first time. Her previous best was 2:31.85. Teammate Kylie Herman was eighth in the event in 2:33.12.

Juan Diaz, 17, was third in the 200-meter backstroke in a best time 2:12.34. He went 2:15.07 in prelims to earn the fourth seed and dropped 6.44. He dropped a total of 9.17.

Samuel Quintero, 16, was fourth in the 50-meter breaststroke in a best time 31.42, dropping 0.34.

Jonathan Farah was sixth in the open 50-meter breaststroke in 31.18. Leonardo Mateus was sixth in the 200-meter backstroke in the 15-16 2:16.15 and tenth in the 400 freestyle in 4:18.62 with a time drop of 5.18.

South Florida Aquatic Club is sixth among combined teams. Gulliver (449), Metro Aquatics (420) and Azura Florida Aquatics (412) are the top three teams. Defending champion Swim Fort Lauderdale is tenth with 139 points.

SOFLO has 31 swimmers competing in 125 individual events and 14 relays in 10 events.

Several swimmers are not competing because of upcoming Futures and Junior Nationals.
The field features 42 Florida Gold Coast teams including Azura Florida Aquatics, Swim Fort Lauderdale, Gulliver Swim Club, Jupiter Dragons, Metro Aquatics, Pine Crest Swimming and East Coast Aquatic Club.

FRIDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. Gulliver Swim Club 449, 2. Metro Aquatics 420, 3. Azura Florida Aquatics 412, 4. Westminster Academy Swim Club 280, 5. Miami Swimming 262.50, 6. South Florida Aquatic Club 231, 7. North Palm Beach 194, 8. Jupiter Dragons 159, 9. TS Aquatics 148, 10. Swim Fort Lauderdale 139.

HIGH POINT LEADERS: GIRLS, 15-16, 1. tie, Gabriella Antonini, Gulliver, Nicole Gomez, NPB 40, 3. Olivia Hernandez, Gulliver 31; SOFLO: 30. Isabella DiSalvo 12; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 40, 2. tie, Victoria Fonville, Westminster Academy and Elizabeth Zubero, Swim Fort Lauderdale 31, 19. Daniela Curbelo 16, 35. Kylie Herman 11; BOYS, 15-16, 1. Mattheus Santos, PB 43, 2. John Torres, FFSC 40, 3. Alexander Gardner, Sarasota 35, SOFLO: 10. Leonardo Mateus 20, 21. Samuel Quintero 15, 37. Luke Lezotte 9, 43. David Avalos Aday 6; Open 1. Tyler Zuyus, PB 42, 2. David Lambert, Westminster Academy 40, 3. Miguel Cancel, Guliver 33; SOFLO: 14. Juan Diaz 16, 24. Jonathan Farah 13, 37. Ryan Capote 9, 55. Kevin Porto 3.

GIRLS

200-meter freestyle relay: Open, 1. Westminster Academy 1:50.65, 2. Miami Swimming 1:51.28, 3. Azura 1:51.52, 13. SOFLO A 1:56.86.

200-meter backstroke: 15-16, 1. Gabriel Antonini, Gulliver 2:25.82, 2. Kayla Kraft, Gulliver 2:27.34, 3. Carolina Frette, Gulliver 2:30.00; SOFLO: 7. Isabella DiSalvo 2:34.02, time drop, 17. Rebekah Ling 2:44.31; Open: 1. Roxanne Yu, Hurricanes 2:19.75, 2. Megan Schimansky, CSSC 2:24.69, 3. Laia Coma, Unattached 2:28.02.

100-meter freestyle: 15-16, 1. Nicole Gomez, North Palm Beach 57.36, 2. Jennifer Secrest North Palm Beach 58.44, 3. Solana Capalbo, Azura 59.47; SOFLO: 19. Maya Coffey 1:02.92, time drop, 46. Isabella DiSalvo 1:04.74, time drop, 63. Rebekah Ling 1:05.64, time drop, 71. Alana Acevedo 1:07.00, 77. Valentina Carrion 1:08.06, 85. Kellie Wilcox 1:10.53; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 55.35, time drop, 2. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 56.33, 3. Victoria Fonville, WA 57.52; SOFLO: 22. Kylie Herman 1:02.23, time drop, 29. Katrina Del Vecchio 1:02.92, 45. Abby Oyetunji 1:04.39, 50. Daniela Curbelo 1:04.83.

200-meter butterfly: 15-16, 1. Gabriella Antonini, Gulliver 2:26.81, 2. Paola Carlesso, Unattached 2:27.89, 3. Taylor Spillman, Unattached 2:29.34; SOFLO: 16. Alexandra Crespo 3:07.90; Open, 1. Brooke Ellis, Gulliver 2:18.20, 2. Cloe Bedard-Khalid, Metro Aquatics 2:21.00, 3. Daniela Curbelo, SOFLO 2:26.33, time drop; SOFLO: 8. Kylie Herman 2:33.12.

50-meter breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Hannah Virgin, Pine Crest 34.62, 2. Stephanie Suarez, Metro Aquatics34.91, 3. Madison Lichtig, North Palm Beach 35.20; SOFLO: 38. Kellie Wilcox 40.69, 41. Valentina Carrion 41.72; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 30.54, 2. Patricia Casellas, Azura 32.94, 3. Elizabeth Zubero, SFTL 33.32; SOFLO: 20.Elise Larin 37.13, 37.60.

400-meter freestyle: 15-16, 1. Nicole Gomez, NPB 4:26.77, 2. Olivia Hernandez, Gulliver 4:28.70, 3. Keeley Maduro, Pine Crest 4:32.25; SOFLO: 20. Maya Coffey 4:50.67, time drop; Open, 1. Alessandra Baldari, Unattache 4:21.16, 2. Giulia Guerra Montes, Pine Crest 4:28.25, 3. Mariangela Cincotti, Unattached 4:33.89; SOFLO: 17. Michelle Marinheiro 4:47.11, 23. Abby Oyetunji 4:53.57, time drop, 24. Katrina Del Vecchio 4:53.72, time drop.

400-meter freestyle relay: 1. North Palm Beach 4:00.73, 2. Azura 4:03.37, 3. Miami Swimming 4:04.15, 17. SOFLO A 4:19.46 (Maya Coffey, Isabella Di Salvo, Abby Oyetunji, Kylie Herman.

BOYS

200-meter freestyle relay: 1. Unattached Azura 1:34.57, 2. Westminster Academy 1:34.59, 3. Metro Aquatics 1:35.11, 7. SOFLO A 1:39.22 (Kevin Porto, Heath Brames, Michael Arias, Luke Lezotte), 13. SOFLO B 1:42.44.

200-meter backstroke: 15-16, 1. John Torres, FFSC 2:09.17, 2. Gavin Smith, NPB 2:10.98, 3. Juan Zapata, TSA 2:14.45; SOFLO: 6. Leonardo Mateus 2:16.15; Open, 1. Felipe Zapata, WA 1:09.57, 2. Tyler Zuyus, PB 2:12.34, 3. Juan Diaz, SOFLO 2:12.34, time drop.

100-meter freestyle: 15-16, 1. Mattheus Santos, PB 52.37, 2. Diego Machado, TSA 53.07, 3. Massimo Ogliari, Unattached 53.67; SOFLO: 9. Luke Lezotte 54.69, 41. Sebastian Sevilla 58.14, 51. David Avalos Aday 58.80, time drop; Open, 1. David Lambert, WA 51.35, 2. Miguel Madeira, MAC 52.22, 3. Alex Cronin, Jupiter 52.32; SOFLO: 12. Ryan Capote 52.95, time drop, 17. Kevin Porto 53.77, time drop, 26. Heath Brames 55.03, time drop, 33. Jonathan Farah 55.68, time drop, 44. Michael Arias 56.32, time drop, 84. Wyatt Jennessee 59.55.

200-meter butterfly: 15-16, 1. John Torres, FFSC 2:09.31, 2. Juan Zapata, TSA 2:09.61, 3. Nestor Montero, MAC 2:09.96; Open, 1. Luke Smutny, Unattached 2:03.54, 2.Brandon Vives, MAC 2:03.96, 3. Miguel Cancel, Gulliver 2:04.06.

50-meter breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Diego Duarte Sulvaran, QROO 30.38, 2. Cameron Brown, Azura 31.15, 3. Brandon Moran, Azura 31.36; SOFLO: 4. Samuel Quintero 31.42, time drop, 11. David Avalos Aday 32.97; Open, 1. David Lambert, WA 29.62, 2. Patrick Groters, PC 29.78, 3. Adan Diaz, Azura 29.79; SOFLO: 6. Jonathan Farah 31.18, 3a0. Wyatt Jennessee 35.38.

400-meter freestyle: 15-16, 1. Alexander Gardner, SRQ 4:04.07, 2. Mattheus Santos, PB 4:04.43, 3. Adrian Aguilar, MAC 4:05.67; SOFLO: 10. Leonardo Mateus 4:18.62, time drop, 26. Samuel Quintero 4:28.53, time drop; Open, 1. Franco Lupoli, Azura 4:03.10, 2. Miguel Cancel, Gulliver 4:03.29, 3. Blake Manganiello, AquaKids Sharls 4:04.61.

400-meter freestyle relay: 1. Metro Aquatics 3:28.20, 2. Azura 3:34.12, 3. Metro Aquatics 3:34.37, 7. SOFLO A 3:41.48 (Luke Lezotte, Heath Brames, Jonathan Farah, Kevin Porto), 14. SOFLO B 3:49.94 (Michael Arias, Samuel Quintero, Juan Diaz, Leonardo Mateus).

IF YOU GO

What: Florida Gold Coast LCM Senior Championships
When: Saturday-Sunday
Where: Michael Lohberg Pool of Champions, Coral Springs Aquatic Complex, 12441 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs.
Schedule: Saturday, Session III, 8:30 a.m.-12:49 p.m., Session IV, 5-7:17 p.m.; Sunday, Session V, 8:30 a.m.-1:43 p.m., Session VI, 5-8:04 p.m.
Defending champion: Swim Fort Lauderdale (Combined).
Of note: Admission is $5 per session for prelims and $3 per session for finals.
Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

Manuel Knocks Off World Record Holder; U.S. Women Water Polo Win Fifth Title

By Sharon Robb

July 28, 2017—In front of a packed Duna Arena, American Simone Manuel knocked off world record holder Sarah Sjostrum of Sweden in the 100-meter freestyle with an American record 52.27 Friday at the 17th FINA World Aquatic Championships.

Sjostrum took silver in 52.31 and Denmark’s Pernille Blume in 52.69.

On Day 6 of the swimming competition, Manuel became the first American to win the world title in the event since Jenny Thompson in 1998.

“I always think I have a shot,” Manuel said. “It’s kind of been ingrained in me having two older brothers and just always wanting to keep up with somebody.”

Russia had a breakout night winning three out of five gold medals awarded on Friday.

Russia won both the men’s and women’s 200-meter breaststroke. Anton Chupkov broke the meet record in 2:06.96.

Yulia Efimova topped the women’s breaststroke field in 2:19.64 far outdistancing Bethany Galat in 2:21.77.

Evgeny Rylov won the 200-meter backstroke after knocking off Bolles alum Ryan Murphy in 1:53.61. It was his biggest career victory after finishing third at the 2015 worlds and third at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Murphy took silver in 1:54.21. U.S. teammate Jacob Pebley was third in 1:55.06.

Great Britain repeated as world champions in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. The Brits led by a strong anchor leg by James Guy won in 7:01.70. Russia took silver in 7:02.68 and young U.S. team settled for the bronze in 7:03.18.

WATER POLO

The U.S. women’s team defended its title with a 13-6 victory over Spain for the gold medal and fifth world title. Kiley Neushul scored a game-high four goals for the U.S. Neushul was named MVP of the finals and Maddie Musselman was selected MVP of the tournament. Russia overpowered Canada, 11-9, for the bronze medal. Hungary defeated Italy, 10-8, for fifth place and Greece downed Australia, 8-6, for seventh place.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

Florida’s Dressel Wins First Individual Gold Medal At 17th FINA World Aquatic Championships

By Sharon Robb

July 27, 2017—On the fifth day of the 17th FINA World Aquatics Championship, University of Florida senior Caeleb Dressel won his third goal medal overall and first individual medal Thursday at Duna Arena in Budapest, Hungary.

Dressel, a Clay High School alum who trained with Bolles Club, won the men’s 100-meter freestyle in an American record and best time 47.17. Nathan Adrian was second in 47.87. Mehdy Metella of France was third in 47.89.

The 20-year-old won Team USA’s first gold medal in the 100 since Anthony Ervin won in 2001. Dressel won his other two gold medals on relays.

“Anybody who has followed Caeleb is not surprised by this,” Adrian said. “They know the sky is absolutely the limit.”

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Dressel was sixth in the 100 freestyle. Dressel’s splits were 22.31 and 24.86.

“I’m very excited about it, but more importantly America won two medals and that’s more exciting,” Dressel said. “That’s what I always want to see on the board. I’m very happy with my best time.”

Dressel competes in Friday’s prelims in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly.

In other races:

Spain’s Mireia Belmonte, the 2016 Olympic champ, knocked off Katinka Hosszu in the 200-meter butterfly despite the hometown crowd cheering Hosszu home. It was her first gold medal at worlds after three silvers and one bronze. Germany’s Franziska Hentke took second in 2:05.39 and Hosszu faded to third in 2:06.02.

“It is incredible to swim here,” Belmonte said. “The pool is amazing and the crowd is very loud. All the Hungarians cheering was great.

“I still don’t believe this is true. It was a difficult race with a lot of good swimmers in every lane. I never won a title like this so it is important. It feels different than an Olympic medal but I can’t explain why.”

Said Hosszu, “I am absolutely satisfied with the bronze medal. It was a really good competition. The time was encouraging. It was an unbelievable feeling to swim a final in front of such an audience. You can hear the cheering from inside, even from the water.”

Brazilian Etiene Medeiros gave her country its first women’s gold medal in worlds history by winning the 50-meter backstroke in 27.14. China’s Fu Yuanhui took silver in 27.15 and Belarus’ Aliaksandra Herasimenia took bronze in 27.13.

“To win a long course championship medal is inspiring,” Medeiros said. “It has a huge meaning for my country, my friends, my coach and my teammates. Brazilian swimming is getting stronger.”

American Chase Kalisz won the U.S. team’s eighth consecutive title in the 200-meter individual medley in 1:55.56. Michael Phelps won three titles and Ryan Lochte won four with Kalisz filling the void. Kosuke Hagino took silver in 1:56.01 and China’s Wang Shun took bronze in 1:56.28.

“Lochte and Phelps will never be replaced and they have always been my idols since I was a kid,” Kalisz said. “To see the U.S. stay on top is a dream come true. I never even thought I could make the team to come to worlds. And I definitely didn’t think I would be sitting here tonight.”

The U.S. team of Leah Smith, Mallory Comerford, Melanie Margalis of St. Petersburg and Katie Ledecky won the gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle in 7:43.39. It was Ledecky’s 13th gold medal. It was the fourth consecutive gold medal in the event for the U.S.

Aussie Emma McKeon swam her way into the record books when Australia took the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay bronze medal. McKeon collected her fifth medal equalling the record of Libby Trickett and Alicia Coutts. She has four silvers and one bronze after 11 races.

FLORIDA GOLD COAST

Gulliver Swim Club’s Alicia Mancilla, competing for Guatemala, was the youngest swimmer in the 1500-meter freestyle. She won her heat in a best time 17:15.04 and finished 19th. “This has been a great experience for her and for me,” said Gulliver coach Chris George.

Day 6 prelims are Friday at 3:30 a.m. EST.

WATER POLO

Croatia defeated Serbia for the first time in seven years to reach the finals. Croatia won with a 12-11 victory Thursday night.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

Championship Season Continues For SOFLO Swimmers At FGC Senior Championships This Weekend

By Sharon Robb

July 27, 2017—South Florida Aquatic Club’s older swimmers now get a chance to compete at the Florida Gold Coast LCM Senior Championships that begin Friday at the Michael Lohberg Pool of Champions at Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.

A week after winning the FGC Junior Olympics, SOFLO will join several top teams including defending champion Swim Fort Lauderdale in the team title chase.

Earlier this year, SOFLO won both the FGC and Senior Short Course Championships and last week won the FGC JO Long Course title. SOFLO will challenge Gulliver, Azura and Swim Fort Lauderdale for the team title.

SOFLO has 31 swimmers competing in 125 individual events and 14 relays in 10 events. Several seniors are not competing because of upcoming Futures and Junior Nationals.

SOFLO’s top seeds are:

Four-time Olympian Alia Atkinson, 28, 100-meter freestyle (56.08), 50-meter breaststroke (30.77). Atkinson is tuning up for the FINA World Cup Money Series.

Luke Lezotte, 16, 50-meter freestyle.

Other SOFLO swimmers who qualified are: Alana Acevedo, 16; Michael Arias, 14; Sophia Bedoya, 15; David Avalos Aday, 16; Heath Brames, 17; Ryan Capote, 19; Valentina Carrion, 15; Maya Coffey, 16; Alexandra Crespo, 16; Daniela Curbelo, 14; Isabella DiSalvo, 15; Juan Diaz, 17; Jonathan Farah, 19; Eiza Gantus, 15; Kylie Herman, 20; Wyatt Jennessee, 17; Ty Lezotte, 14; Rebekah Ling, 15; Michelle Marinheiro, 14; Leonardo Mateus, 15; Stephanie Mlujeak, 18; Casey Moya, 17; Michelle Ordonez, 14; Abby Oyetunji, 17; Kevin Porto, 17; Samuel Quintero, 16; Sebastian Sevilla, 16; Jonathan Strod, 18; and Kellie Wilcox, 16.

The field features 42 Florida Gold Coast teams including Azura Florida Aquatics, Swim Fort Lauderdale, Gulliver Swim Club, Jupiter Dragons, Pine Crest Swimming and East Coast Aquatic Club and a team from Wyoming.

In addition to Atkinson, among other notable swimmers in the field are Patrick Groters of Pine Crest Swimming; Kyla Valls of Miami Swimming, Jhonny Perez of Azura, Franco Lupoli of Azura, Nikita Tretyakov of Swim Fort Lauderdale, Marco Guarente of Azura, Elizabeth Zubero of Swim Fort Lauderdale, Luke Smutny of AquaKids Sharks and Adrian Aguilar of Metro Aquatics.

Swim Fort Lauderdale is the combined defending champion. Swim FTL scored 1,085 followed by Gulliver with 990.50 and Metro Aquatics with 763. SOFLO finished among the Top 10, placing eighth with 518 points.

Host Coral Springs is not keeping girls or boys team award totals. No trophies will be awarded per Florida Gold Coast vote.

IF YOU GO

What: Florida Gold Coast LCM Senior Championships

When: Friday-Sunday

Where: Michael Lohberg Pool of Champions, Coral Springs Aquatic Complex, 12441 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs.

Schedule: Friday, Session I, 8:30 a.m.-12:53 p.m., Session II 5-7:53 p.m.; Saturday, Session III, 8:30 a.m.-12:49 p.m., Session IV, 5-7:17 p.m.; Sunday, Session V, 8:30 a.m.-1:43 p.m., Session VI, 5-8:04 p.m.

Defending champion: Swim Fort Lauderdale (Combined).

Of note: Admission is $5 per session for prelims and $3 per session for finals.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

Pellegrini Knocks Off Ledecky; Murphy, Dressel Win Relay Gold At 17th FINA World Aquatic Championships

By Sharon Robb

Budapest, Hungary, July 26, 2017—Italy’s world record holder Federica Pellegrini proved American superstar Katie Ledecky can be beaten.

The veteran swimmer won her seventh consecutive medal since 2005 in the 200-meter freestyle on Wednesday at the 17th FINA World Aquatic Championships at Duna Aquatics Arena.

“I was only fourth at the Olympic Games last year, so this is a great success for me,” Pellegrini said. “I was thinking of the medal but I never thought it would be gold. What a nice gift for the last 200 meter freestyle of my life. I still can’t believe it.”

Pellegrini, 28, turned it on in the last 50 meters to win in 1:54.73 with a blistering 28.82 back half, nearly a full second faster than Ledecky and McKeon.

Ledecky, defending Olympic and world champion in the 200-meter freestyle, took silver in 1:55.18 tying Aussie Emma McKeon for second.

It was the first time Ledecky had lost at a world championship. Ledecky had been 12-for-12 over the last three championships including three golds this week.

“It was a very tough competition and a very good race,” Ledecky said. “I think I have to watch the video of the race before I can tell more but I am still motivated for all the other races here. I just didn’t really have it today. I can’t complain really with the silver.”

Pellegrini became the first swimmer in the history of the championships to capture seven medals in a single individual event.

It was a good day for Italy upsetting favorites.

Italy’s Gabriele Detti upset favorite Sun Yang of China to win the 800-meter freestyle in 7:40.77 and teammate Gregorio Paltrinieri took the bronze medal in 7:42.44. After winning the three world 800 titles in the last three consecutive worlds, Sun faltered to fifth place in 7:48.87.

“We train a lot so we are used to this type of competition,” Detti said. “But it was great that Italy led this event.”

In other races:

In the mixed medley relay, Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Murphy picked up gold medals. Murphy, Kevin Cordes, Kelsi Worrell and Mallory Commerford broke the world record in 3:40.28 during prelims and the foursome of Dressel, Matt Grevers, Lilly King and Simone Manuel re-broke the record in 3:38.56 to win and finish ahead of Australia and Canada. It was Dressel’s second gold medal of the week. It was Murphy’s first gold after taking a bronze in the 100-meter backstroke.

In the men’s 50-meter breaststroke and after two world record swims, Brit Adam Peaty, 22, won in 25.99, only the second performance under 26 seconds. Brazilian Joao Gomes Junior took silver in 26.52 ahead of South African Cameron Van Der Burgh.

South African Chad Le Clos returned to the spotlight to win the gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly ahead of hometown favorite Laszlo Cseh, 31, in 1:53.33 and regain his world crown. Japan’s Daiya Seto won his first medal in the event with a bronze. Le Clos was overcome with emotion on the awards podium.

“It was unbelievable and so emotional, with the hard year I had with my family, both my parents fighting cancer,” Le Clos said. “I fought for my family tonight.

“It is a great honor to be here in the stadium, probably one of the best I have ever competed in, together with my great friend, Laszlo,” Le Clos said. “It was a very emotional event, before, during and after the race for me. I am very thankful and lucky that I touched home first.”

In a shocker, Bolles alum Joseph Schooling failed to get out of the prelims of the 100-meter freestyle in 48.86. He finished 17th. “It was a pretty rough meeting, not going to lie,” Schooling said. “Having a day off, first race after that, definitely felt pretty rough.”

WATER POLO

Croatia remained unbeaten with a 12-9 victory over Italy to advance into the semifinals. Croatia also defeated the U.S., Russia and Japan in group play. Croatia plays defending champion Serbia in the semifinals on Thursday. Medal favorite Hungary routed Russia, 14-5, and will play Greece in the other semifinal. The final is Saturday. The U.S. won its last three games and finished 13th with a 3-2 record. The U.S. beat Russia, South Africa and France.

In the women’s semifinals, the U.S. and Spain advanced into Friday’s gold medal game. The U.S. defeated Olympic bronze medalist Russia, 14-9, and Spain eliminated Canada, 12-10. Russia and Canada will play for the bronze medal.

The defending world champion U.S. team is the only team undefeated in the field.

MEDAL TALLY

China leads in total medals with 25 (12 goal, 9 silver and 4 bronze). Russia has 17 (8 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze). The U.S. has 22 (7 gold, 9 silver, 6 bronze). France and Great Britain each had seven total. Four days remain until the Closing Ceremony.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

Four World Records Go Down On Day 3 Of FINA World Championships; SOFLO’s Rojas Competes In Final Event

By Sharon Robb

Budapest, Hungary, July 25, 2017—In a showdown of the world’s top breaststrokers, American Lilly King broke the world and American records and won the world title Tuesday at the 17th FINA World Aquatic Championships.

In front of a cheering electric crowd at Duna Aquatics Arena, King won the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:04.13 and held off arch rival Yuliya Efimova of Russia their first meeting since the 2016 Rio Olympics.

King broke the world mark set by Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte set in 2013 to earn her first world championship medal.

“It is amazing how the world gets faster,” King said. “I was very, very excited at my first world record. I am really excited to see now what happens next.”

The U.S. last won gold in this event in 2011 when Rebecca Soni won.

American teammate Katie Meili was second in 1:05.03 and Efimova faltered to third and settled for the bronze in 1:05.05.

“That race was always going to be a showdown, an exciting dogfight, I was just hoping I was going to come out on top,” King said. “We get a lot of rivalries like this in football, basketball, swimming where we see a lot of really nice people, being really nice.

“That’s great and all but it’s not my personality. I’m spunky, I’m confident and I’m not going to not be myself before a race.”

King, 20, has always voiced her displeasure over Efimova being allowed to compete at the international level despite being caught twice for using banned substances.

“I was really freaking out when I got to the pool, very nervous, and then I got in for warm-up and felt a lot better and really confident going into the race,” King said.

Three other world records, two by one swimmer, were broken on Day 3.

A day after winning the 100-meter breaststroke, Brit Adam Peaty, 22, became the first man to dip below 26 seconds in the 50-meter breaststroke. He won in 25.95, lowering his record mark of 26.10 from the morning prelims by 0.15 seconds. It was Peaty’s fourth world record in the 50 breaststroke.

“I was on such a high from this morning and it was so hard to ignore the fact that I did a world record and try to get myself emotionally ready,” Peaty said.

Canadian Kylie Masse won a world title in the 100-meter backstroke in a world record time of 58.10. American Kathleen Baker took silver and Aussie defending champion Emily Seebohm took bronze finishing just 0.01 seconds behind Baker.

Canada has never won a gold medal in the women’s 100 backstroke at worlds. Masse’s gold is the first medal for Canada since Cheryl Gibson won bronze in 1978.

“I am still in shock but I am super happy,” Masse said. “Excitement in general was the feeling I had. I trusted the whole process. I worked hard this season and it paid off. I hope we have inspired younger generations to get to swim.”

In other races:

Superstar Katie Ledecky made it look easy winning the 1500-meter freestyle by 19 seconds. She led from the start to win her third straight world title in the 1500 in 15:31.82. It was her 12th world championship gold medal, the most of all time for a woman breaking a tie with Missy Franklin. Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia took silver in 15:50.89 and Italian Simona Quadarella won bronze in 15:53.86. The win was the fifth women’s 1500 title at worlds for the U.S.

Ledecky had a tough double coming back to earn the top seed in the 200-meter freestyle in the semifinals. Less than an hour after the 1500, she went 1:54.69 setting her up nicely for Wednesday’s semifinals.

“I just knew I had a big night tonight and I couldn’t be more happy about it,” Ledecky said. “I think compared to two years ago my schedule is different. I was very happy with my 1500, two years ago it was faster, but I felt pretty good. I knew I could do it again.”

Added Belmonte, “Katie Ledecky is on another planet, so the goal of the race was to win the silver medal. For me, it is gold.”

China’s Sun Yang won his first world title in the 200-meter freestyle in 1:44.39. American Townley Haas was second in 1:45.04 for his first individual medal in a major international meet and Russian Alexandr Krasnykh was third in 1:45.23. Sun won the 400 freestyle earlier in the week.

China won its first medal at worlds in the men’s 100-meter backstroke when Xu Jiayu knocked off Bolles alum Ryan Murphy and Matt Grevers to take the gold in 52.44. Grevers took silver in 52.48 and Murphy took bronze in 52.59. It was Grevers third straight medal in the 100 back at worlds. It was Murphy’s first individual medal at worlds.

Japan’s Daiya Seto earned the top seed in the 200-meter butterfly semifinals in 1:54.03.

FLORIDA GOLD COAST

In a rarity at the international level, two Florida Gold Coast swimmers, the Dominican Republic’s Marc Rojas of South Florida Aquatic Club and Aruba’s Jordy Groters of Pine Crest Swimming and Missouri swam side-by-side in the same heat of the 50-meter breaststroke.

Groters finished 42nd in a best time and Aruba national record in 28.40.

Rojas, making his international long course worlds debut, was 52nd in 29.84 in his second and final event of worlds.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

Hungary, Britain Dominate Gold Medals; SOFLO’s Rojas Swims Tuesday At FINA World Championships

By Sharon Robb

Budapest, Hungary, July 24, 2017—The second night of swimming at the 17th FINA World Championships featured four individual finals and three semifinals in front of a loud crowd of 12,000 Monday at Duna Arena.

Hometown favorite Katinka Hosszu had the crowd on its feet during the 200-meter individual medley dominating the women’s field for her third straight world title.

Hosszu, who scratched from the 100 backstroke, led from start-to-finish to win in 2:07.00 ahead of Japan’s Yui Ohashi (2:07.91). American Madisyn Cox surged in the last half of the race to take the bronze in 2:09.71. Even Cox was impressed by the electrifying atmosphere. She said she pretended the crowd was cheering for her and that motivated her.

Canadian Sydney Pickrem, who was a medal favorite, felt ill and was forced to get out of the pool after the first 50 meters.

Brit Adam Peaty defended his world title in the 100-meter breaststroke in a meet record 57.47. Peaty was just shy of his world record of 57.13 set last year. American Kevin Cordes took silver in 58.79 and Russian Kirill Prigoda won the bronze with a national record.

“I am really happy,” Peaty said. “We have quite a young team after Rio and I am a little bit now pushing because I do not feel anyone can push me right now in the country. This venue is absolutely incredible.”

Great Britain got its second gold medal with a stunning upset victory by Ben Proud in the 50-meter butterfly. Proud won in 22.75, just shy of the meet record in 22.67. Proud looked stunned after touching the wall. It was his first individual medal at either the Olympics or World Championships and first time Great Britain has medaled in the event since 2001 when Mark Foster finished third.

Brazil veteran swimmer Nicholas Santos (22.79) and Andrii Govorov of the Ukraine (22.84) took silver and bronze. American and Clay High School alum Caeleb Dressel and Singapore’s star Joseph Schooling were shut out of a medal finishing fourth (22.89) and fifth (22.95) respectively. Dressel, 20, came in with the fastest semifinal qualifying time.

Schooling, 22, was disappointed and is now focusing on the 100 butterfly.

“It’s fine, it’s my second best time,” Schooling told reporters. “I got beaten by four better guys. Obviously, I am disappointed with the positioning but the time was fine. It sets me up for a good 100 fly. I’ll just learn from the race and move on.” The 100 butterfly is Wednesday.

Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom continued her domination in the 100-meter butterfly. She broke the meet record to win a gold medal in 55.53, just shy of her best time of 55.48. It was Sjostrom’s fourth overall world championship gold medal (2009, 2013, 2015).

“I am a little bit tired because of yesterday’s race but I am very excited about today,” Sjostrum said. “I could not wait for the start. I just wanted to jump into the water. The championship record was not expected because I am focusing on the freestyle this year.”

Aussie Emma McKeon (56.18) was second and American sensation Kelsi Worrell of Louisville was third in 56.37. Worrell is coached by former St. Thomas Aquinas and Florida Gold Coast swimmer Vlad Polyakov.

In the men’s 100-meter backstroke semifinal, China’s Xu Jiayu earned the top seed for Tuesday night’s final with a time of 52.44. Americans Ryan Murphy (52.95), a Bolles alum, and Matt Grevers (52.97) are close behind.

In another interesting semifinal, Russia Yulia Efimova was the top qualifier in the 100-meter breaststroke just missing the world record (1:04.35) in 1:04.36. After she finished she leaned against her lane line and waved her index finger much the same way she did at last year’s Rio Olympics. American Olympic champion Lilly King, one of the most vocal swimmers about Efimova’s past performance-enhancing drug charges, was second qualifier in 1:04.53. The two, who last raced in Rio, obviously do not like each other and will leave it all in the pool Tuesday night. Also in the field is current world record holder Ruta Meilutyte, the third seed at 1:05.06.

Canadian Kylie Masse earned the top seed for the 100-meter backstroke final in 58.18, a Canadian national record. Defending world champion Emily Seebohm of Australia (58.85) and American Kathleen Baker (59.03) were second and third fastest.

Britain continued its success in the men’s 200-meter freestyle semifinal with James Guy (1:45.16) and Duncan Scott (1:45.18), the top two fastest seeds. Reigning Olympic champion Sun Yang was third fastest in 1:45.24.

Five-time Olympic champion Katie Ledecky had no problem cruising through the 1500-meter freestyle qualifying heats. She finished in 15:47.54. Her world and meet record is 15:25.48. Spain’s Mireia Belmonte was second fastest qualifier in 16:05.37.

FLORIDA GOLD COAST NEWS

South Florida Aquatic Club’s Marc Rojas of the Dominican Republic will swim his second and final event on Tuesday in the 50-meter breaststroke.

Rojas, 23, will swim in the fifth of nine heats in Lane 8 with a seed time of 28.90 right next to another FGC swimmer, Jordy Groters of Aruba and Pine Crest Swimming in Lane 7 (28.57).

It is Rojas second major international event and first long course world championships. Peaty is the gold medal favorite (26.48).

The World Championships are being televised at 11:30 a.m. EST on NBC Sports Network while live streaming for the competition can be found on NBCSports.com, the Olympic Channel and CBC.ca for viewers in Canada.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

South Florida Aquatic Club Captures FGC 14&Under Junior Olympics; Swimmers, Coaches Shine During Record Performance

By Sharon Robb

July 23, 2017—South Florida Aquatic Club captured the 14&Under Florida Gold Coast Junior Olympics Long Course Championships with another historical performance at Sailfish Splash Waterpark in Stuart.

SOFLO won its eighth consecutive team title and ninth overall in club history.

SOFLO also won back-to-back short course and long course JO titles for the fifth time.

SOFLO, defending champions in the combined and boys team standings, defended both titles. SOFLO won the combined team title with 661 points, nearly 200 points ahead of runner-up Gulliver Swim Club with 491 and East Coast Aquatic Club with 416.5.

SOFLO won the boys team title with 442 points, more than double Gulliver Swim Club with 202 and City of Hialeah Storm with 200.5.

Gulliver Swim Club captured the girls’ team title with 289. Only three points separated the next three teams. East Coast Aquatic Club had 222, Pine Crest Swimming 220 and SOFLO, 219. Defending girls champion and co-meet host North Palm Beach was seventh with 126.

It was a total team effort by SOFLO, buoyed by talent, depth, relay strength and emotionally-charged coaching staff. The majority of SOFLO’s qualifiers had at least one best time, some with huge time drops.

On the final day, SOFLO JO champions were:

Alessandro Pereira, 10, had an outstanding meet finishing with a victory in the 50-meter backstroke in 36.33, with a time drop of 1.53.

He was also second in the 200-meter individual medley, 2:43.47, with another time drop of 2:02 and second in the 100-meter freestyle in 1:08.93.

SOFLO boys 11-12 200-meter freestyle relay won in 1:55.84 with Alejandro Mateus, Zackary Harris, Christopher Hau and Enrique Rodriguez.

SOFLO boys 13-14 400-meter freestyle relay won n 3:51.14 with Lance Lesage, Jie Hoon Lee, Sebastian Lares and Nicolas Rossi.

Other top six SOFLO finishers who qualified for All-Stars were:

Paige Lane, 14, second, 100-meter freestyle, 1:00.88, time drop of 1:19.

Enrique Rodriguez, 12, second, 100-meter freestyle, 1:00.26; third, 200-meter individual medley, 2:31.82.

Nicolas Rossi, 14, second, 1500-meter freestyle, 17:03.13.

Kayla Cunningham, 14, third, 50-meter backstroke, 31.76

Molly Golding, 14, fourth, 200-meter individual medley, 2:32.17

Daniela Curbelo, 14, fifth, 200-meter butterfly, 2:32.02, time drop of 1.24 in prelims in 2:30.61.

Mallory Schleicher, 13, fifth, 1500-meter freestyle, 18:19.17, time drop of 18.55.

Alejandro Mateus, 12, fourth, 200-meter butterfly, 2:38.35, 10.25 time drop; fifth, 200-meter individual medley, 2:35.92.

Victoria Torres, 12, sixth, 50-meter breaststroke, 38.49, time drop of 0.69.

Sarah Acevedo, 13, sixth, 1500-meter freestyle, 18:24.42, time drop of 45.64, breaking 19 minutes for the first time.

Zackary Harris, 12, fifth, 200-meter butterfly, 2:43.54, 4.99 time drop; fifth, 50-meter backstroke, 33.98; sixth 200-meter individual medley, 2:38.48.

Nathaniel Garrick, 12, fifth, 1500-meter freestyle, 20:18.25, time drop of 1:00.53 dripping below 21 minutes for the first time.

Jie Hoon Lee, 12, sixth, 200-meter individual medley, 2:23.66.

Christian Tijero, 11, sixth 200-meter butterfly, 2:45.23, 7.50 time drop.

In the relay competition, the girls’ 13-14 400-meter freestyle relay team of Katrina Del Vecchio, Daniela Curbelo, Michelle Marinheiro and Paige Lane was third in 4:14.58.

SUNDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. South Florida Aquatic Club 661, 2. Gulliver Swim Club 491, 3. East Coast Aquatic Club 416.5, 4. Jupiter Dragons 284, 5. Pine Crest Swimming 282, 6. City of Hialeah Storm 248.5, 7. St. Andrew’s Swimming 245, 8. Flood Aquatics 238, 9. Miami Swimming 226, 10. Metro Aquatics 174.

BOYS TEAM TOTALS: 1. SOFLO 442, 2. Gulliver 202, 3. City of Hialeah 200.5, 4. East Coast 194.5, 5. Flood Aquatics 174, 6. Jupiter Dragons 171, 7. Miami Swimming 159, 8. Metro Aquatics 113, 9. St. Andrew’s 102, 10. Swim Fort Lauderdale 63.

GIRLS TEAM TOTALS: 1. Gulliver 289, 2. East Coast Aquatic Club 222, 3. Pine Crest Swimming 220, 4. SOFLO 219, 5. Coral Springs Swim Club 148, 6. St. Andrew’s Swimming 143, 7. North Palm Beach 126, 8. tie, YMCA of South Florida and Jupiter 113, 10. AquaKids Sharks 103.

HIGH POINT AWARDS: GIRLS, 10-and-under, 1. Sidney Anton, Azura 49, 2. Bianca Nieto, City of Miami 48, 3. Gabriella Deluna, YMCA of South Florida 42; SOFLO: 13. Anastasia Lutz 8, 18. Giada Porven 6; 11-12, 1. Erika Pelaez, Miami Swimming 49, 2. Olivia Dinehart, AquaKids Sharks 46, 3. Rebecca Monterom AquaKids Shars 43; SOFLO: 26. Valerie Vank 6, 36. Victoria Torres 3, 38. Sabrina Osorio 1; 13-14, 1. Paige Maceachern, East Coast 53, 2. Heidi Smithwick, Jupiter 51, 3. Anelis Roque, Metro Aquatics 41; SOFLO: 6. Paige Lane, 31.50, 7. Molly Golding 25, 8. Kayla Cunningham 24, 20. Mallory Schleicher 11.50, 23. Katrina Del Vecchio, Daniela Curbelo 6, 26. Sarah Acevedo 5, 32. Michelle Marinheiro 2, 32. Kyana Castro, 2.

BOYS, 10-and-under, 1. Lucas Bailey, East Coast 59, 2. Alessandro Pereira, SOFLO 57, 3. George Gonzalez, Flying Fish 51; SOFLO: 17. Jonathan Lozano 5, 21. Luca Hincapie 3; 11-12, 1. Agustin Rodriguez, City of Hialeah 63, 2. Dario Martin, Olympus 51.50, 3. tie, Enrique Rodriguez, SOFLO and Kaii Winkler, Miami Swimming 41; SOFLO: 13. Zackary Harris 19, 16. Alejandro Mateus 16, 19. Christopher Hau 9, 22. Christian Tijero 7, 23. Logan Gonzalez 5, 26. Nathaniel Garrick 4, 33. Javier Colmenares, Lucas Porven, 1; 13-14, 1. Joshua Zuchowski, FAST 60, 2. Kyle Korvick, Gulliver 41.50, 3. tie, Caleb Petranchuk, Jupiter, Jose Hermdia, Metro Aquatics, 38.

GIRLS

200-meter individual medley: 10-and-under, 1. Gabriella Deluna, YSF 2:50.69, 2. Bianca Nieto, City of Miami 2:54.08, 3. Alexa Avila, Blue Marlins 2:54.37; SOFLO: 9. Giada Porven 3:02.07, time drop, 10. Fiorella Di Salvo 3:05.85, time drop; 11-12, 1. Julia Podkoscielny, PC 2:31.88, 2. Riley Botting, Unattached 2:34.23, 3. Erika Pelaez, Miami Swimming 2:34.37; SOFLO: 10. Valerie Vank 2:44.85, time drop, 16. Sofia Osorio 2:49.27, time drop, 18. Sabrina Osorio 2:49.40, time drop; 13-14, 1. Paige Maceachern, ECAC 2:24.43, 2. Heidi Smithwick, Jupiter 2:29.38, 3. Valeria Strohmeier, Gulliver 2:31.00; SOFLO: 4. Molly Golding 2:32.17, 12. Daniela Curbelo 2:35.89, 15. Mallory Schleicher 2:36.53, 17. Katrina Del Vecchio 2:36.97, 22. Sarah Acevedo 2:39.74.

50-meter backstroke: 10-and-under, 1. Gabriella Deluna, YSF 35.71, 2. Leorah Rotchin, Wellington 37.40, 3. Sidney Anton, Azura 37.85; SOFLO: 24. Anastasia Lutz 42.34; 11-12, 1. Julia Podkoscielny, PC 32.38, 2. Erika Pelaez, MS 32.84, 3. Emily Lopez-Diaz, YSF 33.81; SOFLO: 26. Sofia Osorio 37.54, 31. Kerry Cunningham 38.07, 43. Ava Kuznik 38.81, 51. Alexis Christensen 39.84; 13-14, 1. Megan Murphy, ECAC 30.70, 2. Claudia Acosta, HSC 31.36, 3. Kayla Cunningham, SOFLO 31.76; SOFLO: 15. Katrina Del Vecchio 34.13, time drop, 20. Jena Legaspi 34.84, time drop, 31. Paige Lane 35.50, 34. Michelle Marinheiro 35.67, time drop.

50-meter breaststroke: 10-and-under, 1. Bianca Nieto, City of Miami 39.64, 2. Mercedes Pelayes, SDST 41.03, 3. Abbie Sargent, FKSC 41.64; SOFLO: 8. Anastasia Lutz 45.20, time drop, 20. Fiorella Di Salvo 46.85, time drop; 11-12, 1. Micaela sierra, CSSC 36.19, 2. Riley Botting, Unattached 36.64, 3. Michelle Fernandez, HSC 36.70; SOFLO: 6. Victoria Torres 38.49, 7. Valerie Vank 38.50, 8. Sabrina Osorio 38.66, 26. Natalia Sibug 42.38, 27. Kaitlyn Barrios 43.15;13-14, 1. Heidi Smithwick, Jupiter 34.73, 2. Paige Maceachern, ECAC 34.82, 3. Lucia Miller, SAS 35.42; SOFLO: 7. Molly Golding 36.49.

200-meter butterfly: 11-12, 1. Rebecca Montero, AquaKids Sharks 2:33.77, 2. Casey Perez, Blue Marlins 2:34.56, 3. Camila Saporta, Gulliver 2:34.75; 13-14, 1. Anelis Roque, MAC 2:23.67, 2. Jocelyn Ruiz, Blue Marlins 2:24.08, 3. Valerie Barreto, Gulliver 2:24.81; SOFLO: 5. Daniela Curbelo 2:32.02, 7. Sarah Acevedo 2:33.56, 11. Kyana Castro 2:37.01, time drop, 12. Mallory Schleicher 2:37.17, time drop, 13. Michelle Marinheiro 2:38.32, 21. Kayla Cunningham 2:48.57.

100-meter freestyle: 10-and-under, 1. Sidney Anton, Azura 1:08.89, 2. Ella Bailey, NPB 1:09.45, 3. Alexa Avila, Blue Marlins 1:10.33; SOFLO: 7. Anastasia Lutz 1:12.34, time drop, 19. Giada Porven 1:16.07, time drop; 11-12, 1. Isabella Troccoli, Sunrise 1:02.00, 2. Erika Pelaez, MS 1:02.57, 3. Olivia Denhart, AquaKids Sharks 1:03.61; SOFLO: 46. Alexis Christensen 1:10.16, 51. Kaitlyn Barrios 1:11.10, 52. Victoria Torres 1:11.42; 13-14, 1. Claudia Acosta, Hialeah 59.89, 2. Paige Lane, SOFLO 1:00.88, 3. Gabrianna Banks, HAT 1:00.50; SOFLO: 20. Kyana Castro 1:03.49, 23. Katrina Del Vecchio 1:03.59, 38. Daniela Curbelo 1:04.91, 51. Emma Twombly 1:06.89.

200-meter freestyle relay: 11-12, 1. Unattached Pine Crest 1:58.17, 2. Coral Springs 2:00.70, 3. Gulliver 2:01.83, 13. SOFLO A 2:08.21 (Victoria Torres, Sabrina Osorio, Alexis Christensen, Valerie Vank), 18. SOFLO B 2:01.99 (Reagan Lowe, Ava Kuznik, Sofia Osorio, Kaitlyn Barrios).

400-meter freestyle relay: 13-14, 1. East Coast 4:07.50, 2. Pine Crest 4:08.34, 3. SOFLO A 4:14.58 (Katrina Del Vecchio, Daniela Curbelo, Michelle Marinheiro, Paige Lane), 8. SOFLO B 4:19.82 (Emma Twombly, Mallory Schleicher, Molly Golding, Kyana Castro).

1500-meter freestyle: 11-12, 1. Olivia Dinehart, AquaKids Sharks 18:43.78, 2. Erin Miller, SAS 19:07.19, 3. Camila Saporta, Gulliver 19:13.84; 13-14, 1. Anna Auld, East Coast 17:41.47, 2. Michaela Avedisian, East Coast 18:02.50, 3. Emily Trieschmann, SAS 18:13.64, SOFLO: 5. Mallory Schleicher 18:19.17, time drop, 6. Sarah Acevedo 18:24.42, time drop, 7. Michelle Marinheiro 18:31.78, time drop.

BOYS

200-meter individual medley: 10-and-under, 1. Lucas Bailey, East Coast 2:41.65, 2. Alessandro Pereira, SOFLO 2:43.47, time drop, 3. George Gonzalez, Flying Fish 2:47.25; SOFLO: 7. Jonathan Lozano 3:00.49, time drop, 20. Luca Hincapie 3:11.29, time drop, 25. Owen Smith 3:15.14, time drop; 11-12, 1. Agustin Rodriguez, Hialeah 2:25.51, 2. Kaii Winkler, MS 2:30.84, 3. Enrique Rodriguez, SOFLO 2:31.82; SOFLO: 5. Alejandro Mateus 2:35.92, 6. Zackary Harris 2:38.48, 12. Javier Colmenares 2:43.87, 13. Christian Tijero 2:44.57, time drop 2:44.57, 14. Logan Gonzalez 2:45.36, 16. Lucas Porven 2:47.32, time drop; 13-14, 1. Joshua Zuchowski, FAST 2:13.54, 2. Raphael Santos, Pompano 2:16.94, 3. Joshua Harris, PC 2:18.46; SOFLO: 6. Jie Hoon Lee 2:23.66, 8. Sebastian Lares 2:25.95, 15. Nicolas Munoz 2:26.04, 16. Juan Colmenares 2:26.07, time drop, 17. Nicolas Rossi 2:26.68, 18. Javier Roman 2:26.82, time drop, 22. Yannai Michael 2:29.23, time drop, 31. John Paul Handal 2:31.56, time drop, 36. Marcos Vazquez 2:32.92, time drop, 47. Christian Vasquez 2:36.95, time drop.

50-meter backstroke: 10-and-under, 1. Alessandro Pereira, SOFLO 36.33, time drop, 2. Lucas Bailey, East Coast 36.69, 3. Dylan Ferguson, Unattached 39.09; SOFLO: 14. Jonathan Lozano 41.70, 16. Luca Hincapie 41.91, time drop, 24. Stefano Mazzi 42.99, time drop, 27. Alessio Mazzi 43.67, time drop, 32. Owen Smith 45.17; 11-12, 1. Hudson Bishop, East Coast 30.62, 2. Gregory Nordheim, SAS 31.08, 3. Dario Martin, OSC 33.10; SOFLO: 5. Zackary Harris 33.98, 11. Aldo Zepeda 35.75, 13. Logan Gonzalez 35.83, 24. Nathaniel Garrick 38.06, 26. Lucas Porven 38.65, 30. Samuel Bullen 39.55; 13-14, 1. Joshua Zuchowski, FAST 28.64, 2. Ethan Roach, SAS 29.50, 3. Alex Marrero, SFTL 29.63; SOFLO: 14. Nicolas Munoz 31.86, time drop, 19. Sebastian Lares 32.12, time drop, 22. Ty Lezotte 32.40, 28. Marcos Vazquez 33.08, time drop, 36. Moises Rodriguez 33.99.

50-meter breaststroke: 10-and-under, 1. George Gonzales, Flying Fish 38.49, 2. Billy Connors, Wellington 40.90, 3. Tyler Curtis, Jupiter 43.14; SOFLO: 15. Luca Hincapie 49.93; 11-12, 1. Aiden Kohanyi, TSA 32.83, 2. Chase Foulds, ECAC 34.31, 3. Charles Pujula, HSC 36.01; SOFLO: 5. Logan Gonzalez 38.25, 15. Javier Colmenares, 40.40, 16. Samuel Bullen 40.64; 13-14, 1. Joshua Hanks, PC 32.30, 2. Victor Valdes, Hialeah 32.53, 3. Joshua Zuchowski, FAST 32.94; SOFLO: 8. Javier Roman 34.58, 9. Yannai Michael 34.60, time drop, 23. Mark Andre De Gracia 36.58.

200-meter butterfly: 11-12, 1. Dario Martin, OSC 2:27.26, 2. Kaii Winkler, MS 2:32.45, 3. Nicholas Kjaerulff, ECAC 2:36.07; SOFLO: 4. Alejandro Mateus 2:38.35, time drop, 5. Zackary Harris 2:43.54, time drop, 6. Christian Tijero 2:45.23, time drop, 8. Lucas Porven 2:48.24, time drop; 13-14, 1. Jose Hermida, MAC 2:11.50, 2. Caleb Petranchuk, Jupiter 2:11.68, 3. Miguel Sierra, AquaKids Sharks 2:17.25; SOFLO: 8. Joe Hoon Lee 2:24.09, 12. John Paul Handal 2:28.47, time drop, 13. Marcos Vazquez 2:29.32, time drop, 14. Juan Colmenares 2:29.61, time drop, 18. Sebastian Lares 2:34.11.

100-meter freestyle: 10-and-under, 1. Lucas Bailey, East Coast 1:06.61, 2. Alessandro Pereira, SOFLO 1:08.93, 3. Julian Lezcano, MAC 1:11.57; SOFLO: 10. Jonathan Lozano 1:15.52, 39. Alessio Mazzi 1:22.82; 11-12, 1. Agustin Rodriguez, HSC 58.54, 2. Enrique Rodriguez, SOFLO 1:00.26, 3. Finn Winkler, MS 1:01.33; SOFLO: 26. Aldo Zepeda 1:08.95, time drop; 13-14, 1. Robert Wilson, CCPR 55.25, 2. Raphael santos, Pompano 55.26, 3. Kyle Korvick, Gulliver 55.58; SOFLO: 15. Lance Lesage 58.40, time drop, 29. Nicolas Rossi 1:00.39, time drop; BRST: 31. Arda Aktarma 1:00.65.

200-meter freestyle relay: 11-12, 1. SOFLO A 1:55.84 (Alejandro Mateus, Zackary Harris, Christopher Hau, Enrique Rodriguez), 2. Jupiter 1:57.88, 3. Miami Swimming 1:57.98; 11. SOFLO B 2:06.08 (Javier Colmenares, Nathaniel Garrick, Aldo Zepeda, Logan Gonzalez).

400-meter freestyle relay: 13-14, 1. SOFLO A 3:51.14 (Lance Lesage, Jie Hoon Lee, Sebastian Lares, Nicolas Rossi), 2. Gulliver 3:52.19, 3. City of Hialeah 3:56.76; 10. SOFLO B 4:09.62 (Juan Colmenares, Ty Lezotte, Alex Golding, Christian Vasquez).

1500-meter freestyle: 11-12, 1. Mason Taylor, Jupiter 18:32.99, 2. Nicholas Kjaerulff, East Coast 18:45.26, 3. Chipper Edwards, FAST 19:14.90; SOFLO: 5. Nathaniel Garrick 20:18.25, time drop; 13-14, 1. Hector Paz, MAC 17:01.77, 2. Nicolas Rossi, SOFLO 17:03.13, 3. Trenton Edwards, FAST 17:34.74.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com