Gulliver Prep, American Heritage Take Team Titles At Florida 2A High School Swimming and Diving Championships

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STUART – Gulliver Prep and American Heritage ran away with the girls’ and boys’ team titles at the Florida 2A high school swimming and diving championships, with each winning by more than 50 points.

Gulliver Prep scored 240 points to easily win the girls’ championship trophy over Suncoast, which tallied 185 points. Washington was a close third with 172 points. In the boys’ meet, American Heritage dominated with 265 points to Tampa Jesuit’s 184 and Clay’s 146.

Girls’ championship

The remarkable thing about Gulliver Prep’s win is the fact that the team only won two events and didn’t score in two others. As is the case with any team title, winning a relay helps, and Gulliver Prep did that with a 3:32.58 in the 400 free relay over Estero and their 3:33.52. American Heritage was third with a 3:3.58. Niki Urquidi, Namilla Sanchez, Alicia Mancilla and Kelly Fertel took the relay title for Gulliver Prep.

Fertel got an individual win in the 200 IM final with a 2:03.54. She used a powerful breaststroke leg to pull away from Booker’s Isabella Penkwitz, who was second with a 2:05.05, and Tarpon Springs’ MacKenzie Stumph, who was third with a 2:05.43.

Gulliver Prep also scored big in the 500 free with three swimmers in the championship final. Urquidi (fourth, 4:56.12), Sanchez (fifth, 5:02.20) and Mancilla (sixth, 5:04.11) gave Gulliver Prep 42 points. The 500 free was one of two event wins for Lemon Bay’s Sophie Cattermole as the Louisville-bound senior posted a 4:48.22 to beat the 4:51.52 by Estero’s Kaitlyn Hauser and the 4:56.02 by Cape Coral’s Savannah Bowser. Earlier in the meet, Cattermole held off Hauser in the 200 free with a 1:47.39 to Hauser’s 1:48.28. Urquidi took third in the race with a 1:49.94.

Another double event winner was Tori Bindi of Gulf Breeze, who took both sprint freestyle events. The junior won the 50 free with a 23.49 ahead of the 23.64 by Suncoast’s Fabiana Ingram and the 23.82 by Jordan MacDonald of Titusville. Bindi had an easier time in the 100 free, with her 50.89 taking the title ahead of the 51.66 posted by Suncoast’s Jena Pisani. Catharine Cooper of American Heritage was third with a 52.00.

Sherridon Dressel, the younger sibling of an impressive family that includes two-time national high school record holder Caeleb and ACC championship finalists Kaitlyn, kept the family tradition going with two individual event wins. She posted a 54.56 to win the 100 fly for Clay High School, while Penkwitz was second with a 56.61 and MacDonald settled for third with a 56.85. Dressel took the 100 back as well with a winning time of 54.63, a full second ahead of Choctawhatchee’s Emma Strom and her 55.64. Brooke Ferrara of Washington placed third with a 56.66.

Suncoast collected a win in the meet, taking the 200 freestyle relay with a 1:36.21 to win by more than a second over Washington, who posted a 1:37.82. Gulliver Prep took third with a 1:38.84.

Carolyn Ehrlich of Pompano Beach scored 432.20 points to win the girls’ 1-meter diving competition. Megan Galbreath of Cape Coral placed second with 425.80, while Meg Barnhorst of Pova scored 399.15 points for third.

Boys’ championship

American Heritage’s boys’ team won no individual events, but scored victories in all three relays to give themselves the ability to defend their team title. The only challenge came from Tampa Jesuit in the 200 medley relay, with Jesuit leading by a second after the breaststroke and just two hundredths of a second after butterfly. American Heritage’s Taylor Eaddy put together a faster freestyle split to get the win, 1:36.90 to 1:37.04.

American Heritage took the 200 free relay with a 1:27.21 over Suncoast’s 1:28.25 and Lincoln Park’s 1:29.67. In the final event, the 400 free relay, American Heritage put the competition away with a 3:09.17. This time, Jesuit had the lead after 200 yards but couldn’t match the pace in the final two legs, placing second with a 3:10.49. Clay was third with a 3:13.07.

While American Heritage was busy collecting relay wins, Steffen Mount of Washington High School was earning two individual event wins. He started with a 1:37.65 in the 200 freestyle, beating out the 1:38.03 by Suncoast’s William Pisani and the 1:38.66 by Julien Pinon of American Heritage. Later in the 100 fly, Steffen used a strong final 50 yards to post a 49.16 to defeat Zuhayr Pigot of St. Brendan, who was second with a 49.70. Tyler Graves of Spoto placed third with a 49.85.

Pigot got a win of his own with a 20.42 in the 50 freestyle. He just beat out Emir Muratovic of Ridgewood, who was second with a 20.45, and Cardinal Gibbons’ Fisher Crist, who took third with a 21.14. Muratovic recovered from the loss in the 50 free to dominate the 100 free, winning by a second with a 45.04. Pinon was second with a 46.04, while Grady Heath of Clay was third with a 46.43.

Clay High School, the alma mater of last year’s star Caeleb Dressel, got a win this year with a 48.82 from Dakota Mahaffey in the 100 backstroke. He nearly won by a full second, with Pisani placing second again with a 49.78. Alberto Gomez of Miami Doral was a distant third with a 52.77.

Tampa Jesuit’s Austin Sellers was untouchable in the 100 breast, posting one of the fastest times Florida high school has seen in a while. His 55.59 put the senior within eight tenths of Bradley Alley’s state record of 54.72. Tyler Graves of Spoto was well back for second place with a 57.74, while Cory Klemm of Cape Coral was third with a 58.16.

Shawn Lemarie of Naples scored a victory in the 500 freestyle with a 4:31.92. Miguel Cancel of Gulliver Prep made a move in the final 100 yards, but ran out of room and settled for second with a 4:32.16. Theodore Smith of Bayshore led for 300 yards but fell off the pace for third place with a 4:32.28.

In the 200 individual medley, Rockledge’s Matt Holmes won the event with a 1:51.28. Despite a 30.71 breaststroke split, Sellers couldn’t’ get the win, posting a 1:52.23 for second. His breaststroke leg did help him hold off Jordan Wheeler of Land O’ Lakes, who finished third with a 1:52.27.

Zach Allen of Cardinal Gibbons and Dreyfoos’ Nolan Mallet separated themselves in the boys’ 1-meter diving competition, with Allen taking the title with 499 points. Mallet was second with 490.30 points, while Lincoln Park’s Jonathan Geraghty was a distant third with 401.15 points.

Results: Florida 2A swimming and diving championships

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