Pelaez, Zum Tobel, Zuchowski Top FGC Finishers On Day Two Of USA Swimming East Speedo Winter Junior Championships

By Sharon Robb
GREENSBORO, N.C., December 9, 2021–Three Florida Gold Coast swimmers finished in the Top 10 on Day Two of the USA Swimming East Speedo Winter Junior Championships Thursday at Greensboro Aquatic Center.

Erika Pelaez, 15, of Eagle Aquatics was fourth in the 50-yard freestyle in a best time 22.40, a time drop of 0.12. She was sixth fastest in prelims in 22.72.

Maximilian zum Tobel, 18, of St. Andrew’s Aquatics was fourth in the 50-yard freestyle in 20.06. He was sixth fastest in prelims in 20.27.

Josh Zuchowski, 17, of FAST was seventh in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:46.95. He was sixth fastest in prelims in 1:46.92.

Two South Florida Aquatic Club swimmers also saw action.

Maddie Smutny, 16, was 46th in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:00.42. She has the 100- and 200-yard butterfly events left to swim.

Auburn-bound Olivia Dinehart, 16, was 102nd in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:06.67. She has four events left to swim: 400 IM, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke.

SOFLO’s Elena Dinehart, 16, will compete in three events: 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke.

In other action among the nation’s best:

Baylor Nelson, 18, of SwimMAC won the 200 IM in a meet record 1:42.01.

Thomas Heilman, of Cavalier Aquatics 14, just missed the 50-yard freestyle national age group record winning the sprint in 19.83.

Anna Moesch, 16, swimming unatatched won the women’s 50-yard freestyle in 22.33.

Devon Kitchel, 17, of Carmel Swim Club won the 200 IM in 1:56.39.

Michaela Mattes, 16, of Sarasota Sharks won the 500-yard freestyle in 4:42.06, winning by three seconds.

Logan Zucker, 18, of SwimMAC won the men’s 500 freestyle in 4:19.46, winning by two seconds.

Prelims are 9 a.m. and finals at 5 p.m. The meet is being live streamed. Results can be found on Meet Mobile.

Thursday Results
COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. Carmel Swim Club 284, 2. SwimMAC 240, 3. Dynamo 200, 4. Bolles 172.5, 5. Sarasota Sharks 154, 17. Eagle Aquatics 18.
GIRLS TEAM TOTALS: 1. Carmel Swim Club 223, 2. Dynamo 138, 3. Sarasota Sharks 114, 4. Club Wolverine 101, 5. SwimMAC 79, 24. Eagle Aquatics 15.
BOYS TEAM TOTALS: 1. SwimMAC 284, 2. SwimMAC 240, 3. Dynamo 200, 4. Bolles 172.5, 5. Sarasota Sharks 154, 17. Eagle Aquatics 18.

GIRLS
500-yard freestyle:

1. Michaela Mattes, Sarasota Sharks 4:42.06, 2. Hannah Bellard, Club Wolverine 4:45.18, 3. Natalie Mannion, Commonwealth Swimming 4:45.20.

200-yard individual medley:

1. Devon Kitchel, Carmel Swim Club 1:56.39, 2. Alex Shackell, Carmel Swim Club 1:57.78, 3. Emily Thompson, Greater Somerset County YMCA 1:58.29.

50-yard freestyle:

1. Anna Moesch, Unattached 22.33, 2. Alex Shackell, Carmel Swim Club 22.34, 3. Katherine Helms, Mason Makos 22.39; FGC: 4. Erika Pelaez, Eagle Aquatics 22.40, time drop 0.12.

4×100-yard medley relay:

1. Carmel Swim Club 3:33.88, 2. Dynamo 3:39.53, 3. TAC Titans 3:39.97.

BOYS
500-yard freestyle:

1. Logan Zucker, MAC 4:19.46, 2. Lance Norris, TAC Titans 4:21.42, 3. Liam Custer, Sarasota Sharks 4:21.52.

200-yard invidual medley:

1. Baylor Nelson, SwimMAC 1:42.01, 2. Will Modglin, Zionsville Swim Club 1:45.39, 3. Gibson Holmes, Manta Rays 1:45.50; FGC: 7. Josh Zuchowski, FAST 1:46.95.

50-yard freestyle:

1. Thomas Heilman, Cavaliers 19.83, 2. Lucca Battaglini, Unattached 19.96, 3. Brendon Whitfield, Lynchburg YMCA 20.01; FGC: 4. Maxiilian zum Tobel, St. Andrew’s 20.06, 14. Kaii Winkler, Eagle Aquatics 20.46.

4×100-yard medley relay:

1. SwimMAC 3:12.14, 2. Mason Manta Rays 3:12.66, 3. Lakeside 3:14.12.

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

St. Andrew’s Aquatics Captures First-Ever Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships, SOFLO Finishes Second

By Sharon Robb
CORAL SPRINGS, August 1, 2021—In one of the closest Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships, St. Andrew’s Aquatics won its first-ever combined team title Sunday at Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.

Defending seven-time champion South Florida Aquatic Club finished runner-up in combined with 1,295.50, 151.50 points behind St. Andrew’s Aquatics with 1,446. Jupiter Dragons were third with 1,064.50. They were the only teams to crack the 1,000-point barrier among a field of 35 teams.

St. Andrew’s Aquatics also won the boys team title with 1,143. SOFLO was second with 790 and Swim Fort Lauderdale was third with 675.

Jupiter Dragons, led by Heidi Smithwick, winner of seven individual and relay events, won the girls’ team title with 710.50 points, just 41.50 points ahead of Gulliver Swim Club with 669. Pine Crest was third with 665.50. SOFLO was fourth with 505.50 and St. Andrew’s Aquatics was sixth with 303.

Because of bad weather and impending storms moving in from the Everglades, the final night session was cancelled and results were morning timed finals. The 400-meter medley relays and fast heats of the 1500 freestyles were not contested.

St. Andrew’s swimmers dedicated the win to longtime head coach Sid Cassidy, who underwent coronary angioplasty and stent surgery and was unable to be at the meet.

“We wanted to make him happy and feel better so we wanted to do well,” said St. Andrew’s sprinter and U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier Maximilian Zum Tobel, anchor leg of the Florida Gold Coast record-breaking 200-meter freestyle relay in 1:32.48, just missing the national age group record by .05. The previous FGC record was 1:32.87 set by Westminster Academy in 2013.

“We weren’t talking about the title too much but we were pretty confident because we knew we had a stacked finals in the 50 free and 100 back,” Zum Tobel said. “Our mindset was that we were ready to take on what we wanted to do. I’m happy, this is awesome.”

Despite missing several top swimmers competing at both Futures Championships and Speedo Summer Championships that begin Tuesday, SOFLO swimmers rose to the occasion during the three-day meet.

“Our kids were phenomenal,” SOFLO coach Chris Anderson said from Greensboro, N.C. “They swam really well and stepped it up.”

SOFLO‘s Top 10 finishers were:

Michelle Marinheiro, 1500-meter freestyle, first 18:41.11.

Gaby Banks, 50-meter freestyle, second 27.10.

Christian Tijero, 1500-meter freestyle, second 17:40.12.

Michelle Fernandez, 100-meter breaststroke, fifth, 1:16.82.

Nathaniel Garrick, 1500-meter freestyle, seventh 18:14.87, time drop 38.82.

Alex Golding, 200-meter individual medley, seventh 2:14.44.

Rafael Rodriguez, 100-meter backstroke, eighth, 1:01.15; 50-meter freestyle, ninth 24.66, time drop 0.51.

SOFLO also had two swimmers, Alex Golding and Sebastian Lares make their Futures cuts during the meet.

For the summer’s last local long course meet, 41 SOFLO swimmers, ages 15-and-over, (26 men and 15 women) competed in 174 individual and eight relay events.

The top three girls high points leaders were: Heidi Smithwick, Jupiter Dragons, 215; Riley Botting, Pine Crest 141; and Paola Gonzalez of Metro Aquatics, 134. SOFLO’s top girl was Natalie Gembicki, 16, with 70 points.

The top three boys high point leaders were: Kaii Winkler, Eagle Aquatics 165.50; Gabriel Araya, Azura, 159; and Dario Martin, Olympus Swimming 147. SOFLO’s top boy was Alex Golding, 17, with 91 points.

SUNDAY RESULTS
COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. St. Andrew’s Aquatics 1,446, 2. South Florida Aquatic Club 1,295.50, 3. Jupiter Dragons 1,064.50, 4. Pine Crest 894.50, 5. Gulliver 832, 6. Swim Fort Lauderdale 745, 7. Midtown Weston 652, 8. Azura Florida Aquatics 588, 9. Metro Aquatics 586, 10. TS Aquatics 430.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. St. Andrew’s Aquatics 1,143, 2. South Florida Aquatic Club 790, 3. Swim Fort Lauderdale 675, 4. Eagle Aquatics 401.50, 5. Jupiter Dragons 354, 6. Azura Florida Aquatics 348, 7. Metro Aquatics 289, 8. TS Aquatics 244, 9. Olympus Swimming Club 242, 10. Boca Raton Swim Team 235.50.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Jupiter Dragons 710.50, 2. Gulliver 669, 3. Pine Crest 665.50, 4. South Florida Aquatic Club 505.50, 5. Midtown Weston 460, 6. St. Andrew’s 303, 7. Metro Aquatics 297, 8. TS Aquatics 291, 9. Wahoos of Wellington 248, 10. Flood Aquatics 242.50.

WOMEN
1500-meter freestyle: 1. Michelle Marinheiro, SOFLO 18:41.11, 2. Lillian Smith, SAS 18:55.69, 3. Addison Byrne, PB 19:31.34.

100-meter backstroke: 1. tie, Hanna Smith, PC 1:07.91 and Kiersten Munna, FAST 1:07.91, 3. Solana Capalbo, AZFL 1:08.39; SOFLO: 28. Sally Golding 1:12.81, time drop 1.41, 31. Sara Quintero 1:13.18, 41. Jena Legaspi 1:14.44, 45. Mariann Catalasan 1:15.73, time drop 0.08, 50. Sofia Osorio 1:16.90.

100-meter breaststroke: 1. Micaela Sierra, AZFL 1:13.30, 2. Heidi Smithwick, JUP 1:14.74, 3. Delaine Goll, GPA 1:14.88; SOFLO: 5. Michelle Fernandez 1:16.82, 26. Sabrina Osorio 1:23.11, 28. Mariann Catalasan 1:23.24, 33. Sara Quintero 1:24.21, time drop 0.16, 51. Ana Frable 1:29.50.

50-meter freestyle: 1. Heidi Smithwick, JUP 26.36, 2. Gaby Banks, SOFLO 27.10, 3. Kiara Caamano, JUP 27.17, 20. Nat Gembicki 28.44, 34. Michelle Fernandez 28.92, 47. Jennamarie Brames 29.50, 49. Sally Golding 29.52, time drop 0.53, 58. Michelle Marinheiro 29.83, 83. Sophia Bedoya 30.97.

200-meter individual medley: 1. Heidi Smithwick, JUP 2:24.51, 2. Riley Botting, PC 2:27.31, 3. Paola Gonzalez, MAC 2:27.50; SOFLO: 17. Nat Gembicki 2:33.76, time drop 4.89, 35. Jennamarie Brames 2:38.44, 41. Sabrina Osorio 2:41.25, 49. Mariann Catalasan 2:47.29.

MEN
1500-meter freestyle: 1. Thomas Powers-Hammond, SFTL 17:31.09, 2. Christian Tijero, SOFLO 17:40.12, 3. Mateo Shearer, HAT 17:40.37; SOFLO: 7. Nathaniel Garrick 18:14.87, time drop 38.82.

100-meter backstroke: 1. Josh Zuchowski, FAST 57.44, 2. Kaii Winkler, EA 58.62, 3. Joshua Balbi, SAS 59.45; SOFLO: 8. Rafael Rodriguez 1:01.15, 11. Sebastian Lares 1:01.84, time drop 2.41, 15. Alejandro Mateus 1:02.51, 17. Aldo Zepeda 1:02.78, 22. Philo Ibrahim 1:03.26, 27. Austin Nelson 1:04.46, 29. Adrian Hernandez 1:04.87, 38. Diego Nazario-Vazquez 1:06.33, time drop 2.85, 49. Nathaniel Garrick 1:07.31, 52. Nicolas Sanchade 1:07.83, 67. Nicholas Chaimowicz 1:11.06.

100-meter breaststroke: 1. Diego Jesus Duarte, AZFL 1:05.84, 2. Dylan Brisco, SAS 1:05.84, 3. Dario Martin, OSC 1:05.91; SOFLO: 16. Manuel Melendez 1:10.52, 18. Javier Roman 1:11.39, 38. Christopher Hau 1:14.40, 41. Alan Bertea 1:14.66, 43. Zackary Harris 1:15.46, time drop 0.81, 52. Adrian Hernandez 1:16.16, 66. Vinay Gurnani 1:19.57.

50-meter freestyle: 1. Josiah Morales, PAQ 23.29, 2. Reese Branzell, SAS 23.30, 3. Max Zum Tobel, SAS 23.86, 9. Rafael Rodriguez 24.66, time drop 0.51, 25. Philo Ibrahim 25.45, 27. Aldo Zepeda 25.50, time drop 0.19, 47. Brennan Binder 26.20, time drop 0.30, 83. Robert Wilson 27.19, 89. Christopher Hau 27.96.

200-meter individual medley: 1. Josh Zuchowski, FAST 2:08.93, 2. Dario Martin, OSC 2:10.93, 3. Gabriel Araya 2:11.80; SOFLO: 7. Alex Golding 2:14.44, 15. Javier Roman 2:16.84, 18. Sebastian Lares 2:18.07, time drop 3.80, 20. Alejandro Mateus 2:19.41, time drop 2.54, 21. Enrique Rodriguez 2:19.49, 25. Adrian Hernandez 2:20.83, time drop 0.85, 32. Brennan Binder 2:22.54, time drop 4.78, 42. Manuel Melendez 2:23.95, 50. Christian Tijero 2:25.59, 52. Garrett Oliver 2:25.79, 56. Zackary Harris 2:26.32.

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