SOFLO’s O’Gorman Swims Career-Best To Qualify For Swedish Youth Nationals

June 4, 2011

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

Robert O’Gorman swam his guts out literally at Session Three of the Florida Gold Coast Long Course Comets Invitational Saturday at Academic Village Pool.

The South Florida Aquatic Club swimmer qualified for the July 22-25 Swedish Youth National Championships in Koping, Sweden in the 200-meter backstroke.

O’Gorman, 16, won the 15-and-over event by more than 4 seconds in 2 minutes, 24.34 seconds, his first cut for a major international junior event. He put his celebration on hold, however, when he got sick after the race.

“I ate way too much,” O’Gorman said. “I had pancakes for lunch, cereals and sandwiches. I am feeling better. It was a first time.

“I felt pretty good in the water. I felt a little heavy in the water and sore and stuff from training but my swimming felt pretty good.”

O’Gorman, who will be a junior at Grandview Prep in Boca Raton this fall, has been trying to get his youth national cuts in the backstroke and freestyle since last summer. He will try to get his second cut on Sunday in the 100-meter freestyle, his favorite event. 

“I have been trying for one year,” O’Gorman said. “I have been practicing very hard and working on my stroke. I didn’t expect to get it but I felt pretty good. It’s the biggest meet I’ve qualified for internationally.

“I just started swimming backstroke again two weeks ago,” O’Gorman said. “I swam the 100 backstroke last weekend in Fort Lauderdale in 1:07 and felt pretty good.

“I have been improving and practicing more but I haven’t done anything special. I just finished school two days ago and start doubles next week.”

O’Gorman and his family moved to South Florida last August. O’Gorman started working with six-time Olympic coach Michael Lohberg and Bruno Darzi and training with a diverse group of swimmers.

“It’s been perfect for my swimming,” said O’Gorman, who has been swimming for ten years after playing basketball and soccer. “I have seen a lot of improvement. I am happy with my swimming.”

In the women’s competition, SOFLO’s Lindsey McKnight, tuning up for next weekend’s Rome trip, won three events (100 butterfly, 200 backstroke, 50 freestyle); Tyla Martin won two events (100 butterfly, 200 backstroke) and two-time Olympian Alia Atkinson won two events (50 butterfly, 200 breaststroke).

SATURDAY RESULTS, SESSION 3

GIRLS

200-meter medley relay: 13-and-over, 1. SOFLO “C” 2:10.62 (Melissa Marinheiro, Leysha Caraballo, Kylie Herman, Brittany Williford), 2. SOFLO “A” 2:19.78 (Melissa Fernandez, Alia Atkinson, Courtney Marx, Amber Hunter), 3. SOFLO “B” 2:24.11 (Rachel Ling, Bianca Muniz, Maria Lopez, Leonie Davies), 5. SOFLO “E” 2:39.38 (Maria Fernandez, Monica Rodriguez, Johmi Vargas, Gabriella Fawaz).

50-meter butterfly: 13-14, 1. Omaira German, Blue Marlins 30.59, FGJO; SOFLO: 4. Kylie Herman 33.98, FGJO, 5. Jenna Deal 34.97, FGJO, 9. Lindsey Sauer 36.76, 13. Jessie Cordero 37.78, 15. Leysha Caraballo and Johmi Vargas, tie, 38.12,17. Emily Neville 38.42, 18. Cristina Villegas 39.17, 24. Alisa Huang 43.90, CSSC: 12. Veronica Postolski 37.67, 19. Emily Jurich 40.14, 22. Rachel Butts 42.25; 15-and-over, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 29.77, FLSC; SOFLO: 2. Marcella Marinheiro 30.29, FLSC, 3. Maria Lopez 31.28, FLSC, 4. Taylor McKnight, 31.28, FLSC, 5. Kristina Brennan 31.43, FLSC, 6. Linea Cutter 31.74, FLSC, 7. Amber Hunter 31.85, FLSC, 9. Juliann Plasencia 34.29, FLSC, 13. Nathalie Perez 35.88, 15. Astrid Rigau 38.80, CSSC: 12. Kennedy Sanes 35.77.

200-meter breaststroke: 13-14, 1. Emily Kopas, SOFLO 2:42.86, FGJO; SOFLO: 2. Audrey Mason 2:55.92, FGJO, 4. Lindsey Sauer 3:12.97, 5. Kaitlin Armstrong 3:16.09, 8. Monica Rodriguez 3:25.79, 10. Leysha Caraballo 3:30.56, 11. Maria Fernandez 3:30.70; 15-and-over, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 2:37.39, FLSC; SOFLO: 2. Eszter Bucz 2:37.65, FLSC, 3. Dana Hatic 2:50.89, FLSC, 4. Gina Gautieri 2:58.64, FLSC.

100-meter butterfly: 13-14, 1. Tyla Martin, SOFLO 1:07.77, FGJO; SOFLO: 2. Andrea Melendez 1:13.92, FGJO, 6. Monica Rodriguez 1:21.90, 7. Jenna Deal 1:23.39, 9. Johmi Vargas 1:26.23, 10. Jessie Cordero 1:26.37, 11. Emily Neville 1:27.70, 12. Cristian Villegas 1:27.90, CSSC: 13. Veronica Postolski 1:29.93; 15-and-over, 1. Lindsey McKnight, SOFLO 1:05.01, FLSC; SOFLO: 2. Emma Lincoln 1:08.06, FLSC, 3. Maria Lopez 1:08.41, FLSC, 4. Amber Hunter 1:09.38, FLSC, 5. Kristina Brennan 1:09.94, FLSC, 6. Juliann Plasencia 1:13.54, FLSC, 7. Linea Cutter 1:13.89, FLSC, 9. Rachel Ling 1:17.41, 12. Nathalie Perez 1:26.37.

50-meter breaststroke: 13-14, 1. Kelly Fertel, Rockway 38.20, FGJO; SOFLO: 2. Kelly Kealty 38.90, FGJO, 3. Audrey Mason 38.92, FGJO, 6. Nicole Gautieri 42.23, 7. Emily Neville 42.85, 11. Kaitlin Armstrong 43.91, 12. Rebecca Wilkerson 43.99, 15. Maria Fernandez 45.59, 18. Leysha Caraballo 46.32, 20. Vivi Calero 47.69, 22. Hannah Doyle 50.15, 23. Cristian Villegas 51.74; CSSC: 4. Emily Jurich 41.40, FGJO, 25. Rachel Butts 52.09; 15-and-over, 1. Gina Gautieri, SOFLO 37.72, FLSC; SOFLO: 4. Bianca Muniz 40.84, 9. Astrid Rigau 47.15; CSSC; 5. Kennedy Sanes 42.62, 6. Nicole Cacurak 43.57. 

200-meter backstroke: 13-14, 1. Tyla Martin, SOFLO 2:34.33, FGJO; SOFLO: 2. Melissa Marinheiro 2:36.31, FGJO, 3. Steph Campo 2:36.87, FGJO, 5. Leonie Davies 2:38.85, FGJO, 7. Andrea Melendez 2:49.49, FGJO, 9. Audrey Mason 2:54.58, 10. Jenna Diaz 2:57.98, 11. Kylie Herman 3:00.56, 12. Hannah Doyle 3:02.93, 13. Jessie Cordero 3:06.33; 15-and-over, 1. Lindsey McKnight, SOFLO 2:26.55, FLSC; SOFLO: 2. Marcella Marinheiro 2:29.19, 3. Alia Atkinson 2:39.35, FLSC, 4. Rachel Ling 2:45.63, 5. Juliann Plasencia 2:48.85, 6. Gabreilla Fawaz 3:04.87.

50-meter freestyle: 13-14, 1. Omaira German, Blue Marlins 29.25, FGJO; SOFLO: 2. Kaitlin Armstrong 30.49, FGJO, 3. Steph Campo 30.82, FGJO, 4. Melissa Marinheiro 30.86, FGJO, 5. Kelly Kealty 31.10, FGJO, 6. Leonie Davies 31.21, FGJO, 7. Kylie Herman 31.44, FGJO, 9. Nicole Gautieri 31.50, 11. Leysha Caraballo 31.89, 13. Jenna Diaz 32.10, 15. Deal 32.44, 17. Cristina Villegas 32.83, 18. Lindsey Sauer 32.85, 21. Emily Neville 33.01, 25. Monica Rodriguez 33.20, 28. Jessie Cordero 34.37, 30. Rebecca Wilkerson 34.53, 33. Maria Fernandez 35.56, 35. Johmi Vargas 36.05, 38. Alisa Huang 38.28; CSSC: 8. Veronica Postolski 31.45, FGJO, 31. Emily Jurich 34.94, 36. Rachel Butts 36.72; 15-and-over, 1. Lindsey McKnight, SOFLO 27.39, FLSC; SOFLO: 2. Linea Cutter 28.61, FLSC, 3. Marcella Marinheiro 28.92, FLSC, 5. Maria Lopez 29.53, FLSC, 6. Emma Lincoln 29.54, 7. Kristina Brennan 29.87, FLSC, 8. Bianca Muniz 30.18, FLSC, 9. Amber Hunter 30.22, FLSC, 10. Eszter Bucz 30.37, FLSC, 13. Brittany Williford 31.30, FLSC, 16. Astrid Rigau 33.16, 17. Nathalie Perez 33.17, 18. Gabriella Fawaz 33.55, 21. Gina Gautieri 33.83; CSSC:  14. Kennedy Sanes 31.99, 20. Bar Bogoslavsky 33.75, 26. Nicole Cacurak 36.39.

800-meter freestyle: 11-12, 1. Jessica Rodriguez, SOFLO 9:58.83; 13-14, 1. Melissa Marinheiro 9:26.97, FGJO, 2. Leonie Davies 9:53.50, 3. Andre Melendez 10:24.35, 5. Hannah Doyle 11:01.82; 15-and-over, 1. Brittany Williford, SOFLO 9:57.97, FLSC; SOFLO: 3. Gabriella Fawaz 11:59.04. 

BOYS

200-meter medley relay: 13-and-over, 1. SOFLO “A” 2:03.45 (Xavier Brown, Marc Rojas, Javier Menchaca, Anthony Fermin), 2. SOFLO “B” 2:13.68 (Gustavo Valery, Dylan Sell, Josh Coote, William Perry III), 4. SOFLO “C” 2:21.45 (Daniel Lee, Roger Capote, Andres Menchaca, Teddy Sandoval), 5. SOFLO “D” 2:25.79 (Edward Kon, Alex Monti, Ryan Capote, Juan Saldana), 6. SOFLO “E” 2:31.89 (Daniel Reyna, Stefano Dioguardi, Alexander Viloria, Josemiguel Fernandez).

50-meter butterfly: 13-14, 1. Jonathan Rodriguez, Blue Marlins 28.70, FGJO; SOFLO: 7. Bryce Pierce 32.11, FGJO, 10. August Charni 33.02, FGJO, 11. William Perry III 33.19, FGJO, 13. Andres Menchaca 34.00, FGJO, 14. David Stoddard 34.49, FGJO, 17. Dylan Allen 36.98, 19. Stefano Dioguardi 39.53, 22. Christian Soderberg 41.56, 23. Jackson Battle 52.62, 24. Marco Crespo 54.07; CSSC: 20. Brendan Teeters 40.20; 15-and-over, 1. Abbas Qali, SOFLO 25.82, FLSC; SOFLO: 2. Zain Qali 26.30, FLSC, 3. Luke Torres 26.82, FLSC, 4. Nawaf Haidar 27.14, FLSC, 5. Anthony Fermin 27.29, FLSC, 6. Brandon Goldman 28.56, FLSC, 7. Xavier Brown 29.12, FLSC, 10. Javier Menchaca 29.78, FLSC, 11. Jacob Walters 29.98, FLSC, 13. Brian Arnaud 30.58, FLSC, 14. Tomas Kloosterman 31.76, FLSC, 15. Josh Coote 32.22, 18. Joshua Cutter 32.26, 19. Jose Fernandez 32.70, 20. Kyle Desrosiers 32.93, 21. Derek Maguire 33.49, 25. Matias Sisnandez 34.44, 27. Daniel Reyna 38.28.

200-meter breaststroke: 13-14, 1. Dylan Sell, SOFLO 2:54.73, FGJO; SOFLO: 5. Alex Monti 3:09.89, 6. Teddy Sandoval 3:11.00, 7. Edward Kon 3:14.88, 8. Juan Saldana 3:16.24; 15-and-over, 1. Leo Andara, SOFLO 2:30.91, FLSC; SOFLO: 2. Marc Rojas 2:35.84, FLSC,  4. Luke Torres 2:37.56, FLSC, 5. Brandon Goldman 2:39.03, FLSC, 7. Roger Capote 2:57.27, FLSC.

100-meter butterfly: 13-14, 1. Jonathan Rodriguez, Blue Marlins 1:05.66, FGJO; SOFLO: 8. August Charni 1:14.22, 9. Andres Menchaca 1:15.42, 13. William Perry III 1:17.11, 14. Teddy Sandoval 1:18.06, 15. Alexander Viloria 1:19.44, 16. Ryan Capote 1:19.76, 17. Edward Kon 1:20.27, 18. Juan Saldana 1:20.54, 20. Stefano Dioguardi 1:31.08; 15-and-over, 1. Zain Qali, SOFLO 58.31, FLSC; SOFLO: 2. Abbas Qali 58.38, FLSC, 4. Loai Tashkandi 1:01.63, FLSC, 7. Marco Hosfeld 1:04.80, FLSC, 9. Javier Menchaca 1:05.33, FLSC, 10. Xavier Brown 1:07.43, 12. Jacob Walters 1:08.45, 15. Tomas Kloosterman 1:10.54, 17. Josh Coote 1:10.78, 19. Kyle Desrosiers 1:15.34, 20. Jose Fernandez 1:16.34, 21. Matias Sisnandez 1:19.14.

50-meter breaststroke: 13-14, 1. Luis Llenin, Miami-Dade 39.40, FGJO; SOFLO: 2. Alex Monti 41.18, 3. Bryce Pierce 42.29, 7. Juan Saldana 43.71, 9. Dylan Allen 45.52, 10. Tristan Dye-Pintado 46.30, 11. Marco Crespo 53.28, 12. Jackson Battle 53.48; CSSC: 6. Brendan Teeters 43.35; 15-and-over, 1. Loai Tashkandi, SOFLO 30.05, FLSC; SOFLO: 4. Brian Arnaud 35.03, FLSC, 6. Marco Hosfeld 36.12, 8. Joshua Cutter 37.45, 9. Anthony Fermin 37.48, 12. Tomas Kloosterman 39.05, 13. Derek Maguire 39.11, 21. August Charni 47.06, 23. Daniel Reyna 50.73.

200-meter backstroke: 13-14, 1. August Charni, SOFLO 2:32.51, FGJO; SOFLO: 2. Gustavo Valery 2:36.94, FGJO, 6. David Stoddard 2:43.54, 8. Alexander Viloria 2:52.46, 9. Andres Menchaca 3:01.92; 15-and-over, 1. Robert O’Gorman, SOFLO 2:24.34, FLSC; SOFLO: 7. Daniel Lee 2:48.73, 8. Daniel Reyna 2:56.68, 9. Josh Coote 2:59.54, 10. Xavier Brown 3:05.44.

50-meter freestyle: 13-and-over, 1. Jonathan Rodriguez, Blue Marlins 27.55, FGJO; SOFLO: 3. August Charni 28.27, FGJO, 4. Bryce Pierce 28.74, FGJO, 5. William Perry III 28.77, FGJO, 6. Dylan Sell 28.92, FGJO, 7. Gustavo Valery 29.04, FGJO, 8. David Stoddard 29.39, FGJO, 13. Teddy Sandoval 29.76, FGJO, 16. Ryan Capote 30.08, FGJO, 21. Juan Saldana 31.05, 23. Alex Monti 31.35, 25. Christian Soderberg 31.63, 28. Dylan Allen 33.40, 33. Tristan Dye-Pintado 35.13, 35. Marco Crespo 37.53, 36. Luiz Hosfeld 37.64, 37. Jackson Battle 39.75; CSSC: 32. Brendan Teeters 34.54; 15-and-over, 1. Zain Qali, SOFLO 24.72, FLSC; SOFLO: 2. Anthony Fermin 25.49, FLSC, 5. Xavier Brown 27.01, FLSC, 6. Brian Arnaud 27.2, FLSC, 8. Marco Hosfeld 27.53, FLSC, 13. Jacob Walters 28.25, FLSC, 16. Roger Capote 28.56, FLSC, 19. Arthur Soderberg 29.04, 21. Joshua Cutter 29.16, 22. Kyle Desrosiers 29.31, 24. Javier Menchaca 29.82, 26. Derek Maguire 30.12, 27. Matias Sisnandez 30.42, 31. Jose Fernandez 30.92, 36. Daniel Reyna 31.99, 41. Autumn Charni 37.50.

800-meter freestyle: 11-12, 1. Alfredo Mesa Jr., SOFLO 9:49.72; SOFLO: 2. Kevin Porto 10:08.72; 13-14, 1. Dylan Sell, SOFLO 9:35.87, FGJO, SOFLO: 4. Edward Kon 10:01.70, 6. William Perry III 10:19.78, FGJO, 7. Teddy Sandoval 10:22.67, 8. Stefano Dioguardi 10:50.87; 15-and-over, 1. Marc Rojas, SOFLO 8:46.23, FLSC; SOFLO: 6. Josh Cote 11L06.95, 7. Daniel Lee 11:09.07.

IF YOU GO

What: Florida Gold Coast Comets Long Course Invitational

When: Sunday, Session 4, 8:30 a.m., Session 5, 2 p.m.

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

Teams: (12) Blue Marlins of Hialeah Gardens, Comets, Coral Springs Swim Club, Devilrays, Flying Fish, Hialeah, Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County Aquatics, Miami Swimming, Rockway Swimming, South Florida Aquatic Club, Unattached.

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

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

 

 

 http://www.swim4soflo.com

SOFLO Teammates Tie At FLA Senior Circuit Meet

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

May 29, 2011

South Florida Aquatic Club teammates Gianpaolo Barelli and Keegan Boisson-Yates tied for ninth in the 100-meter freestyle Sunday at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatics Senior Circuit Meet at Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex.

Barelli, 18, and Boisson-Yates, 15, finished in 55.87.

SOFLO’s Robert O’Gorman, 17, was 18^th, in the 100-meter freestyle in a career-best 56.99, bettering his career best of 57.58.

Davie Nadadores won the men’s team title with 303.5 points followed by Metro Aquatics with 261.5 and Fort Lauderdale Aquatics, 155.

Host FLA won the women’s team title with 378.5 followed by Davie with 169 and Metro Aquatics with 139.5.

Other individual champions on the third and final day:

Lauren Driscoll, 17, FLA, 1500-meter freestyle, 17:42.95.

Jon Grundstrom, 24, Unattached-NSU, 1500-meter freestyle, 17:13.45.

Jonna Nyback, 23, FLA, 50-meter butterfly, 29.62.

Marcos Macedo, 20, Davie Nadadores, 50-meter butterfly, 25.27.

Carlotta Verita, 12, FLA, 200-meter breaststroke, 2:54.52.

Evandro Silva, 19, Davie Nadadores, 200-meter breaststroke, 2:27.42.

Jonna Nyback, 23, FLA, 100-meter freestyle, 59.63.

Marcos Macedo, 20, Davie Nadadores, 100-meter freestyle, 53.17.

Ali Schulhofer, 16, Davie Nadadores, 200-meter butterfly, 2:25.22.

Yousef Alaskari, 17, Davie Nadadores, 200-meter butterfly, 2:08.66.

Diana Chang, 18, Unattached, 200-meter backstroke, 2:29.32.

Yuri Fernandes, 18, Davie Nadadores, 200-meter backstroke, 2:14.77.

SPEEDO GRAND CHALLENGE

Stanford’s Julia Smit broke two meet records to highlight action at the Speedo Grand Challenge in Irvine, Calif.

Smit knocked off Katinka Hosszu in the 400-meter individual medley in 4:38.83 and broke her second record in the 200-meter backstroke in 2:12.72.

Sprinter Nathan Adrian of Cal broke a meet record in the 50-meter freestyle in 22.23 to move into a No. 12 world ranking. Cal teammate Tom Shields won the 100-meter butterfly in 53.40.

Jasmine Tosky won the 200-meter freestyle in 2:00.00.

Alex Lendrum won the 200-meter backstroke in 2:01.15 and Mads Glaesner won the 400-meter freestyle in 2:01.15.

ARIZONA INVITATIONAL

Lara Jackson of Tucson Ford won the Super Finals in the 50-meter freestyle in 25.84 at the Arizona Invitational at Arizona State in Tempe. SwimMAC’s Nick Brunelli won the men’s 50-meter freestyle in 22.69, knocking off Josh Schneider who finished in 22.78.

MEL ZAJAC JR. INTERNATIONAL MEET

Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin and Canadian Brent Hayden were top winners at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Coughlin won the 50-meter freestyle in 25.61 and Hayden won the 50-meter freestyle in 22.83.

Canadian Annamay Pierse won the 200-meter breaststroke in 2:25.98.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

 

 http://www.swim4soflo.com

Busy Weekend For SOFLO Swimmers Locally And Nationally

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

May 26, 2011

Several South Florida Aquatic Club, Comets and Coral Springs Swim Club swimmers will spend the Memorial Day Weekend in a pool.

The largest contingent (111 swimmers) will compete at the Florida Gold Coast Area 2 Developmental Long Course Meters Swim Meet.

Nearly 300 swimmers from 10 teams will compete in the three-day meet that begins on Friday at the Academic Village Pool in Pembroke Pines.

Swimmers from SOFLO, Coral Springs Swim Club and Comets will compete in either the 12-and-under or 13-and-over events against an impressive field of up-and-coming swimmers.

Among SOFLO’s top seeded swimmers are:

Maya Hirian, 12, 100-meter breaststroke 1:46.97; 50-meter freestyle 34.84

Federico Maeso, 11, 100-meter breaststroke 1:39.24; 100-meter butterfly, 1:31.24

Kelley Heron, 11, 100-meter butterfly 1:27.34

Samantha Stinemire, 12, 1500 freestyle, no time available

Jack Davies, 12, 1500 freestyle, 23:21.54

Andres Lares, 11, 200-meter freestyle 2:43.88; 50-meter freestyle 34.57; 50-meter backstroke 41.24

Megan Schimansky, 11, 100-meter freestyle 1:20.02

Rodrigo Rodriguez, 12, 100-meter freestyle 1:15.79

Alex Monti, 13, 100-meter breaststroke 1:32.12

Alisa Kislych, 12, 50-meter backstroke 41.68

Luisa Suzuki, 12, 50-meter breaststroke 45.32

Guilherme Hada, 11, 50-meter breaststroke 45.76

Audrey Mason, 13, 200-meter backstroke 2:52.34

Cristian Ross, 12, 400-meter individual medley

SOFLO, Comets and Coral Springs’ girls entered are:

Melanie Alicea, 11; Megan Appelbaum, 10; Delaney Biro, 9; Melissa Blandin, 10; Sarah Bucaro, 11; Lilliana Calero, 12; Brittney Coote, 9; Megan Damon, 12; Mikaela De Gracia, 10; Valentina Diaz, 12; Treasure D’Souza, 12; Valentina Garcia, 12; Daniela Gomez, 11; Emma Gomez, 7; Cameron Grant, 13; Catalin Grant, 10; Brianna Hanks, 11; Kelley Heron, 11; Maya Hirian, 12; Annita Huang, 9; Alisa Kislych, 12; Amanda Kopas, 8; Elise Larin, 9; Taylor Lindauer, 9; Catalina Lizarazo, 11; Audrey Mason, 13; Julie Mason, 10; Molly Mason, 8; Olivia Mason, 8; Vanessa Mesa, 9; Stephanie Mlujeak, 12; Anna Montgomery, 11; Julia Montgomery, 13; Bianca Monti, 11; Linda Mylly, 11; Delanie Perez, 10; Isabella Pittinger, 11; Sara Quintero, 7; Natalia Rossi, 10; Ashley Ruf, 10; Isabella Saker-Lefkowitz, 9; Megan Schimansky, 11; Sarah Schimansky, 8; Isabel Shashaty, 10; Lauren Simm, 11; Natalie Simm, 9; Lilian Skopp, 12; Melanie Stahl, 9; Samantha Stinemire, 12; Luisa Suzuki, 12; Lydia Szakacs, 9; Ashley Tan, 10; Natasha Testa, 12; Nicole Venema, 10; Cara Virgin, 7; Hannah Virgin, 10; Kellie Wilcox, 10 and Haley Wright, 14.   

SOFLO, Comets and Coral Springs boys entered are:

Guy Bogoslavsky, 11; Collin Burt, 12; Santiago Castro, 11; Augusto Cohn, 10; Max Cope, 8; Jack Davies, 12; Mathew Delvalle, 13; Alexander Dworet, 8; Nicholas Dworet, 11; Christopher Face, 12; Roberto Garrido, 9; Tyler Gibson, 11; Alexander Goldfarb, 10; Juan Gutierrez, 10; Andre Hada, 8; Guilherme Hada, 11; Joshua Hanks, 7; Ethan Hew, 10; Luiz Hosfeld, 13; Nicholas Ismailoff, 8; Lorenzo Lanaro, 11; Andres Lares, 11; Tomas Legaspi, 14; Juan Lucas, 12; Federico Maeso, 11; Connor Marks, 8; Leonardo Mazon, 9; Matthew Menocal, 12; Salomon Molko, 11; Noah Molko, 11; Alexander Monti, 13; Kyle Oliver, 10; Simon Ortiz, 13; Nicholas Perera, 11; Christian Perez, 10; Daniel Perkowski, 12; Julien Pinon, 12; Maliik Pitter, 9; Kevin Porto, 11; Samuel Quintero, 10; Carlos Rodriguez, 12; Rafael Rodriguez, 9; Rodrigo Rodriguez, 12; Cristian Rossi, 12; Nicolas Rossi, 8; Gabriel Saavedra, 10; Tiago Saliba, 10; Gian Savino, 10; Ryan Schmuki, 6; Gannen Tages, 10; Derek Tom, 9; Sebastian Vargas, 12; and Pablo Ziehm, 9.

IF YOU GO

What: Florida Gold Coast Area 2 Developmental Meet

When: Friday-Sunday

Schedule: Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.

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

Teams: Comets, Coral Springs Swim Club, Heritage Aquatic Team, Lauderhill Swim Team, Midtown Weston Aquatics, Plantation Swim Team, Pompano Piranhas USA, Swim Fast, South Florida Aquatic Club, YMCA of Broward County.

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

HOSFELD REPRESENTS SOFLO AT ZONE CAMP

SOFLO’s Marco Hosfeld is the only swimmer from the South Florida Aquatic Club participating in the USA Swimming Southern Zone Select Camp at the University of Louisville that started on Thursday.

Hosfeld, 14, is one of only 28 male swimmers selected from throughout the U.S. Southern Zone. He was chosen for his 200 freestyle time of 1:58.84.

It’s one of four zone camps held throughout the U.S. to help identify emerging young athletes in each zone and offer them a unique motivational and educational experience. It’s the next step for swimmers to move from local and zone levels to the national scene. The camp ends on Sunday.

FOUR SOFLO SWIMMERS COMPETE IN FORT LAUDERDALE THIS WEEKEND

SOFLO’s Gianpaolo Barelli and Valerio Rasi of Italy, Robert O’Gorman and Keegan Boisson-Yates will compete in the Fort Lauderdale Aquatics Senior Circuit Meet this weekend at Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex.

O’Gorman is trying to get junior national cut times for Sweden and Boisson-Yates, who represents Trinidad and Tobago internationally, wants to get in another weekend of racing before leaving on an overseas road trip to Italy with some of his SOFLO teammates.

The meet begins Friday with timed finals at 5:30 p.m. Timed finals continue on the weekend at 10 a.m.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

 http://swim4soflo.com

Brennan, O’Gorman Win Overall Titles, But Everybody’s A Winner At Coach Michael’s Fight 3K

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

May 21, 2011

Volunteers, sponsors and participants of all ages came together on a beautiful sun-drenched morning to honor six-time Olympic coach Michael Lohberg by raising more than $5,000 from donations and entry fees for Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation.

Lohberg, 61, died on April 4 after succumbing to the bone marrow disease after nearly a three-year battle but he is not forgotten evident by friends, family and swimmers running or walking in his honor at Saturday’s Coach Michael’s Fight 3K Run/Walk.

“We shined as a team and we should all be proud,” said Coral Springs Booster Club president Marianne Goldman.

There were former swimmers such as two-time Olympian Josh Laban, now a coach with SOFLO; Harvey Beckwith and Meghan Clabby-Alonso and current swimmers Vlad Polyakov and Leo Andara and Olympic coaches including Jay Fitzgerald of Pine Crest Swimming and Florida Gold Coast official and swim mom Beth Wilkerson.

“He will always be in our hearts and in our minds and I am sure you can all feel his spirit here today,” said Coral Springs swim parent Steve Giordanella during a brief post-race prayer.

Lohberg’s wife Biggi and son Christopher participated in the event. Christopher said having a big sausage breakfast at Burger King before arriving may have not been the best idea.

“That’s just his excuse for not winning,” Biggi Lohberg said with a laugh.

Biggi Lohberg was touching in her poignant thank you to race participants. She talked about the good work Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation is doing and how helpful they were for her family when Coach Michael was diagnosed after the 2008 U.S. Olympic swimming trials.

“I just remember almost three years ago now when you had the first walk and how Michael was amazed at the turnout, I think his words were ‘mind-boggling.’ I am sure he is just as stunned now and excited about this wonderful turnout and watching us from his place in heaven.

“It’s been a tough couple of months for my family,” Lohberg said fighting back tears. “It’s also been an amazing experience watching all the people overcoming obstacles together and really supporting each other to get through the tough times. These last couple months I never felt alone and I want to thank you all.”

SOFLO swimmers Kristine Brennan and Robert O’Gorman won the overall female and male 3K run titles.

O’Gorman won in 9:59 minutes followed my Marco Hosfeld in 10:21 and Polyakov in 10:24. Brennan finished in 11:30.

Swim mom Alicia Grigull, whose sons Justin (Iona College) and Rory (South Carolina) swam with Lohberg, won the athlete’s raffle basket full of running goodies, watch and sunglasses.

“The legacy that Coach Michael leaves behind includes a new generation of swimmers that are inspired to not only do their best and excel at the sport, but to develop the traits of discipline, perseverance, respect and humility,” said Coral Springs swim parent Leslie Szakacs, whose 9-year-old daughter Lydia has been with the program since Swim America.

A special thank you to Parks and Recreation Co-Ordinators Charlie Gumula and Todd Krajewski, first to arrive at the aquatic complex three hours before the event to prepare the race site from setting up course cones and finish line clocks to putting out tables, trash cans and sound system and another thank you to the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex as host venue.

The race was supported by sponsors Nike Swim, Tuscany Eyewear, Runner’s Depot of Coral Springs, Design Solutions International Inc., Community Bank of Broward, Pine Crest Swimming, St. Andrew’s Swimming, Fitness Nutrition, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and South Florida Aquatic Club.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com.

 http://www.swim4soflo.com