SOFLO’s Julio Horrego Wins First Event; Bolles Overtakes Lead On Day Two Of Piranhas Senior Invitational

By Sharon Robb
PLANTATION, March 4, 2022—South Florida Aquatic Club’s Julio Horrego pulled away from the field to win his signature event Friday at the Piranhas Senior Invitational at Plantation Aquatic Complex.

Horrego, 23, a 2020 Honduran Olympian, won the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:02.69 ahead of Bolles’ William Heck in 1:04.23. Horrego was the fastest morning qualifier in 1:04.61.

Horrego has the 50-meter breaststroke and 100-meter freestyle left to swim.

SOFLO teammate Ricardo Roche, 22, was 11th in the 50-meter backstroke in 28.93. He has the 200-meter backstroke left to swim.

SOFLO’s Dahlia Hirsh, 15, was 19th in the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:24.14 and 25th in the 50-meter backstroke in 36.23. She has the 50-meter breaststroke left to swim.

Powerhouse Bolles leads the combined (1,993 points), men’s (1,093) and women’s (796) team categories.

Other individual winners were:

Mexico’s national age group record holder Athena Meneses Kovacs, 17, of Eagle Aquatics won the 50-meter butterfly shootout in 27.18.

U.S. Junior National Team member Gracie Weyant, 16, of Sarasota Sharks won the 400-meter individual medley in 4:50.59.

In the most exciting race of the night, Azura’s Nicole Frank Rodriguez, 18, a member of the 2020 Uruguay Olympic team, won the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:11.81 just ahead of Weyant in 1:11.92 and Azura teammate and Uruguay national record holder Micaela Sierra, 17, in 1:11.99.

University of Florida-bound Michaela Mattes, 17, of Sarasota Sharks won the 200-meter freestyle in 2:02.23.

U.S. National Junior Swim Team member Erika Pelaez, 15, of Eagle Aquatics won the 50-meter backstroke shootout in 28.92.

Martin Espernberger, 18, of Bolles won the 50-meter butterfly shootout in 24.89.

Amadeusz Knop, 17, of Sarasota Sharks won the 400-meter individual medley in 4:29.85.

Kaii Winkler, 15, of Eagle Aquatics won the 200-meter freestyle in 1:52.06.

Stanford-bound Josh Zuchowski, 17, of Flood Aquatics and U.S. National Junior Team member won the 50-meter backstroke shootout in 27.52.

The four-day meet continues with a full schedule Saturday through Sunday with prelims at 8:40 a.m. and prelims at 5 p.m.

Among teams entered are Bolles, Sarasota Sharks, Azura Florida Aquatics, Webbs Tornadoes, TS Aquatics, Midtown Weston, Southern Utah, Eagle Aquatics and Flood Aquatics.

FRIDAY RESULTS
COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. Bolles 1,993, 2. Azura Florida Aquatics 1,360.5, 3. Plantation Swim Team 392, 4. Eagle Aquatics 379, 5. Sarasota Sharks 318, 15. SOFLO 53.5.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Bolles 1,093, 2. Azura 635.5, 3. Plantation Swim Team 271, 4. Tornadoes Swim Club 207, 5. Eagle Aquatics 95, 8. SOFLO 47.5.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Bolles 796, 2. Azura 497, 3. Sarasota Sharks 246, 4. tie, Webbs Tornadoes Swim Team, Midtown Weston Aquatics 171, 6. Eagle Aquatics 164, 17. SOFLO 6.

WOMEN
50-meter butterfly: 1. Athena Meneses Kovacs, EA 27.18, 2. Addison Sauickie, SYS 28.68.

400-meter individual medley: 1. Gracie Weyant, SYS 4:50.59, 2. Bailey O’Regan, SYS 4:50.92, 3. Nicole Frank Rodriguez, AZ 4:56.59.

100-meter breaststroke: 1. Nicole Frank Rodriguez, AZ 1:11.81, 2. Gracie Weyant, SYS 1:11.92, 3. Michaela Sierra, AZ 1:11.99; SOFLO: 19. Dahlia Hirsh 1:24.14.

200-meter freestyle: 1. Michaela Mattes, SYS 2:02.23, 2. Erika Pelaez, EA 2:03.62, 3. Addison Sauickie, SYS 2:03.64.

50-meter backstroke: 1. Erika Pelaez, EA 28.92, 2. Faith Khoo, BSS 31.94; SOFLO: 25. Dahlia Hirsh 36.23.

800-meter freestyle relay: 1. Azura A 8:37.41 (Britta Schwengle, Julimar Avila, Nicole Frank Rodriguez, Gabriela Robles Cortes), 2. Bolles A 8:45.78, 3. Bolles B 9:14.18.

MEN
50-meter butterfly: 1. Martin Espernberger, BSS 24.89, 2. Davidson Vincent, AZ 26.90.

400-meter individual medley: 1. Amadeusz Knop, SYS 4:29.85, 2. Michael Mullen, BSS 4:38.73, 3. Carter Lancaster, BSS 4:40.07.

100-meter breaststroke: 1. Julio Horrego, SOFLO 1:02.69, 2. William Hack, BSS 1:04.23, 3. Ethan Malony, BSS 1:05.16.

200-meter freestyle: 1. Kaii Winkler, EA 1:52.06, 2. Kayden Lancaster, BSS 1:54.66, 3. Gabriel Araya, AZ 1:55.77.

50-meter backstroke: 1. Josh Zuchowski, FAST 27.52, 2. Carlos Cobos, UN 28.38; SOFLO: 9/11. Ricardo Roche 28.90/28.93.

800-meter freestyle relay: 1. Bolles A 7:47.00 (Michael Mullen, Kayden Lancaster, Anthony Whittall, Seth Tolentino), 2. Azura 7:51.56, 3. Bolles B 8:08.62.

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

Mattes, Alshamroukh Win, Azura Leads After Day One Of Piranhas Senior Invitational

By Sharon Robb
PLANTATION, March 4, 2022—Azura Florida Aquatics, Bolles and Sarasota Sharks dominated opening day action at the Piranhas Senior Invitational Thursday at Plantation Aquatic Complex.

Michaela Mattes, 17, of Sarasota Sharks won the 800-meter freestyle in a best time 8:41.33, shaving 2.89 seconds off her previous best. She was nearly a minute ahead of the rest of the field.

Kuwait’s Sauod Alshamroukh, 18, of Azura won the 1500-meter freestyle in a best time 16:39.97, dropping 26.31, seconds. Azura swept the top four spots in the distance event with Alessandro Pereira, Maximiliano Paccot and Jahir Lopez.

The four-day meet continues with a full schedule Friday through Sunday with prelims at 8:40 a.m. and prelims at 5 p.m.

Among teams entered are Bolles, Sarasota Sharks, Azura Florida Aquatics, Webbs Tornadoes, TS Aquatics, Midtown Weston, Southern Utah, Eagle Aquatics and Flood Aquatics.

THURSDAY RESULTS
COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura Florida Aquatics 668, 2. Bolles 623, 3. Plantation 236, 4. Webbs Tornadoes 198, 5. Eagle Aquatics 120.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura 271, 2. Bolles 265, 3. Plantation 186, 4. Tornadoes 104, 5. Unattached Azura 47.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Bolles 254, 2. Azura 169, 3. Midtown Weston 106, 4. Webbs Tornadoes 98, 5. Plantation 50.

WOMEN
800-meter freestyle: 1. Michaela Mattes, SYS 8:41.33, 2. Avery Lambert, Bolles 9:20.72, 3. Emma Herrera, FAST 9:23.25.

200-meter medley relay: 1. Bolles A 2:00.47 (Faith Khoo, Sabrina Lyn, Jayla Covington, Megan McGrath), 2. Azura 2:00.66, 3. Bolles B 2:08.72.

200-meter freestyle relay: 1. Azura 1:48.50 (Sirena Rowe, Julimar Avila, Nicole Frank Rodriguez, Micaela Sierra), 2. Bolles A 1:51.02, 3. Midtown Weston 1:53.42.

Mixed 200-meter medley relay: 1. Eagle Aquatics 1:49.79 (Erika Pelaez, Finn Winkler, Athena Menses Kovacs, Kaii Winkler), 2. Azura A 1:52.50, 3. Azura B 1:54.67.

Mixed 200-meter freestyle relay: 1. Azura A 1:40.26 (Sidrell Williams, Gabriel Araya, Sirena Rowe, Julimar Avila), 2. Eagle Aquatics 1:40.85, 3. Azura B 1:45.95.

MEN
1500-meter freestyle: 1. Sauod Alshamroukh, Azura 16:39.97, 2. Alessandra Pereira, Azura 16:42.36, 3. Maximiliano Paccot, Azura 16:43.65.

200-meter medley relay: 1. Bolles A 1:46.72 (Michael Mullen, Harrison Herrera, Martin Espernberger, Ethan Maloney), 2. Bolles B 1:49.67, 3. Tornadoes 1:54.53.

200-meter freestyle relay: 1. Bolles A 1:36.85 (Kayden Lancaster, William Heck, Miguel Rojas Newman, Tucker Peterson), 2. Bolles B 1:37.08, 3. Azura A 1:37.19.

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

SOFLO’s Julio Horrego Heads Field For Piranhas Senior Invitational That Begins Thursday

By Sharon Robb
PLANTATION, March 2, 2022—Olympian Julio Horrego heads South Florida Aquatic Club’s 12-swimmer contingent for the Piranhas Senior Invitational at Plantation Aquatic Complex.

The four-day meet begins Thursday at 5 p.m. with the women’s 800-meter freestyle, men’s 1500-meter freestyle, 200-meter medley relay, 200-meter freestyle relay and mixed 200-meter medley and 200-meter freestyle relays.

The meet follows a full schedule Friday through Sunday with prelims at 8:40 a.m. and prelims at 5 p.m.

Horrego, 23, a member of the 2020 Honduran Olympic team, is entered in three events. He will compete in the 100-meter breaststroke, 50-meter breaststroke and 100-meter freestyle. Horrego is seeded first in the 100 breaststroke in 1:01.18, first in the 50 breaststroke in 28.35 and 11th in the 100 freestyle in 53.09.

Other SOFLO swimmers competing are Gabriela Avila, 15, Amelie Bicerne, 14, Mariann Catalasan, 15, Javier Colmenares, 15, Dahlia Hirsh, 15, Alejandro Mateus, 16, Sabrina Osorio, 17, Sofia Osorio, 17, Wisthon Rendon, 17, Ricardo Roche, 22, and Enrique Rodriguez, 17.

SOFLO swimmers will compete in 23 individual events.

The meet is expected to be fast. Among teams entered are Bolles, Sarasota Sharks, Azura Florida Aquatics, Webbs Tornadoes, TS Aquatics, Midtown Weston, Southern Utah, Eagle Aquatics and Flood Aquatics.

Some of the top swimmers expected to compete are Erika Pelaez of Eagle Aquatics, Michaela Mattes of Sarasota Sharks, Abbas Qali of Azura, Josh Zuchowski of Flood Aquatics, Nicole Frank Rodriguez of Azura, Gracie Weyant of Sarasota Sharks, Addison Sauickie of Sarasota Sharks, Yeziel Morales of Azura, Zarek Wilson of TS Aquatics, Liam Custer of Sarasota Sharks, Davidson Vincent of Azura and Carter Lancaster of Bolles.

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

Olympic Swimmers Caeleb Dressel, Lydia Jacoby Bobbleheads Unveiled

By Sharon Robb
MILWAUKEE, Wisc., February 25, 2022–The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled its limited-edition bobbleheads featuring swimmers Caeleb Dressel and Lydia Jacoby.

Dressel, a Clay High School, Bolles and University of Florida alum, is a seven-time Olympic gold medalist and world record-holder in three events.

Jacoby won a gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke as a 17-year-old at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The first bobbleheads of Dressel and Jacoby are being produced by the Museum.

The smiling and wide-eyed Dressel bobblehead, with water up to his waist, is raising his index fingers on both hands over his head, signaling No. 1 after a gold-medal performance in the 100-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics. The base, which bears his name, is transparent.

Wearing a white USA warmup jacket and pants, the smiling Jacoby bobblehead has a gold medal around her neck. With her arms extended over her head, she is holding flowers in her right hand as she celebrates her victory in the 100-meter breaststroke in Tokyo. She is standing on a patriotic base bearing her name in metallic gold.

Each bobblehead is individually numbered to 2,020 and they are only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store. The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in July, are $30 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order.

Dressel left the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as the world’s most dominant swimmer. The 25-year-old Florida native won gold medals in the 50 and 100 freestyle and the 100 butterfly. He was also a member of the 400 freestyle and 400 medley gold-medal relays to become only the fifth American swimmer to win five gold medals in a single Olympic Games since 1970, joining Phelps, Mark Spitz, Eric Heiden, and Matt Biondi. He also became the first swimmer in the history of swimming at the modern Olympic Games to win gold medals in the 50 and 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly at the same Olympics. That pushed his total to seven golds after winning his first two in Rio de Janeiro in the 400 freestyle and 400 medley relays.

A member of the Cali Condors in the International Swimming League, Dressel holds world records in the 100 butterfly (long course and short course), 50 freestyle (short course) and 100 individual medley (short course). Dressel won 10 NCAA titles at Florida (2015-18).

Also known for his tattoos, Dressel’s bobbleheads will include the face of an alligator on his left forearm, an eagle with the flag of America on his left shoulder, a bear on his upper left arm, and the American flag on his left forearm.

A native of Anchorage, Alaska, Jacoby became the first swimmer from Alaska to qualify for an Olympic Games when she qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 100-meter breaststroke. The 17-year-old was one of 11 teenage female swimmers to make the team.

After ranking third overall after the semifinals with a time of 1:05.72, Jacoby had a winning time of 1:04.95 in the final to garner Team USA’s first gold medal. It was the first medal won by an Alaskan-born swimmer at an Olympic Games. Her time also set a new National Age Group record for American girls in the 17-18-year-old age group. On the final day of competition, Jacoby won a silver medal as part of the 400-meter medley relay.

After the Olympics, Jacoby competed in the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup and was the overall highest scoring female American competitor in the international competition. She won silver medals in the 50-meter breaststroke in Berlin and Budapest and in the 100-meter breaststroke in Budapest. She also won a bronze medal in the 100-meter breaststroke in Berlin. A graduate of Seward High School in Seward, Alaska, Jacoby committed to University of Texas starting in the fall of 2022.

“I am excited to partner with the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in the hopes of bringing fans and fellow swimmers a smile,” Jacoby said.

Said National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar, “We are excited to release these bobbleheads of Caeleb Dressel and Lydia Jacoby who have both shined on the world’s biggest staged and inspired so many across the globe. We think these fans will love these new bobbleheads featured two swimming superstars.”

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is located at 170 S. 1st St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It opened to the public on February 1, 2019. The HOF and Museum also produces high quality, customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as organizations, individuals, and teams across the country.

For more information call 1-800-414-1482 or email info@bobbleheadhall.com. The bobbleheads are only available in its online store.

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

Powerhouse Bolles Sweeps Team Titles; Three State Records Broken; Mendez Wins Record Sixth Diving Title; SOFLO’s Olivia Dinehart Wins

By Sharon Robb
STUART, November 6, 2021—In one of the fastest meets in state history, Jacksonville Bolles brought out the best in every one on a wind-chilled Saturday night at Sailfish Splash Waterpark and Aquatics Center.

Bolles swept the team titles and raised the bar for every other team in the meet. The boys won with 574 points and girls with 370 points.

King’s Academy boys were second with 174.5, St. Andrew’s third with 165, South Florida Heat fourth with 159, NSU University School sixth with 102.5 and Pine Crest ninth with 92 points.

St. Andrew’s girls were runner-up with 238, Pine Crest third with 200, King’s Academy with 186, Cutler Bay fifth with 166 and South Florida Heat seventh with 118.

Bolles has won every boys state championship since 1988 and every girls title since 1991, and with 30 years of tradition on the line, Bolles kept the streak going. Bolles has now won a record 34 boys titles and 31 girls titles to continue as the state’s all-time high school swimming dynasty.

Unparalleled depth and relay excellence buoyed Bolles. Bolles won two girls relays and all three boys relays and won two individual girls events and five individual boys events.

In the boys competition, there were 40 automatic All-American times and 43 All-American consideration times posted. In the girls competition, there were 29 automatic All-American times and 33 All-American consideration times.

South Florida Aquatic Club’s Olivia Dinehart of Cutler Bay won her first state title in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:02.28, an automatic All-American time. She was also third in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:03.61, an All-American consideration time.

SOFLO’s Maddy Smutny, also of Cutler Bay, was second in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:54.20, an All-American consideration time.

Three state records were broken during prelims and finals.

King’s Academy’s Josh Zuchowski broke the state record in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:45.51, breaking the 2004 record of 1:46.31 set by Bradley Ally of St. Thomas Aquinas. Zuchowski also won the 100-yard backstroke in 47.29. Both were automatic All-American times.

South Florida Heat sophomore Erika Pelaez broke the state record in the 100-yard backstroke in 52.34. The previous record was 52.46 set by Clara Smiddy of South Florida Heat in 2013. Pelaez also won the 50-yard freestyle in 22.29. Both were automatic All-American times.

In prelims, Bolles’ William Heck broke his own 100-yard breaststroke record in 53.64. His 2020 state record was 53.73. He went on to win the event in 53.95.

Pine Crest senior diver Kevin Mendez took his final bow on 1-meter winning his sixth consecutive state title becoming one of the state’s most decorated athletes. Mendez won with 606.75 points ahead of teammate Allen Levitis with 490.50.

The victory gave him state records in most consecutive individual titles and most individual diving titles in state history. He broke a tie of four straight that stood for 33 years with Brian Gillooly, Gateway (Kissimmee), who won from 1990-93 and Mark Ruiz, Dr. Phillips (Orlando), 1994-97. No other swimmer or diver has won six straight titles since records were kept, dating back to the 1920s.

Pine Crest’s Julia Podkoscielny won the 200-yard individual medley in a career-best 1:59.79, an automatic All-American time. The U.S. junior national team member was the only swimmer in the field to break 2 minutes. Her previous best was 2:01.89. She was also second in the 100-yard backstroke in 53.30, an automatic All-American time.

In the most exciting relay race of the night, St. Andrew’s won the girls 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:23.46 with Aspen Gersper, Nicole Aguilar, Erin Miller and Ella Martinez ahead of Bolles in 3:23.51. Gersper also won the 100-yard butterfly in 54.02.

Kaii Winkler of South Florida Heat took seconds in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:36.78 and 100-yard freestyle in 44.00. Both were automatic All-American times.

NSU University School was second in the 400-yard freestyle relay in an All-American consideration time and school record 3:08.63 with Karl Wilson Aimable, Michele Vandenbossche, Marcelo Carrion and Max Fermayer. The relay broke an eight-year-old record.

A disqualification proved costly for the Pine Crest girls. The Panthers had their top-seeded girls’ 400-yard freestyle relay disqualified in morning prelims.

The Class 3A and 4A state meets are next Friday and Saturday.

GIRLS
TEAM TOTALS

1. Bolles 370, 2. St. Andrew’s 238, 3. Pine Crest 200, 4. King’s Academy 186, 5. Cutler Bay 166, 6. PK Yonge 126, 7. South Florida Heat 118, 8. Berkeley Prep 117, 9. Holy Names 91, 10. Episcopal 81, 20. Ransom Everglades 29, 26. Westminster Academy 15, 28. Carrollton 13, 31. Coral Springs Charter 10, 35. Calvary Christian 7, 42. St. John Paul II 2, 44. North Broward Prep, Benjamin 1.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

200-yard medley relay: 1. Bolles 1:43.95 (Katherine Meyers-Labenz, Jessica Strong, Julia Murphy, Alexandra Zorn), AA-A, 2. King’s Academy 1:44.86, AA-C, 3. Cutler Bay 1:45.08 (Elena Dinehart, Olivia Dinehart, Maddy Smutny, Nat Gembicki), AA-C, 4. St. Andrew’s 1:45.10, AA-C, 5. Pine Crest 1:45.85, AA-C.

200-yard freestyle: 1. Megan McGrath, Bolles 1:48.60, AA-A, 2. Emma Sundermeyer, FOU 1:48.98, 3. Ella Martinez, STA 1:50.14, 6. Maddy Smutny, CB 1:51.19, 7. Elena Dinehart, CB 1:51.50.

200-yard individual medley: 1. Julia Podkoscielny, PC 1:59.79, AA-A, 2. Michaela Mattes, CM 2:00.71, AA-A, 3. Olivia Dinehart, CB 2:03.61, AA-C.

50-yard freestyle: 1. Erika Pelaez, SFH 22.29, AA-A, 2. Manita Sathianchokwisan, BOLL 22.38, AA-A, 3. Lillie Nesty, PKY 23.06, AA-A, 4. Ava Fasano, KA 23.51, AA-C, 6. Isabella Chambers, PC 23.67, 7. Hanna Smith, PC 23.81, 8. Alyssa Bozzuto, KA 24.12, 10. Logan Zielinski, STA 24.13, 11. Gioia Balzano, SFH 24.28, 12. Lydia Lanahan, CAL 24.37, 16. Isabella Hernandez, NB 24.72.

1-meter diving: 1. Charlotte Norman, CSNA 459.65, 2. Elle Jacobsen, HTRN 441.20, 3. Ava Anderson, PC 406.60, 4. Makenzie Blake, WA 406.00, 10. Kaeden Dunham, STA 374.90, 12. Sarah Ghadiali, PC 362.75, 14. Madison Okon, KA 342.15, 16. Sarah Napier, BEN 292.00.

100-yard butterfly: 1. Aspen Gersper, STA 54.02, AA-A, 2. Marcela Scaramuzza, WIND 54.75, AA-C, 3. Megan McGrath, BOLL 55.02, 4. Nicole Aguilar, STA 55.31, 11. Riley McCormick, CSC 57.45.

100-yard freestyle: 1. Manita Sathianchokwisan, BOLL 49.10, AA-A, 2. Lillie Nesty, PKYO 49.84, AA-A, 3. Adele Sands, CARW 51.50, 4. Hanna Smith, PC 51.68, 6. Isabella Chambers, OC 52.26, 8. Logan Zielinski, STA 52.85, 9. Nat Gembicki, CB 52.08, 15. Lyda Lanahan, CAL 53.33.

500-yard freestyle: 1. Michaela Mattes, CMOO 4:45.51, AA-A, 2. Maddy Smutny, CB 4:54.20, AA-C, 3. Riley Botting, PC 4:57.05, 6. Erin Miller,. STA 5:02.85, 8. Emma Herrera, KA 5:09.17, 10. Izzy Wilson, CAR 5:01.85, 16. Paige Munna, KA 5:08.24.

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. Bolles 1:32.68, AA-A (Katherine Meyers-Labenz, Megan McGrath, Sabrina Lyn, Manita Sathianchokwisan), 2. King’s Academy 1:33.77, AA-A (Ava Fasano, Alyssa Bozzuto, Kiersten Munna, Julianna Bell), 3. Pine Crest 1:33.93, AA-A (Hanna Smith, Julia Podkoscielny, Isabella Chambers, Riley Botting), 4. St. Andrew’s 1:36.80, AA-C (Logan Zielinski, Nicole Aguilar, Nicole Casariego Mera, Erin Miller), 10. South Florida Heat 1:40.94, 11. Ransom Everglades 1:40.98.

100-yard backstroke: 1. Erika Pelaez, SFH 52.34, AA-A, 2. Julia Podkoscielny, PC 53.30, AA-A, 3. Aspen Gersper, STA 54.68, AA-A, 5. Ella Martinez, STA 56.51, 7. Elena Dinehart, CB 57.21, 8. Ava Fasano, KA 57.65, 10. Kiersten Munna, KA 58.10, 15. Samantha Schoenborn, SFH 59.87.

100-yard breaststroke: 1. Olivia Dinehart, CB 1:02.28, AA-A, 2. Marcela Scaramuzza, WIND 1:02.50, AA-A, 3. Jessica Strong, BOLL 1:02.57, AA-A, 4. Michaela Sierra, SFH 1:03.54, AA-C, 7. Alyssa Bozzuto, KA 1:04.67, 11. Sara Linn, PC 1:05.74, 12. Sophia Grubbs, CB 1:06.79, 13. Madison Sipowski, KA 1:06.99.

400-yard freestyle relay: 1. St. Andrew’s 3:23.46, AA-A, (Aspen Gersper, Nicole Aguilar, Erin Miller, Ella Martinez), 2. Bolles 3:23.51, AA-A, 3. South Florida Heat 3:29.44, AA-C, (Erika Pelaez, Gioia Balzano, Samantha Schoenborn, Michaela Sierra) 4. Cutler Bay 3:31.62 (Nat Gembicki, Olivia Dinehart, Elena Dinehart, Maddy Smutny), 7. King’s Academy 3:35.57, 14. Carrollton 3:49.12, 16. Coral Springs Charter 3:53.44.

BOYS
TEAM TOTALS

1. Bolles 574, 2. King’s Academy 174.5, 3. St. Andrew’s 165, 4. South Florida Heat 159, 5. Trinity Prep 129.5, 6. NSU University School 102.5, 7. Edgewood 100, 8. Berkeley Prep 95, 9. Pine Crest 92, 10. Clearwater 87.5, 19. Miami Country Day 28, 23. Cutler Bay 17, 33. Doctors Charter 8, 35. Riviera Prep 4, 37. Oxbridge 2, 38. FAU High 1.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
200-yard medley relay: 1. Bolles 1:28.28 (Carter Lancaster, William Heck, Miguel Rojas Newman, Tucker Peterson), AA-A, 2. South Florida Heat 1:31.94 (Finn Winkler, Dario Martin, Nikita Efimov, Kaii Winkler), AA-A, 3. Trinity Prep 1:35.15, 5. St. Andrew’s 1:35.33, 7. King’s Academy 1:37.96, 9. NSU University School 1:37.79, 11. Pine Crest 1:39.28, 16. Cutler Bay 1:43.41.

200-yard freestyle: 1. Andres Dupont Cabrera, BOLL 1:35.90, AA-A, 2. Kaii Winkler, SFH 1:36.78, AA-A, 3. Stuart Higdon, MAC 1:36.91, AA-A.

200-yard individual medley: 1. Josh Zuchowski, KA 1:45.51, AA-A, 2. Carter Lancaster, BOLL 1:46.91, AA-A, 3. Logan Ingerick, BERK 1:49.30, AA-A, 10. Aitor Arrese-Igor, STA 1:55.53, 12. Marcelo Carrion, NSU 1:58.15.

50-yard freestyle: 1. Miguel Rojas Newman, BOLL 20.49, AA-A, 2. Andy Kravchenko, EDWD 20.53, AA-A, 3. Tyler Roberton, BERK 20.60, AA-C, 7. Kacper Rafal, STA 21.29, 8. Noah Smith, KA 21.35, 10. Noah Engstrom, KA 21.51, 11. Finn Winkler, SFH 21.54, 12. Karl Wilson Aimable, NSUS 21.62, 16. Maxim Timperman, OXB 22.12.

1-meter diving: 1. Kevin Mendez, PC 606.75, 2. Allen Levitis, PC 490.50, 3. Nicholas Santiago, TRIN 416.50, 8. Ashton Jacobi, PC 322.00, 10. Oliver Dunham, STA 273.40.

100-yard butterfly: 1. Miguel Rojas Newman, BOLL 48.26, AA-A, 2. Mason Williams, FOUN 48.43, AA-A, 3. Dylan Smiley, MCDY 48.59, AA-A, 5. Diego Balbi, STA 48.86, AA-A, 6. Dario Martin, SFH 48.87, AA-A, 9. Valerio Bonuglia, STA 50.38, 14. Nikita Efimov, SFH 51.62.

100-yard freestyle: 1. Andres Dupont Cabrera, BOLL 43.74, AA-A, 2. Kaii Winkler, SFH 44.00, AA-A, 3. Tyler Roberton, BERK 44.85, AA-A, 9. Kacper Rafal, STA 46.47, 10. Max Fermayer, NSUS 46.92, 11. Michele Vandenbossche, NSUS 47.88, 16. Maxim Timperman, OXB 48.87.

500-yard freestyle: 1. Stuart Higdon, MAC 4:24.81, AA-A, 2. Kayden Lancaster, BOLL 4:27.28, AA-A, 3. Jacob Hamlin, CCBI 4:27.30, AA-A, 6. Christian Proscia, KA 4:38.00, 8. Austin Nelson, CB 4:43.19, 13. Ivan Grass, CB 4:47.11, 15. Mario Suarez, STA 4:54.76.

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. Bolles 1:20.30, AA-A, 2. South Florida Heat 1:24.22, AA-A, (Kaii Winkler, Finn Winkler, Nikita Efimov, Dario Martin), 3. King’s Academy 1:26.83 (Josh Zuchowski, Noah Engstrom, Diego Barberna, Christian Proscia), 5. St. Andrew’s 1:27.14, 8. NSU University School 1:28.74, 9. Pine Crest 1:28.41.

100-yard backstroke: 1. Josh Zuchowski, KA 47.29, AA-A, 2. Carter Lancaster, BOLL 49.10, AA-A, 3. Tucker Peterson, BOLL 49.14, AA-A, 6. Noah Smith, KA 50.76, 9. Diego Balbi, STA 51.67, 10. Finn Winkler, SFH 51.82, 13. Aitor Arrese-Igor, STA 53.45,14. Ambrus Barcsak, STA 53.61.

100-yard breaststroke: 1. William Heck, BOLL 53.95, AA-A, 2. Harrison Herrera, BOLL 54.99, AA-A, 3. Ethan Maloney, BOLL 55.55, AA-A, 4. Dario Martin, SFH 56.02, AA-C, 10. Aiden Kohanyi, SFH 58.38, 11. Nikita Efimov, SFH 58.47, 16. Pete Pokatragool, FAU 59.52.

400-yard freestyle relay: 1. Bolles 2:58.10 (Seth Tolentino, Carter Lancaster, Andres Dupont Cabrera, Kayden Lancaster), AA-A, 2. NSU University School 3:08.63, AA-C, (Karl Wilson Aimable, Michele Vandenbossche, Marcelo Carrion, Max Fermayer), 3. St. Andrew’s 3:09.30, 4. King’s Academy 3:10.57, 10. Pine Crest, Cuter Bay DQ.

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

King’s Academy Girls, Bolles Boys Capture Team Titles At FSPA Invitational; SOFLO’s Juan Mora Double Winner

STUART, September 25, 2021—Jacksonville Bolles boys and King’s Academy girls won the team titles in the Florida Swimming Pool Association (FSPA) High School Invitational Saturday at Sailfish Splash Aquatic Athletics Center.

Bolles won the combined team title with 741 points and boys team title with 463 points. King’s Academy won the girls crown and was runner-up in the combined and boys competition.

King’s Academy was led by double winner Ava Fasano in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.68 and 100-yard backstroke in 56.77. Teammate Emma Herrera won the 200-yard individual medley in 2:07.34.

King’s Academy swept all three girls relays.

Jupiter’s Heidi Smithwick won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:03.36.

Blair Stoneburg of Jensen Beach was a double winner in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:47.12 and 500-yard freestyle in 4:42.71.

South Florida Aquatic Club’s Juan Mora of Doral Academy was a double winner in the 100-yard butterfly in 50.38 and 100-yard breaststroke in 55.79.

Noah Smith was a double winner for King’s Academy for King’s Academy in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:53.70 and 100-yard backstroke in 51.43.

King’s Academy won the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays with Josh Zuchowski swimming anchor for both relays. Zuchowski also won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:39.03.

Bolles, a powerhouse for decades, is so deep it was able to split its squads and also compete in the 57th Woodson Invitational at Pine Crest, where it swept the combined, boys and girls team titles.

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS

1. Bolles 741, 2. King’s Academy 617, 3. Jensen Beach 315, 4. Doral 313, 5. Montverde 308, 6. Lake Mary 269, 7. Wolfson 227, 8. Cornerstone Charter 174, 9. Jupiter 167, 10. Fort Myers 141, 11. Providence 131, 12. Satellite 130, 13. Carrollwood 115, 14. Port Charlotte 90, 15. St. Petersburg Catholic 89, 16. Lake Placid 85, 17. Holy Trinity 81, 18. Space Coast 54, 19. South Fork 54, 20. Titusville 53, 21. Vero Beach 19, 22. Tarpon Springs 16, 23. Suwannee 11, 24. Dunbar 1.

GIRLS TEAM TOTALS

1.King’s Academy 394, 2. Bolles 278, 3. Jensen Beach 213, 4. Lake Mary 163, 5. Montverde 147, 6. Fort Myers 131, 7. Doral 128, 8. Wolfson 104, 9. Cornerstone Charter 97, 10. tie, Port Charlotte, Jupiter 80, 12. Carrollwood 61, 13. Holy Trinity 52, 14. Providence 50, 15. Space Coast 43, 16. Lake Placid 41, 17. Satellite 24, 18. South Fork 18, 19. Tarpon Springs 16, 20. St. Petersburg Catholic 9, 21. Vero Beach 3, 22. tie, Dunbar, Titusville 1.

GIRLS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

200-yard freestyle: 1. Blair Stoneburg, JB 1:47.12, 2. Heidi Smithwick, JUP 1:50.67, 3. Brynn Stoneburg, JB 1:50.73.

200-yard individual medley: 1. Emma Herrera, KA 2:07.34, 2. Clarice Spencer, FTM 2:08.56, 3. Caitlin Bartle, CCAO 2:10.17.

50-yard freestyle: 1. Ava Fasano, KA 23.68, 2. Adele Sands, CDS 23.73, 3. Aly Bozzuto, KA 23.76.

100-yard butterfly: 1. Clarice Spencer, FTM 56.60, 2. Sophia Diaz, DOR 56.70, 3. Caitlin Bartle, CCAO 57.95.

100-yard freestyle: 1. Adele Sands, CDS 50.87, 2. Aly Bozzuto, KA 52.35, 3. Sydney Stemley, LM 53.76.

500-yard freestyle: 1. Blair Stoneburg, JB 4:42.71, 2. Emma Herrera, KA 5:02.64, 3. Paige Munna, KA 5:13.57.

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. King’s Academy 1:36.23 (Julianna Bell, Ava Fasano, Kiki Munna, Aly Bozzuto), 2. Jensen Beach 1:38.25, 3. Lake Mary 1:41.63.

100-yard backstroke: 1. Ava Fasano, KA 56.77, 2. Brynn Stoneburg, JB 57.60, 3. Kiki Munna, KA 58.52.

100-yard breaststroke: 1. Heidi Smithwick, JUP 1:03.36, 2. Emily Santos, MONT 1:03.37, 3. Madison Sipowski, KA 1:06.34.

400-yard freestyle relay: 1. King’s Academy 3:33.88, 2. Jensen Beach 3:36.06, 3. Bolles 3:42.85.

BOYS TEAM TOTALS

1. Bolles 463, 2. King’s Academy 223, 3. Doral 185, 4. Montverde 161, 5. Wolfson 123, 6. tie, Lake Mary, Satellite 106, 8. Jensen Beach 102, 9. Jupiter 87, 10. Providence 81, 11. St. Petersburg Catholic 80, 12. Cornerstone Charter 77, 13. Carrollwood 54, 14. Titusville 52, 15. Lake Placid 44, 16. South Fork 36, 17. Holy Trinity 29, 18. Space Coast 22, 19. Vero Beach 16, 20. Suwannee 11, 21. tie, Port Charlotte, Fort Myers 10.

BOYS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
200-yard medley relay: 1. Bolles 1:36.81 (Drew Bowen, Wyatt Porch, Zackary Cheung, Drew Heck), 2. Doral 1:38.05, 3. Montverde 1:40.83.

200-yard freestyle: 1. Josh Zuchowski, KA 1:39.03, 2. Christian Proscia, KA 1:45.24, 3. Alex Nunez, JUP 1:46.09.

200-yard individual medley: 1. Noah Smith, KA 1:53.70, 2. Anthony Whittall, JB 1:57.57, 3. Wyatt Porch, JB 1:58.80.

50-yard freestyle: 1. Drew Heck, JB 21.96, 2. Jacob Hamlin, CCAO 22.06, 3. Ayden Cason 22.13.

100-yard butterfly: 1. Juan Mora, DOR 50.38, 2. Caleb Rohacs, SAT 52.92, 3. Noah Raszczyk, MON 53.16.

100-yard freestyle: 1. Zach Bishop, LM 48.62, 2. Drew Heck, JB 48.71, 3. Ayden Cason, JB 48.79.

500-yard freestyle: 1. Jacob Hamlin, CCAO 4:34.52, 2. Christian Proscia, KA 4:44.83, 3. Victor Deranio, JB 4:48.18.

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. King’s Academy 1:26.63 (Noah Smith, Noah Engstrom, Christian Proscia, Josh Zuchowski), 2. Bolles 1:30.01, 3. Montverde 1:30.42.

100-yard backstroke: 1. Noah Smith, KA 51.43, 2. Hudson Bishop, JUP 52.60, 3. Drew Bowen, JB 54.92.

100-yard breaststroke: 1. Juan Mora, DOR 55.79, 2. Josh Zuchowski, KA 55.99, 3. Kebo Stubbs, MON 58.01.

400-yard freestyle relay: 1. King’s Academy 3:11.45 (Christian Proscia, Noah Engstrom, Noah Smith, Josh Zuchowski), 2. Bolles 3:17.33, 3. Doral 3:19.98.

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

Jacksonville Bolles Wins 57th Woodson Invitational; Podkoscielny, Zum Tobel Named Top Swimmers

By Sharon Robb
FORT LAUDERDALE, September 25, 2021–Jacksonville Bolles won the combined, girls and boys team titles on a stormy Saturday at the 57th annual Woodson Invitational.

The 16-team field featured a Who’s Who in high school swimming with many of the teams expected to finish among the the top five at the various state meets in Stuart in November.

Bolles won the combined team title with 685 points, girls title with 279 and boys title with 406. Pine Crest was second in the combined and girls and third in the boys competition. St. Andrew’s was third in combined, second in boys and third in the girls.

Pine Crest All-American Julia Podkoscielny was awarded the Ann Marshall Award as the meet’s outstanding female swimmmer. Marshall, a Pine Crest alum, was a 1972 Olympian at age 15.

Podkoscielny, showing her versatility, won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:48.02 and 500-yard freestyle in 4:49.41. She also anchored the 200-yard freestyle relay that won in 1:35.66 with teammates Hanna Elks Smith, Isabella Chambers and Riley Botting.

The only other Pine Crest winner was diver Ava Anderson with 437.45 points.

St. Andrew’s had three winners. Nicole Aguilar was a double winner in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:03.59 and 100-yard butterfly in 55.52. Aspen Gersper won the 100-yard backstroke in 57.55.

Bolles won the 200-yard medley relay and won three individual events. Manita Sathianchokwisan was a double winner in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle. Jessie Strong won the 100-yard breaststroke.

North Carolina State commit Maximilian zum Tobel of Boca Raton High School, who trains with St. Andrew’s Aquatics, earned the Andy Coan Award as the meet’s outstanding male swimmer. Coan, a 1976 Pine Crest graduate and former world record holder died at age 59 of liver cancer.

Zum Tobel, one of only three non-Bolles winners, captured the 50-yard freestyle in 20.54 and 100-yard freestyle in 45.00. Diego Balbi of St. Andrew’s won the 100-yard backstroke in 51.48 and Allen Levitis led a Pine Crest top four-diver sweep with 499.55 points.

Bolles won the 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relays. Alston Qin was a double winner in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:41.93 and 500-yard freestyle in 4:36.56. Carter Lancaster and Harry Herrera were also Bolles winners.

Both Podkoscielny and Zum Tobel were 2020 U.S. Olympic trials qualifiers.

Bolles, a powerhouse for decades, was so deep it was able to split its squads and compete in the Florida Swimming Pool Association (FSPA) High School Invitational, where it won the combined and boys team titles and finished runner-up to King’s Academy in the girls competition.

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS

1. Bolles 685, 2. Pine Crest 355, 3. St. Andrew’s 348, 4. Winter Park 278, 5. Boca Raton 169, 6. NSU University School 166, 7. Gulliver Prep 135, 8. American Heritage Plantation 70, 9. Ransom Everglades 55, 10. Miami Country Day 36, 11. Westminster Academy 24, 12. Calvary Christian 21, 13. Benjamin 17, 14. North Broward Prep 12, 15. Oxbridge 4.

GIRLS TEAM TOTALS

1. Bolles 279, 2. Pine Crest 215, 3. tie, St. Andrew’s, Winter Park 201, 5. Gulliver Prep 84, 6. Boca Raton 57, 7. NSU University School 57, 8. Ransom Everglades 36, 9. Calvary Christian 21, 10. Westminster Academy 16, 11. Benjamin 15, 12. American Heritage Plantation 10, 13. Miami Country Day 8, 14. North Broward 4, 15. Oxbridge 2.

GIRLS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
200-yard medley relay: 1. Bolles 1:47.37 (Kate Meyers-Labenz, Jessie Strong, Sabrina Lyn, Manita Sathianchokwisan), 2. Winter Park 1:48.09, 3. St. Andrew’s 1:48.43.

200-yard freestyle: 1. Julia Podkoscielny, PC 1:48.02, 2. Bella Lojewski, WP 1:50.56, 3. Lockett Bowley, WP 1:50.73.

200-yard individual medley: 1. Nicole Aguilar, SAS 2:03.59, 2. Riley Botting, PC 2:05.72, 3. Alex Breuer, JB 2:08.97.

50-yard freestyle: 1. Manita Sathianchokwisan, JB 23.96, 2. Isabella Chambers, PC 24.16, 3. Logananne Zielinski, SAS 24.26.

100-yard butterfly: 1. Nicole Aguilar, SAS 55.52, 2. Katherine Nordheim, BR 58.60, 3. Cami Semmen, WP 58.92.

100-yard freestyle: 1. Manita Sathianchokwisan, JB 51.96, 2. Hanna Elks Smith, PC 52.45, 3. Aspen Gersper, SAS 52.71.

500-yard freestyle: 1. Julia Podkoscielny, PC 4:49.41, 2. Lockett Bowley, WP 4:58.94, 3. Kate Anderson, JB 5:05.46.

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. Pine Crest 1:35.66 (Hanna Elks Smith, Isabella Chambers, Riley Botting, Julia Podkoscielny), 2. Winter Park 1:36.11, 3. St. Andrew’s 1:38.63.

100-yard backstroke: 1. Aspen Gersper, SAS 57.55, 2. Caroline Chasser, WP 58.29, 3. Giovanna Musiello, GP 58.42.

100-yard breaststroke: 1. Jessie Strong, JB 1:05.47, 2. Riley Botting, PC 1:05.56, 3. Sara Lin, PC 1:06.06.

1-meter diving: 1. Ava Anderson, PC 437.45, 2. Sarrah Ghadiali, PC 406.10, 3. Makenzie Blake, WA 392.55.

BOYS TEAM TOTALS

1. Bolles 406, 2. St. Andrew’s 147, 3. Pine Crest 140, 4. NSU University School 126, 5. Boca Raton 112, 6. Winter Park 77, 7. American Heritage Plantation 60, 8. Gulliver Prep 51, 9. Miami Country Day 28, 10. Ransom Everglades 19, 11. tie, Westminster Academy, North Broward Prep 8, 13. tie, Oxbridge, Benjamin 2.

BOYS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
200-yard medley relay: 1. Bolles 1:36.89 (Carter Lancaster, Will Heck, Martin Espernberger, Tucker Peterson), 2. St. Andrew’s 1:37.69, 3. NSU University School 1:41.21.

200-yard freestyle: 1. Alston Qin, JB 1:41.93, 2. Andres Dupont Cabrera, JB 1:43.62, 3. Kayden Lancaster, JB 1:44.00.

200-yard individual medley: 1. Carter Lancaster, JB 1:54.43, 2. Tomohiro Nozaki, JB 1:56.26, 3. Aidan Paro, JB 1:58.16.

50-yard freestyle: 1. Maximilian zum Tobel, BR 20.54, 2. Seth Tolentino, JB 21.48, 3. Miguel Rojas Newman, JB 21.58.

100-yard butterfly: 1. Diego Balbi, SAS 49.58, 2. Martin Espernberger, JB 50.42, 3. Miguel Rojas Newman, JB 50.77.

100-yard freestyle: 1. Maximilian zum Tobel, BR 45.00, 2. Andres Dupont Cabrera, JB 45.96, 3. Seth Tolentino, JB 47.50.

500-yard freestyle: 1. Alston Qin, JB 4:36.56, 2. Felix Rotax, WP 4:41.79, 3. Guido Neto, JB 4:42.20.

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. Bolles 1:25.45 (Andres Dupont Cabrera, Seth Tolentino, Miguel Rojas Newman, Tomohiro Nozaki), 2. Boca Raton 1:29.76, 3. NSU University School 1:30.71.

100-yard backstroke: 1. Diego Balbi, SAS 51.48, 2. Carter Lancvaster, JB 51.70, 3. Tucker Peterson, JB 53.10.

100-yard breaststroke: 1. Harry Herrera, JB 58.20, 2. Tomohiro Nozaki, JB 58.26, 3. Marcelo Carrion, NSU 1:01.20.

1-meter diving: 1. Allen Levitis, PC 499.55, 2. Danyal Ghadiali, PC 398.55, 3. Max Starkman, PC 319.60.

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

Floridians Finke, Dressel Win Gold For Team USA On Historical Night At Tokyo Olympics

By Sharon Robb
TOKYO, Japan, July 28, 2021–In one of the most exciting nights in the history of Florida swimming, Caeleb Dressel and Bobby Finke won gold medals for Team USA Wednesday at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

It was Dressel’s first individual gold medal and fourth overall (three others on relays in two Olympic Games) against the world’s fastest final field ever assembled in the event.

Dressel was emotional after the race, trying to hold back tears that kept coming while watching his parents, wife and sister on NBC’s coverage of the watch party in Orlando.

“I don’t know if this has set in yet,” Dressel said. “Right now I’m kind of hurting. It’s been a really tough year, it was really hard, so to have the results show up really makes me some kind of happy.”

Finke, 21, of University of Florida and St. Petersburg Aquatics, won the first-ever men’s 800-meter freestyle in an American record 7:41.87. Reigning world champion Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy was second in 7:42.11 and Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk was third in 7:42.33.

Looking out of medal contention for most of the race in fifth place, Finke found another gear after the final turn with a 26.3 split and reeled in four swimmers in the final 25 meters to win his first Olympic final.

“Oh yeah,” Finke said, when asked if he had surprised himself with his performance. “My best time going into this was (7:47). And then in prelims, I dropped down to (7:42). And then here I dropped another second. So I had no idea that I was going to do that, honestly.”

The gold is the first for an American male swimmer in an Olympic distance race since 1984.

“The pain kind of goes away once you just start,” Finke said. “Your mind just kind of disappears, and you’re just kind of blacking out a little bit. I just wanted to get my hand on the wall. I am so happy that I was able to switch it into another gear. This means a lot. Coming into this there was a lot of doubt behind American distance.”

Local swimmers results:

Azura’s Colleen Furgeson of the Marshall Islands was fifth in her 100-meter freestyle heat in 58.71.

Azura has four swimmers competing Thursday. They are Abbas Qali of Kuwait, 100 butterfly; Davidson Vincent of Haiti, 100 butterfly; Steven Aimable, 100 butterfly; and Celina Marquez of El Salvador, 200 backstroke.

In other championship medal finals:

Women’s 200-meter butterfly: No one was going to catch China’s Yufei Zhang who won in an Olympic record 2:03.86, the fastest time in 12 years. China has won three of the last four gold medals in the event. The U.S. took silver and bronze with Regan Smith in 2:05.30 and Hali Flickinger in 2:05.65.

Women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay:
China upset Australia for the gold medal and Katie Ledecky turned in on with her 1:53 anchor leg to give the U.S. a silver medal. Heavy favorite Australia took the bronze. All three teams swam under the old world record of 7:41.50. China won in a world record 7:40.33, the U.S. took silver in an American record 7:40.73 and Australia third in an Oceanic record 7:41.29. Ledecky has now won three Olympics medals including one gold. She can win one more Saturday in the 800 freestyle.

Men’s 200-meter breaststroke: Aussie Izaac Stubblety-Cook surged in the final 50 meters to win in an Olympic record 2:06.38. Arno Kamminga of the Netherlands was second in 2:07.01 just ahead of Finland’s Matti Mattsson in 2:07.13.

WEDNESDAY RESULTS
WOMEN
200-meter butterfly: 1. Yufei Zhang, CHN 2:03.86, 2. Regan Smith, US 2:05.30, 3. Hali Flickinger, US 2:05.65.

4×200-meter freestyle relay: 1. China 7:40.33, 2. United States 7:40.73, 3. Australia 7:41.29.

MEN
800-meter freestyle: 1. Bobby Finke, US 7:41.87, 2. Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy 7:42.11, 3. Mykailo Romanchuk, UKR 7:42.33.

200-meter breaststroke: 1. Izaac Stubblety-Cook, AUS 2:06.38, 2. Arno Kamminga, NED 2:07.01, 3. Matti Mattsson, FIN 2:07.13.

100-meter freestyle: 1. Caeleb Dressel, US 47.02, 2. Kyle Chalmers, AUS 47.08, 3. Kliment Kolesnikov, ROC 47.44.

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

Olympic Coach Gregg Troy Inspires South Florida Aquatic Club Swimmers, Coaches

By Sharon Robb

GAINESVILLE, May 7, 2020—If anyone knows how to accomplish goals, take on challenges and overcome adversity, it’s Olympic coach Gregg Troy.

Troy has worked with some of the greatest swimmers in the world and has pretty much seen and heard everything a swimmer has gone through at the age group, high school, college and international level.

His resume speaks for itself. He was head coach of University of Florida men’s swimming and diving teams from 1999 to 2018, and head coach of the women’s team from 1998 to 2018. Before joining the Gators in 1998, he was head coach at Bolles for 20 years.

Under his guidance, UF athletes won 43 individual national championships, 177 SEC titles and earned 1,145 All-America honors. He also coached 47 Gator Olympians, who had 78 appearances at the last five Olympic Games. Those athletes won 23 medals, including 11 gold.

Troy served as head coach of Team USA at the 2012 London Olympic Games and Team Thailand in 1992, with his other two Olympic stints as assistant coach (1996, 2008).

He now works with individual swimmers for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics as high performance coach for the Gator Swim Club. And, of course, waiting patiently to get back on the pool deck with his swimmers.

Recently, Troy spent more than an hour talking with SOFLO swimmers and coaches on the Zoom platform. He covered a multitude of topics from staying in touch with people and reading Richard Bach’s inspiring Jonathan Livingston Seagull to doing various core workouts during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Troy talked about several of his swimmers including Ryan Lochte, Caleb Dressel, Gustavo Borges, Trina Jackson and Elizabeth Beisel and the common thread they shared in swimming.

“They had a tremendous ability to accept challenges through dedication and consistency,” Troy said. He pointed out that Lochte’s first national time standard was in the 1,650 freestyle.

“He made challenges for himself by racing other guys in practice,” Troy said. “He was always trying to look for ways to get better. He was finding ways of making practice exciting and would fall behind teammates five to seven seconds only to catch them. When he got really good the second part of his career, he was always great at the end of his races because of those challenges he gave himself.

“The really great athletes I worked with always liked challenges. ‘What do I need to be better?’ athletes would ask. Those challenges are an important part of what you are doing and right now is a gigantic challenge.

“Were they perfect or great every day at practice? No. But they found ways to make practice fun and stayed focused on what they were doing.

“The really good swimmers had a tremendous sense of resiliency. They took their ups and downs during their journey from age group to college and on. Every one of them had challenges.”

Whether it was distance or sprints, his swimmers shared a common bond.

“It didn’t matter what they worked on in practice, they would challenge themselves,” Troy said. “I told age groupers I work with, all these ingredients–sprinting, breath control, turns, strokes–those are all challenges.

“Everyone has the same ingredients. There are no miracles. The best swimmers in the world have bad swims and best coaches in world have bad swim meets. Every thing you do at practice is important, some things more than others, you choose what’s important.”

Troy talked about how swimmers can choose to communicate with their coach.

“All the great ones would communicate with me,” Troy said. “The more honest they became, the more we got out of practices. It wasn’t quite the same when they were younger. But the older ones gave me the ability to take practice and refine it more and tailor it to them. The time to go and talk to your coach is at the conclusion of a practice or better than that, make an appointment and sit down with your coach. ”

Troy emphasized the three key people in a swimmer’s life.

“Who is the most important person or most invested person in your life? Troy asked. “Some will say their coach or parents but the most important person is you. You are the one most invested in what you do at practice or anything extra you do.

“The next most invested are your parents. They love you immensely. They want the best for you. They don’t know nearly as much as your coach but they love you.

“The third most invested is your coach. Why would anyone want to fight with their coach is a mystery to me. Your coach wants you to do well. It’s his job. It makes no sense to argue with your coach.”

Troy had some suggestions for swimmers while they are in quarantine.

“No. 1, the most important is to get a routine,” Troy said. “Some are better than others but it keeps you from getting bored. The absolute tool of swimming fast is the mind. Mentally practice skills, visualization, where’s our next journey, your first meet back, go to old meets, re-rehearse those and be a better student of the sport. The mind is the most important tool.

“Ride a bike hard for 15 minutes, forcing your heart rate up is really good. Any exercise, dryland, stretching. Take them and make them your own.

“Reading is important. Read about the sport. Keep a log book. The importance of keeping a log book is that it’s a map of where you are going on this journey, where you’ve been and set up where you are going.

“Set two goals for yourself for the week. Your coaches will help with that. Two goals that will make you a better person that also relate to being a better athlete. I have found that what college coaches are looking for is changing more and more in today’s world–good attitude, coach’s recommendation and good grades. They are still looking for swim ability but they want that person who is the best to work with, that’s fun to be around. Those are the real priorities.”

Troy said when he was recruiting college prospects, he would watch to see who showed up early or on time to practice and who was there until the end of practice. On home visits, he would observe how recruits treated their parents. He would look for the most intrinsic values that made for better teammates.

The final subject Troy touched upon were hitting plateaus in swimming. He pointed out that even the great ones like Michael Phelps hit a plateau. From 2004 in Athens until January 2007, Phelps did not swim a best time in any of his best events.

“Then he had a tremendous meet at World Championships in Australia and everything took off again,” Troy said.

“The first thing you realize is that swimming is one of the hardest sports, it’s very unforgiving. The plateaus are part of the sport. You have got to find ways to get off that plateau which takes us back to challenging yourself in practice, what you do, how you do it, watch your nutrition. This is why it is important to keep a log book.

“It’s so important to do things right when you were instructed the first time. As you get older and faster the law of physics work against you. As you get faster, the mistakes you make will hold you back. That’s why people reach plateaus. They got so good doing the wrong things that as they got older they refused to make the necessary changes. It takes time, but stay after making that change.

“It goes back to talking to your coach,” Troy said. “There are very few things your coach tells you that you can not improve.

“When we come out of this (COVID-19), go back to practice and be so excited. Don’t be really good for two or three weeks and then become normal again. You don’t want to be normal. You want to challenge yourself. ”

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

Mallory Schleicher Top SOFLO Finisher On Day One Of Southern Zone South Sectionals

By Sharon Robb

PLANTATION, March 5, 2020—Mallory Schleicher led South Florida Aquatic Club on opening night of the Southern Zone South Sectional Championship Thursday at Plantation Aquatic Complex.

Schleicher, 16, was second in the women’s 1500-meter freestyle in 17 minutes, 24.45 seconds. Bolles’ Leah Degeorge, 18, won the event in 17:00.79.

Schleicher was also a member of SOFLO’s fifth-place women’s 200-meter freestyle relay that finished in 1:51.46, 1.21 better than the relay’s entry time and 11th place seeding. Other relay members were Elena Dinehart, Olivia Dinehart and Gaby Banks, coming off the UANA Championships for Jamaica.

Schleicher, who has 28 points in high point, has four events remaining including Friday’s 400-meter individual medley.

SOFLO was also fourth in the women’s 200-meter medley relay in 2:00.90 with Elena Dinehart, Olivia Dinehart, Maddy Smutny and Gaby Banks.

SOFLO’s top boys’ finisher was the sixth place 200-meter medley relay in 1:50.94 with Juan Colmenares, Juan Mora, Rafael Rodriguez and Michael Arias.

SOFLO women are in fourth place with 237 points and men are seventh with 175. SOFLO is sixth among combined teams with 412. Defending champion Azura leads with 590.

SOFLO has 31 qualified swimmers (16 boys and 15 girls) competing in 140 individual events and 12 relay events race in the long course meet.

A large field is competing over four days in one of four designated USA Swimming zones. The others are Eastern, Central and Western Zone Sectionals. The meet attracts some of the top swimming talent from across the United States and internationally.

Among Florida Gold Coast teams entered are Azura Florida Aquatics, FAST, North Miami Swim Team, Coral Springs Swim Club, Gulliver, TS Aquatics and host Plantation Swim Team.

Defending champions are Azura Florida Aquatics (1,116.5) and Sarasota YMCA (1,432). SOFLO, with 35 swimmers, was third among both the girls (852) and boys (776) teams.

THURSDAY RESULTS
COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura 590, 2. Bluefish 587, 3. Scarlet 442, 4. Spartan 432, 5. Bolles 420, 6. South Florida Aquatic Club 412, 7. Colorado Stars 378, 8. Mesa 324, 9. Gator Swim Club 202, 10. TS Aquatics 138.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Bluefish 347, 2. Azura 269, 3. Scarlet 243, 4. SOFLO 237, 5. Bolles 234, 6. Mesa 187, 7. Colorado Stars 178, 8. Spartan 161, 9. Gator Swim Club 145, 10. TS Aquatics 72.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura 321, 2. Spartan 271, 3. Bluefish 240, 4. Colorado Stars 200, 5. Scarlet 199, 6. Bolles 186, 7. SOFLO 175, 8. Mesa 137, 9. Race Aquatics 94, 10. FAST 88.

GIRLS

1500-meter freestyle:
1. Leah Degeorge, Bolles 17:00.79, 2. Mallory Schleicher, SOFLO 17:24.45, 3. Anna Hein, ABF 17:33.69.

200-meter medley relay:
1. Bluefish 1:59.89, 2. Bolles 1:59.97, 3. Azura 2:00.32, 4. SOFLO A 2:00.90 (Elena Dinehart, Olivia Dinehart, Maddy Smutny, Gaby Banks), 12. SOFLO B 2:07.79 (Lucy Smutny, Molly Golding, Sara Quintero, Jennamarie Brames).

200-meter freestyle relay:
1. Bolles 1:47.29, 2. Azura 1:48.31, 3. Scarlet 1:49.38, 5. SOFLO A 1:51.46 (Elena Dinehart, Olivia Dinehart, Mallory Schleicher, Gaby Banks), 19. SOFLO B 2:00.60 (Lucy Smutny, Sally Golding, Sophia Grubbs, Jennamarie Brames).

BOYS

800-meter freestyle:
1. Yeziel Morales, Azura 8:13.84, 2. Joshua Parent, ABF 8:14.72, 3. Joaquin Vargas, Unattached 8:16.26.

200-meter medley relay:
1. Azura 1:44.44, 2. Colorado Stars 1:44.70, 3. Spartan 1:47.23, 6. SOFLO A 1:50.94 (Juan Colmenares, Juan Mora, Rafael Rodriguez, Michael Arias), 19. SOFLO B 2:01.21 (Leonardo Mateus, John Paul Handal, Philopatier Ibrahim, Manuel Melendez).

200-meter freestyle relay:
1. Spartan 1:34.78, 2. Azura 1:36.77, 3. Colorado Stars 1:38.06, 7. SOFLO A 1:40.25 (Sebastian Lares, Juan Mora, Rafael Rodriguez, Michael Arias), 23. SOFLO B 1:46.80 (Juan Colmenares, John Paul Handal, Manuel Melendez, Yannai Michael).

Mixed 200-meter medley relay:
1. Azura A 1:52.27, 2. Colorado Stars 1:52.66, 3. Azura B 1:54.54, 10. SOFLO A 2:02.51 (Sebastian Lares, Molly Golding, Sara Quintero, Nicolas Rossi), 15. SOFLO B 2:04.70 (Alex Golding, Sophia Grubbs, Leonardo Mateus, Sabrina Osorio).

Mixed 200-meter freestyle relay:
1. Spartan 1:42.53, 2. Bluefish 1:43.47, 3. Azura 1:43.51, 7. SOFLO A 1:48.48 (Mallory Schleicher, Nicolas Rossi, Philopatier Ibrahim, Sally Golding), 14. SOFLO B 1:55.84 (Alex Golding, Sabrina Osorio, Sophia Grubbs, Christopher Hau).

IF YOU GO

What: 2020 Southern Zone South Sectional Championships

When: Friday-Sunday

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

Where: Plantation Central Park Aquatic Complex, 9151 NW Second Street.

Of note: Admission is $5. For more information call 954-452-2526.

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