2020 FHSAA 1A Swimming and Diving Championships Recap
The 2020 Class 1A Swimming and Diving Championships wrapped up last Sunday at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center in Stuart, Florida. The Bolles School dominated the meet, winning state titles on both the girls’ and boys’ sides.
In the first event of the meet, the 200 medley relay, the St. Andrew’s girls picked up the win (1:43.35), while boys from The Bolles School won their first event of the meet (1:30.72).
In the 200 free, Sarah Lankford of Shorecrest won her first-ever state title in a tight race, defeating St. Andrew’s Erin Miller, 1:49.21 to 1:49.25. On the boys’ side, Andres Dupont Cabrera of The Bolles School picked up a more decisive victory with a time of 1:35.60, almost three seconds ahead of runner-up Tyler Roberton of Berkeley Prep (1:38.16). Dupont Cabrera was later victorious in the 100 free, as well, winning that event in 44:38.
In the 200 IM, Michaela Mattes won her first individual event of the meet in 2:01.10, after finishing as the runner-up last year. She later went on to win the 500 free by almost seven seconds with a time of 4:47.19.
On the boys’ side, Bishop Verot’s Conor Canfield, a Navy commit, defended his state title from last year in the 500, winning in 4:26.27.
It was Joshua Zuchowski who won the 200 IM in 1:46.85, just half-a-second off of the state record of 1:46.31, which was set back in 2004. He also claimed the state title in the 100 back later on in the meet, finishing in a time of 47.45.
Erika Pelaez of South Florida Heat swept the sprint freestyles for the second straight year. In the 50 she put up a winning time of 22.52, while in the 100 free she was the only swimmer to dip under the 50-second barrier, winning in 49.94.
The boys’ 50 freestyle was a tight race, with Julian Smith of Episcopal out-touching runner-up Noah Sipowski of King’s Academy by .01, 20.56 to 20.57.
St. Andrew’s Aspen Gersper was another double winner on the girls’ side, winning both the 100 fly (54.51) and the 100 back (54.28). Another St. Andrew’s swimmer, Tiago Pereira, won the 100 fly on the men’s side (47.22).
The Bolles School topped the field in both the girls’ and boys’ 200 free relay. The girls team won in 1:33.01, while the boys team captured the victory in 1:21.96. In both races St. Andrew’s were runners-up.
In the 100 breaststroke, Marcela Scaramauzza of Windermere Prep missed the state record by half-a-second, picking up the girls’ title in 1:01.50. On the boys’ side the Bolles’ William Heck grabbed the top spot in 54.20, just off of his own state record of 53.73.
In the final event of the meet, the 400 free relay, The Bolles School was again victorious on both sides, with the girls winning in 3:23.19 and the boys winning in 3:02.73.
Written by: Elizabeth Levy
