Ponte Vedra Girls Four-Peat, Nease Boys Make It Three In A Row At FHSAA 3A Championships
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By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
2024 FHSAA 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- November 9, 2024
- Florida Aquatics Swim & Training (FAST), Ocala, Florida
- SCY (25 yards)
- Full Meet Results (PDF)
The Ponte Vedra High School girls rolled to a fourth straight Florida High School 3A state title on Saturday while the Allen D. Nease High School were dominant in winning their third title in a row.
GIRLS RECAP
Spearheading the attack for Ponte Vedra in the girls’ meet was senior Penny Zarczynski, who set a pair of lifetime bests en route to definitive wins in the 50 free (22.78) and 100 fly (53.74).
A Yale commit, Zarczynski was the runner-up in the 100 fly as a junior, while her other event in 2023 was the 200 free, where she was 4th.
She also played a prominent role in the Ponte Vedra relays, leading them to wins in both the 200 medley and 200 free.
In the 200 medley relay, the Ponte Vedra quartet of Kate Pelot (26.62), Sydney Player (30.59), Zarczynski (24.04) and Makenna Biernacki (24.47) combined for a time of 1:45.72, edging out Nease (1:46.17) with Pelot’s lead-off leg proving to be the difference-making split.
In the 200 free relay, Zarczynski led off in 23.33 and was followed by Pelot (23.90), Ainsley MacAdams (24.30) and Sophie Fox (23.45) as Ponte Vedra won by one second exactly over Saint Petersburg in 1:34.98.
Saint Petersburg ended up placing 4th overall in the team standings thanks to the performance of the Hansen sisters, who combined for three individual wins.
Brinkleigh Hansen, a freshman, won the girls’ 200 free (1:47.91) and 500 free (4:43.95) with a pair of lifetime best performances, her 500 free time chipping .01 off her previous best set in October.
Karrington Hansen, a junior and Kentucky commit, came out on top in the 100 free, setting a best time of 50.43, and she also set a PB in finishing 4th in the 200 free (1:48.22).
That 200 free race proved to be one of the most exciting of the meet, as in addition to the Hansens going 1-4, Bartram Trail sophomore Jenna Frost (1:47.88) and Gainesville senior Ava Fuller (1:48.09) also set best times to finish 2nd and 3rd in a very close battle.
K. Hansen (51.55), Lizzy Santana (53.56), Zoie Fjare (51.81) and B. Hansen (51.12) combined to land Saint Petersburg a win in the 400 free relay, clocking 3:28.04 to oust runner-up Ponte Vedra (3:30.65).
Another pair of sisters helped propel the Nease girls to 2nd place in the team race, as Charlotte Driesse and Anna Driesse combined for 72 individual points.
A senior, Charlotte Driesse repeated as state champion in the 200 IM, setting a PB of 2:02.34, while Anna was 4th in the event in 2:07.54 (also a best time).
Charlotte swam her fastest-ever time in the 100 free (50.97) in placing 2nd to fellow Kentucky commit K. Hansen, while Anna, a sophomore, also won the 100 breast (1:04.91).
Also picking up wins at the meet were Fleming senior Ava Brinkman in the 1-meter diving event (453.85), and Beachside senior Haylee Hite in the 100 back (56.14).
Congratulations to the Ponte Vedra Sharks! Your 3A Girls Swimming & Diving State Champions! pic.twitter.com/bFMF92GhdQ
— FHSAA (@FHSAA) November 9, 2024
Girls Team Standings (Top 5)
- Ponte Vedra High School, 312
- Allen D Nease High School, 261
- Fort Lauderdale High School
- Saint Petersburg High School, 199
- Bartram Trail High School, 128
BOYS RECAP
The Nease boys were led by sophomore Luke Zardavets in winning a third straight title, and sweeping the relays certainly played a major role in them coming out on top by a massive margin over the rest of the field.
After finishing 2nd in two events as a freshman, Zardavets came away with a pair of state titles in the 100 breast (55.42) and 100 fly (48.10), setting a new personal best in the latter.
In the 100 breast, he was just short of his 55.33 PB set in March. He was victorious in a razor-thin battle with Bartram Trail’s Simeon Prosinksi, who set a PB of 55.58.
In the 100 fly, Zardavets got the job done in another close race over Gaither senior Aidan Levine (48.20) and Sebastian River junior Louis St. Petery (48.28), with the entire ‘A’ final hitting best times.
Levine added a win of his own in the 100 back, hitting a best time of 48.49 to move up one spot after finishing as the runner-up last year.
In the relays, Nease kicked off their sweep in the 200 medley, with senior Jack Mainville throwing down a sizzling 24.00 breaststroke split as they ultimately finished in 1:33.14.
They followed up by winning the 200 free relay by more than four seconds in 1:23.11 with four 20-point splits, including a 20.96 lead-off from Zardavets and a 20.46 anchor from Mainville.
The Nease quartet of Walker Lanoue (45.98), Brandon Gear (46.40), Lincoln Driesse (47.92) and Zardavets (45.80) finished off the relay sweep in the 400 free, clocking 3:06.10 to top runner-up Lawton Chiles (3:07.12).
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The Lawton Chiles boys managed a 2nd-place finish in both that relay and the overall standings due in part to the performances of brothers Ethan and Owen Ekk.
Ethan Ekk, a senior, had a standout swim in the 200 free, clocking 1:35.56 to knock a tenth off his personal best time and win the title by two seconds. The Stanford commit also won a repeat title in the 500 free (4:19.58), just over two-tenths off his PB, and he added best times in the 100 free (44.70) and 50 back (22.49) on relay lead-offs.
A sophomore at Lawton Chiles, Owen Ekk won the 200 IM title in a PB of 1:47.07, keeping the title in the family after Ethan won it last year. Owen was also the runner-up in the 100 free in 45.12 after setting a PB of 43.91 in the heats.
Winning the 100 free title was Booker T Washington junior Ian Malone, who threw down a best time of 44.63 in the final. Malone also produced a massive best time to place 2nd in the 200 free (1:37.77).
In the 1-meter diving event, Fort Lauderdale High School senior James Boardman, who won back-to-back 4A state titles in 2022 and 2023, won the 3A title with a score of 576.75.
Boys Team Standings (Top 5)
- Allen D Nease High School, 321
- Lawton Chiles High School, 189
- Bartram Trail High School, 166
- Booker T Washington, 144.5
- Ponte Vedra High School, 128
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