Bolles Swimmer Breaks 20-Year Record
The FHSAA Class 1A swimming and diving state meet wrapped-up on Nov. 15. The meet had many memorable swims, but perhaps the most impressive swim was Bolles swimmer Andres Dupont Cabrera’s victory in the boys’ 200-yard freestyle.
A native of Mexico, Dupont Cabrera, who is a junior at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, competed in his first-ever Florida state championship meet after relocating to Florida this year.
Dupont Cabrera had a fantastic meet for Bolles, walking away with a total of four state titles medals. His most impressive win came in the 200-yard freestyle, for which he broke a 20-year old Bolles record.
After a solid preliminary swim, which qualified him as the top seed heading into finals, Dupont Cabrera threw down a 1:35.60 time in finals to pick up his first individual win of the meet. His time broke the old Bolles record of 1:35.81, which was set in 2000 by Clay Kirkland, who won multiple state champions for Bolles and was an NCAA qualifier at Auburn University.
Dupont Cabrera split 21.89 – 24.27 – 24.83 – 24.61 by 50, taking well over a second off of his preliminary time of 1:37.35. He was also less than a second off of the state record of 1:34.69, a record held by Olympian and world-record holder Caeleb Dressel, who swam for the Bolles club team.
Dupont Cabrera commented on his race: “Prior to the race, I was feeling nervous as this was the first big race I had to swim since joining Bolles, but as I stood behind the blocks, I could feel the energy from my teammates cheering me on, and I remembered the hours I spent grinding in the pool. As I led the race from the start, my confidence increased. 50 by 50 the lead increased between myself and my competitors. I kept my mind on the race and focused on maintaining my speed and technique. When I looked up at the scoreboard, I was ecstatic. The 1:35.60 was a time I was not expecting.”
Dupont Cabrera’s success is a testament to The Bolles School’s record with producing top-level swimmers. Some swimmers who have graduated from the Bolles School in recent years include Ryan Murphy, an Olympic gold-medalist for Team USA; Joseph Schooling, Singapore’s first-ever Olympic medalist in swimming; and Santo Condorelli, also an Olympian and a former All-American for the University of Southern California.
In addition to his historic victory in the 200-yard freestyle, Dupont Cabrera picked up another individual win in the 100-yard freestyle (44.09). He also helped Bolles to victories in both the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays.
Written by: Elizabeth Levy
