TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO’S ZAREK WILSON MAKES STATEMENT WITH TWO BRONZE MEDALS AT FLORIDA 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

One of the twin island Republic’s rising stars bound for the Pan American Junior Championships in Cali Colombia Zarek Wilson made an impact at the recent Florida 4A State Championships. Competing at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center in Stuart Florida Wilson had returns of two Bronze medals and multiple personal best times.

His arguably best performance on November 12 came in the 100 yard freestyle. The Trinidad and Tobago standout representing the J. P. Taravella High School Trojans boasted a best time of 45.75. He handled the business of lowering that in the preliminaries with a new best time of 45.72 (split time 22.03). That earned him a lane in the championship final. In this race he had not been faster than 21.92 on the first half of the race. In the evening he rose to the challenge and went out in 21.48 to be among the race leaders. The tenacity in the first half paid dividends as he overtook a challenger with his superior back end end speed. He split 23.09 to win the Bronze in big PB of 44.57.

Zarek Wilson of the Blue Dolphins Photo courtesy of Cheser Adams

CONTEXT OF FAST 1OO FREE

When you compare Zarek’s time to his regional counterparts who competed in high school he would be among the all time best . Only Jamaican Justin Plaschka 43.70 and Jack Kirby of Barbados 44.45 would have swum faster in high school.

Justin Plaschka. Photo courtesy of the Hauppauge school district

The Gold on the night was won by Dawson Joyce of Seminole in 43.48. Dawson created history by winning the 50 and 100 yard freestyle all four years of the 4A State Championships. The Silver by Sage Sungail of Lake Brantley in 44.46. Of the all the State Championships 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A Wilson had the the fifth fastest time.

FLORIDA 100 FREE TOP 5

There would be another time drop in the 200 yard freestyle relay. Given the lead leg duties he dropped from 20.91 to 20.62 to help the Coral Springs based institution to compete in another Championship final. The team registered a mark of 1:26.05 . In the final he shaved that down to 20.61. He combined with Mason Green 21.70,Miles Green 21.89 and RJ Martin 22.05 to secure the Bronze in1:26.25.

Gold was won by Bartram Trail High School in 1:25.08 and the Silver to Sarasota High in 1:25.32.

At the major meets for the season Wilson had been lowering his season best in the 200 yard freestyle. At the Broward Country Championships he was second on October 16 in 1:42.09. At the Region meet he was second again in 1:41.08 not far off his PB of 1:40.71. At the State Championships he came very close to bettering that time with a morning heat swim of 1:40.96 (split time 48.80). That put him narrowly outside the Championship final in tenth spot. It took 1:40.73 to make it in the top eight. He would swim the race again in the B final. In the night’s final he took control from the gun. He led the field at the 50 with the only sub 23 second split of 22.97. He increased the lead to just over a second with a 100 split of 47.97. He took the race in his first sub 1:40 clocking of 1:39.08. He won by almost one and a half seconds. His winning time would have placed him fifth in the Championship final.

There would be another Championship final in the last event of the day , the 400 yard freestyle relay. He took the team out in 46.42 to help them to 3:12.20. In the heats he had started the relay in 45.42.

The Trojans placed ninth out of 47 teams with 90 points.

Coach Andre Bailey and Zarek at the Championships

Draftingthecaribbean spoke to his coach Jamaican Andre Bailey about his State performances

He gave his thoughts about the 44.57 100 yard freestyle race

“It was an exceptional swim. One of our focuses on the season was the speed of his first 50  and holding on to the stroke changes from earlier/during the season”.

He also gave his analysis of the 200 yard freestyle and Zarek’s preparation for the Junior Pan American Games

“It was a very good swim.  Great job of  sticking to goal pacing and I feel we can get better as he get more comfortable in this race.For Cali, he will be going back up in volume for a week or so and then going into another rest period”.

Wilson will be contesting the 50 , 100 and 200 metre freestyle races, 100 metre butterfly and the 100 metre backstroke in Colombia.

BAHAMIAN KIERRO STUBBS ENDS HIGH SCHOOL CAREER IN FLORIDA WITH STRONG RELAY PERFORMANCES FOR MONTVERDE ACADEMY

Bahamian Kierro Stubbs ended his high school career with strong relay performances at the prestigious Florida 1A State Championships.

Kierro Stubbs at the 2021 Florida 1A State Champs

Competing on November 6 at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center in Stuart Florida Stubbs put in very strong relay performances. His best mark in the 50 yard freestyle stood at 21.93 before the meet . In the heats of the 200 yard freestyle relay he lead off the team in a time of 22.09. That aided a total team time of 1:28.39 which placed them fourth. In the final he would take a chunk of time off his best with a new personal best of 21.68 . They just missed the podium with a final time of 1:27.09. The Bronze went to Kings Academy in 1:26.83. Silver to South Florida Heat in 1:24.22. The Gold went to Bolles in 1:20.30.

Stubbs ,who is the reigning 15-17 national champion in the 50 and 100 metre breaststroke brought that expertise in the 200 yard medley relay. In the heats he had a breaststroke split of 26.16 . That pushed the team to 1:40.10 earning them a second swim in the B final. In that final he pushed himself to a split of 25.88. Only the A finalists Will Heck of Bolles 24.03 and Dario Martin 24.85 of South Florida Heat had faster splits. Montverde Academy were fourth in the B final with a total time of 1:39.97.

In the individual events he just missed second swims with times of 22.23 17th 50 yard freestyle and 59.30 for 18th in the 100 yard breaststroke.

Stubbs on signing day

Stubbs who boasts a best time for the 100 yard breaststroke stands of 58.01 is set to join the list of elite Bahamian breaststrokers competing in the NCAA. The talented youngster has signed to swim for Rollins College in Winter Park Florida.

Montverde Academy placed 14 of the 38 teams scoring 40 points.

FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL STATE BREAKTHROUGH FOR BAHAMIAN MIA PATTON

Young Bahamian swimmer Mia Patton made a breakthrough in her young swimming career when she qualified for the prestigious Florida 1A State Championships recently.

Patton made it to the States Championships based on her performances at the 1A Region 4 championships. At that meet on October 29 she recorded her first sub 25 seconds clocking in the 50 yard freestyle. That placed her 13th overall. There would be another personal best in the 100 yard butterfly . Mia split 28.19 before hitting the timing pads in 1:00.44. The butterfly event has shown much improvement for Patton as her best time heading into this season was 1:05.21. In the 200 yard freestyle relay she had the fastest leg for the the South Florida HEAT (South Florida Home Educated Athletic Teams). Her second leg was timed at 25.13. Her team was fifth overall in 1:42.92.

Mia Patton .Photo courtesy of Shenique Patton

Those performances led her to the biggest meet in her high school career on November 6 at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center. Her best performances would be in the 200 freestyle relay. She swam the second leg again , this time she was clocked at 24.91. That helped the team beat their regionals time and post 1:41.64. That enabled them to get a second swim in the B finals. That final in the evening saw her going even faster on that leg ,24.84. The HEAT had the advantage until the very end where they lost the decision 1:40.03 to 1:40.94 to the PK Yonge Research School.

Earlier in the meet she dropped her PB in the 50 yard freestyle to place 20th in 24.86. In the 100 yard butterfly she was just off her best with a swim of 1:00.59 for 21st. She recorded a personal in the 50 in the race with a split of 27.87.

Patton, who has donned the national colours at CARIFTA 2019 in Barbados and the UANA 2020 Championships Peru spoke to draftingthecaribbean after the meet and spoke about her States debut

“This was my first states meet competing in individual events and I am ok with my performance. I am going back to training with a focus on medaling in my events next year. My 200 freestyle relay team and I did amazing. We lowered our time by 3 seconds finishing 10th from 14th overall. I will be fully prepared to race much faster next year”.

LONGSTANDING FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL STATE RECORD BY BARBADOS OLYMPIAN BRADLEY ALLY BROKEN BY AMERICAN JOSHUA ZUCHOWSKI

It took almost 17 years but the Florida high school record in the 200 yard individual medley of 1:46.31 set by Barbadian Olympian Bradley Ally has finally been bettered.On Saturday November 6 outstanding senior from King’s Academy Joshua Zuchowski set a new mark of 1:45.51.

Bradley Ally Photo courtesy of panamerican world

Competing at the Florida 1A State championships Joshua battled Carter Lancaster for the first 100 yard before pulling away on the breaststroke leg to win a new personal best and Florida State record of 1:45.51.His old personal best was 1:46.66 from December 2020. This was his third state title after winning in 2020 in 1:46.85 and 2019 in 1:47.44.Lancaster of Bolles was second in 1:46.91. Logan Ingerick of Berkeley won the Bronze in 1:49.30.

Joshua Zuchowski Photo courtesy of Sailfish Splash Waterpark

Zuchowski has been in tremendous form this season . He set national high school records in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly over short course metres .In the backstroke he set times of 53.80 on August 27 and 53.77 on September 6.Also on August 27 he stroked his way to 54.12 in the butterfly event.

At the State Championships on Saturday at Sailfish Splash Waterpark he also took the 100 yard backstroke in a time of 47.29 (split time 22.96).He was not far off his personal best of 46.86.

In the 200 yard freestyle relay his team won Bronze with him starting in 21.19. The team placed third in 1:26.83.

Ally , a once in generation swimmer set that mark on November 7, 2004 after making his Olympic debut in Athens Greece. He would compete at two more Games Beihing 2008 and London 2012. When he recorded that time he had also won the 3A State Championships for the third consecutive time

Jason Lancaster Photo courtesy of Indiana school hall of Fame ihssdhor.org

Swimming at the Stephen C O’Connell Center ,the home pool of the University of Florida he would take down the two records . The St Thomas Aquinas swimmer would take down the State and National records. The State record of 1:47.13 was set in 1996 by Puerto Rican Olympian Alex Lopez of the Bolles School (Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004). The national standard was recorded in 1994 by Jason Lancaster of Caramel with a swim of 1:46.90. Ally crushed the field by more than six seconds to set his record.

Ally would crush the State record in the 100 yard breaststroke as well. He lowered it from the 55.56 set by American Olympian Daniel Watters in 1988 to 54.72 in the heats. Watters swam for Washington High in Pensacola and was coached by Steve Bultman. He would win the Gold just off that mark with a time of 54.79. There would be a third Gold in the 200 yard medley relay in a total time of 1:34.52. Ally had a butterfly leg of 21.40.

Texas A&M’s 2010 NCAA Championship from left to right Canadian Olympian Julia Wilkinson 100 yard freestyle champion, Bultman and Atkinson 200 yard breaststroke champion Photo courtesy of swimmingcoach.org

There would be other Caribbean Olympians performing well at that 3A State championships. Jamaican Alia Atkinson had made her Olympic debut at Athens as well . Representing Flanagan would win the 100 yard breaststroke and 100 yard freestyle races in times of 50.64 and 1:02.66. She would go on to swim at Texas A& M and be coached by Bultman.

Bradley Ally Photo courtesy of PanamericanWorld.com

The range of Ally was great as seen by the events he competed in at his first Games

MAJOR MEDLEY MILESTONES





Ally would go on to set other great 200 individual medley marks. Five years later he would take the NCAA Championship Gold for the University of Florida in a new PB,school and collegiate record of 1:40.49. At that point in 2009 only Ryan Lochte was faster than him in the event.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he made the Olympic semifinal in the 200 metre individual medley with a time of 1:58.57. A time that still stands as the best by any swimmer form the CARIFTA and CCCAN region


Though his record is gone we must recognize the legacy and impact that Ally had on swimming. By setting a record that stood for more than a decade goes to the quality swimmer he was.Barbados and the region has much to be proud of the efforts and achievements of Ally. Well done to Zuchowski and let us recognize and always remember the achievements of Ally .

Ally powering his way the 2009 NCAA Gold in the 200 yard IM Photo courtesy of swimpictures.com

BAHAMIAN KATELYN CABRAL MAKES HISTORY FOR FLORIDA ATLANTIC AT STATE HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Victorious Team Bahamas from left to right President Algernon Cargill,captains Cabral, Izaak Bastian, Anya MacPhail and Luke -Kennedy Thompson Photo courtesy of Rochelle Bastian

Over the summer Bahamian Katelyn Cabral , who was a co captain of the 2019 CARIFTA team,  made the move to the United States  to train and attend school in Florida. She now competes for Florida Atlantic University High School. They compete in the  1A category . Cabral adapted well to the new environment by qualifying for the State Championships. The meet which was held on November 9 at the Sailfish Splash Water Park in Stuart Florida saw Cabral competing in the 100 yard butterfly and 50 yard freestyle.

Cabral at the State Championships in November

In the 100 yard butterfly  she opened with a split of  27.69 and finishing with a 31.09 to finish in 58.78 .That earned her a lane in the B final. In the evening’s race she came from third at the halfway mark with a time of 27.13 to top the field and take the win in 57.93 .She was the only sub 58 seconds swimmers in the field as second to the wall was Marliese Rittenhouse of the Bolles school in 58.10. Cabral was not far off her personal best of 57.65 set at the Regional 4 qualifying meet just a week earlier. In the 50 yard freestyle she placed 17^th in 25.10. The this year’s team to the State Championships was comprised of five swimmer four boys and one girl, Katelyn.

Katelyn is the highest placed swimmer ever for boys or girls at the prestigious State Championships for the Boca Raton based institution. She is only the second girl  to make the State Championships. The season also ended with Cabral dominating the record books for her school with seven new marks five individual and two relays.

Event	Time
200 yard freestyle	2:02.56
100 yard freestyle	55.32
50 yard freestyle	24.54
100 yard butterfly	57.65
200 yard individual medley	2:21.62

200 medley relay
Victoria Lucas	32.58
Giulia Klapper	34.36
Katelyn Cabral	25.94
Kaitly Han	26.25
Total Time	1:59.13

400 yard freestyle relay
Kaitly Han	57.88
Victoria Lucas	1:00.84
Laura Martinez	1:00.38
Katelyn Cabral	52.65
Total Time	3:51.75

Cabral celebrating The Bahamas victory at CARIFTA 2019 with co captains from left to right Bastian, McPhail and Thompson.Photo courtesy of Rochelle Bastian

The year 2019 for   Katelyn Cabral has been one of progress  .She was named co-captain of the winning CARIFTA team. She made the final of the 100 metre butterfly in Barbados with a personal best of 1:07.28.

15 and over 100 metre butterfly at the 2019 Bahamian National Championships from left to right Jasmine Gibson,Cabral and Kyla Bethel. Photo courtesy of Rochelle Bastian

She would lower that time to 1:05.80 to be win the Gold in the 15 and over category at the Bahamas Nationals. Earlier this year in May Katelyn also gave a TedX Youth talk about “Learning to embrace my differences”.  See link to video below

Draftingthecaribbean spoke to the dynamic youngster from Grand Bahama about  competing in the United States

“It was a lot of fun to participate at the Florida State High School Swimming Championships. This was my first big meet since moving to Florida a few months ago and I had an awesome experience. I’m still getting used to swimming short course yards rather than long course meters, and the weather at the outdoor pool on competition day was fierce, but the event was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to more meets in Florida very soon”.

GABBY BANKS MOVES TO #5 ON ALL TIME LIST OF FEMALE JAMAICAN SPRINTERS AT FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPS

Cypress Bay senior Jamaican Gabrianna Banks continued show why she is among the best female sprinters Jamaica has ever produced with her swansong performance in the 50 yard freestyle at the 4A Florida high school championships.

Gabrianna Banks Photo courtesy of Michael C Lyn

The meet which was held on on November 15,2019 at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center in Stuart Florida.She entered the competition with a season best of 24.20 in the splash and dash. She crushed that seasonal best with a swift 23.68. That morning swim challenged her personal standard of 23.53 . In the final she would show her sprinting abilities yet again setting a new personal best of 23.38.That would give her fifth place, her highest ever placing at the State level. This is an improvement from eight place in 2018 where she clocked 23.79. The race was won by Lexie Mulvihill in 22.46

Banks has been her school’s standard bearer in the race for the last four years. That swim also moves her to the fifth place in Jamaica’s all time list in the 50 yard freestyle.

JAMAICAN WOMEN OF SPEED

Natasha Moodie at the 2010 NCAA Division I Championships.Photo courtesy of gobluephotos.com

Name	Time (Year)
Natasha Moodie	22.26 (2011)
Alia Atkinson	23.03 (2009)
Dawn Kane	23.12 (2002)
Breanna Roman	23.36 (2015)
Gabrianna Banks	23.38 (2019)
Shaunie Johnson	23.43 (2018)
Emily MacDonald	23.43 (2019)
Kelsie Campbell	23.53 (2017)

The top two swimmers Olympians Natasha Moodie and Alia Atkinson were conditioned at the Comets Swim club back in high school in the early 2000’s by Chris Anderson. Anderson, who now heads South Florida Aquatics Club where Banks now trains as does World Record holder Atkinson.

Gabrianna Banks in flight during a relay takeover at the UANA Cup Photo courtesy of Michael C Lyn

Banks ,who is the reigning CCCAN Bronze medallist in the 15-17 50 metre freestyle, is arguably the most reliable relay swimmer Jamaica has produced at the age group with her swift relay splits continued show why she she is the “Transporter”. In the 200 yard medley relay B final she had the fastest anchor leg of 23.36 .That enabled her Cypress Bay to move from 7th to 2nd in 1:48.76. Lake Brantley’s anchor leg Elizabeth Linartas just held off Banks to help them touch in 1:48.17. This bettered the 2018 performance where the team finished 7th in the B final in 1:52.21

In the 200 yard freestyle relay the Weston Florida based institution deployed Banks on the opening leg to ensure the team was competitive in the Championship final.It worked as Gabby recorded 23.54 the fastest of the opening legs to help them tie with Venice in a total time of 1:37.21. The race was won by Oviedo in 1:33.68. This is much better than 2018 where the team won the B final in time of 1:41.11.

There would be yet another Championship final for the team as they placed seventh in the 400 yard freestyle relay in a time of 3:32.20.Banks anchored her Cypress quarter with a split of 51.62. Last year the team did not qualify for the Championship and in 2017 they were fourth in the B final. Gabby produced an anchor leg of 53.72.

Cypress Bay finished the competition for the girls in 11th spot with 79 points.The winners were Oviedo who amassed 333 points

Gabby Banks.Photo courtesy of sun- sentinel.com

DrafitingtheCaribbean spoke to Banks after her final Championships on November 21 about her performances as well as the outlook for the long course season and going under the 26 seconds barrier for the 50 metre race

“I am very happy with my best time in the 50 and my relay swims.I am working to train more mid distance so my 100 split in the 400 free relay which was a great reflection of my training . I am excited for long course season to hopefully go 25 in the 50 metre freestyle and lower my 100 best time”.

JAMAICA’S SIMONE VALE HAS CAREER BEST PLACING AT FLORIDA STATE CHAMPS

Simone Vale represented the Pine Crest School as well as the Green,Gold and Black of Jamaica well at the recent Florida 2A high school Championships held on November 8.

Simone Vale competing in the 100 yard butterfly .Photo courtesy of Art Kozel

Swimming at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center –in Stuart Florida in the 100 yard butterfly she rattled her personal best of 59.49 with a swim of 59.62 (split time 27.47) .That her earned her a lane in the  B final, a first in her career at the State Champs.

She would use that opportunity well. In the night’s final she pushed from fifth at the half way mark with a split of 27.92 to place third in a new personal best of 59.30. She her growing sprint endurance in the event she had the fastest back half of 31.38.

Simone in the heats of the 100 yard backstroke. Photo courtesy of Art Kozel

It would be the event for which she has become a mainstay in the Jamaica junior squad over the last couple of seasons, the 100 backstroke in which she would have her highest ever finish. In the heats of the event she went out the fastest she has ever done at States 28.66. She was rewarded with her best time at the high School champs. It also placed her in first Championship final.

Championship finalists in the 100 yard backstroke.Photo courtesy of Art Kozel

In the final she again went out hard in a time of 28.57. This time she was just off her heats time but got her best ever State showing placing fourth in 59.36. In 2018 at States she had placed 6^th in the B final in 1:00.29 (split time 29.26). The year 2017 had her finishing 21^st in1:00.56 (split time 28.96)

Simone off to a good start in the heats of the medley relay .Photo courtesy of Art Kozel

In the morning Vale paced the preliminaries of the 200 medley relay .She got the team to the final with an opening backstroke contribution of 27.87 , the second fastest split of the morning. The Pine Crest Panthers with the number one seed going into the final took the Gold  in the final.

CARIFTA and National record holders in the 13-14 400 medley from left to right Vale,Lyn, Alvaranga and MacDonald Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

Simone has led off the Jamaican CARIFTA 400 medley relay team to Gold for the last two  years in the 15-17 age group  2018 4:33.46 (Championship and National Age Group record)  and   2019 4:36.83.

Victorious Pine Crest Boys and Girls teams .Photo courtesy of Art Kozel

The Panther Girls dominated the competition winning with a total of 448 points, Second went to Estero High School with 200 and third to Gulliver 182.5.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO’S CHRIS DIEFFENTHALLER WINS SILVER AT FLORIDA 1A STATE CHAMPS, COUNTRYWOMAN ADRIANA GOLDING HAS CAREER BEST FINISH

The twin island Republic of Trinidad had representation at the Florida 1A high school state Championships through Chris Dieffenthaller of Berkeley high school and Adriana Gooding of Sagemont.

Christopher stood on the podium in the 100 yard breaststroke earning the Silver medal. He came to the competition held on November 9 at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center in Stuart Florida with a best time of 57.73.

In the morning heats he went out hard in 27.29 ahead of his previous personal best split of 27.39. He was rewarded with a new personal standard of 57.61 to be the third seed heading into the Championship final. In the final where the top 5 swimmers went under 58 seconds Dieffenthaller went out aggressively in the first 50 yards . He was timed in 26.94 to be second at the half way mark. Dieffenthaller was just ahead of Julian Smith of Episcopal 26.98 who was the second seed entering the final. The race was led by Ansen Meyer in 526.14. Christopher again out split Smith 30.35 to 30.40  earn the Silver in yet another personal best of 57.29. Smith touched in 57.38. Gold went to Meyer in 56.33.

Christopher Dieffenthaller Photo courtesy of swimtt.com

The Road to States Silver

Dieffenthaller has always come to these Championships ready to give his best, always recording a personal best. The medal has come through stern determination to excel

ROAD TO THE STATES BREASTSTROKE PODIUM

There would be another podium placing for Christopher and the Tampa based institution. As he has done for the last three years he was called upon to anchor the 400 yard freestyle relay. He joined teammates Tyler Robertson 46.84, Logan Inerick 45.14, Graham Johnson 48.16 to record a total time of 3:07.87 for the Bronze. In his final year of competition he produced his fastest anchor split of 47.73. The last time a swimmer from Trinidad and Tobago got a medal in this relay was when older Matthew swam on the Silver medal winning team in 2016. It was also the last time Berkeley had medalled in the event.

Christopher would also compete in his third consecutive State Championships in the 200 yard individual medley placing 7^th in 1:54.56.

The 200 yard freestyle relay saw the Buccaneers finishing fourth in a time of 1:26.37.Christopher contributed a third leg effort of 21.82.

Adrian Gooding

Country woman Adriana Gooding earned her first finals berth in the 200 yard individual medley. She clocked 2:11.39 in the heats to get a lane in the B final. Adriana who dropped over four seconds in this event this season rattled her personal best of 2:10.72 to place 7^th in a time of 2:11.17.

At the regional Championships Gooding had recorded a personal best of 59.71. At the State Championships she was just off that time stopping the clock in 1:00.15 (split time 28.30). She finished in 18^th just outside of a B Finals berth.

The Berkeley boys team finished third with 169 points. Bolles topped the Championships with 337 points and Episcopal (Jacksonville) second with 209.5.

The Sagemont girls team with just two swimmers placed 36^th with six points.

DETERMINED CHADÉ !!! NERSICIO WINS 50 YARD FREESTYLE TITLE AT FINAL 1A STATES CHAMPIONSHIPS

Curaçao’s Chadé Nersicio  of Trinity Christian Academy captured the 50 yard freestyle at the 1A State Championships on November 16 at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center in Stuart Florida. Her win is a culmination of hard work and determination to finally capture the crown after a number of podium finishes.

Year	Time	Medal
2017	22.93	Silver
2016	22.96	Bronze
2015	23.41	Silver

Something special was on the cards for Chadé  as for the the first time in the four years of competing in the event she was the top qualifier in the event . She also had her fastest ever preliminary time of 23.14. That would be a good sign of what was to unfold in the Championship final of the 50 yard freestyle.

Chade Nercisio Gold medallist in the 50 yard freestyle Photo courtesy of Art Kozel

Chadé would win her 50 freestyle title and the first for the Warriors. She stopped the clock in the only sub 23 seconds time of the race of 22.66 , a new personal best and school record. Silver went to McKenna Smith of  Academy at Lakes in 23.29 and the Bronze to Madeline Burt in a time of 23.29. Chadé  has been the standard bearer for the Warriors ever since she enrolled  Lake Worth based institution making an immediate impact becoming the first swimmer to go under 24 seconds.

Her buildup to this State Championship Gold was perfect in all the major school meets leading up to the meet in Stuart Florida as she took the top sprinter title at the Districts,Regionals and the Palm Beach County Championships .

ROAD TO GOLD

Championships	Date	Time
Palm Beach County	Oct 6	22.89 MR PB
District	Oct 30	23.67
Region 4	Nov 9	22.89 PB
State	Nov 16	22.66 PB

Draftingthecaribbean contacted Chadé  and got her reaction to her win

“It felt so great winning the 50 free, my goal was dropping more time than usual in this event.Because over the years I wasn’t dropping much.I went from being stuck at 22.89 to going 22.66 Junior Nationals is coming up shortly my coach and I still believe I can go much faster than States so that’s what were preparing for”.

Natasha Moodie Photo courtesy of mgoblue.com

Only FOUR other winners of the 50 yard freestyle have ever gone faster than Chadé’s winning time across the Florida divisions and she now joins Chinyere Pigot of Suriname who represented the Doral Academy 2010 and Jamaican Natasha Moodie of Miramar (3A) 2005 as CARIFTA region swimmers to have won the 50 yard freestyle State Championships. Both went on to compete at the Olympics in the 50 metre Moodie at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Pigot at the 2008 Olympics and London 2012 Olympics.

Chinyere Pigot London 2012 Olympics flag bearer Photo courtesy of thrillson.blogspot.com

This year has gone well  in the 50 freestyle in the long course pool in the Chadé with top performances in regional age group meet and making the B final at the CAC Games in Colombia.

Competition	Time	Place
UANA	26.72	Silver
CARIFTA	26.18	Gold
CAC Games	26.14	1st B final

There would be more Gold and yet another school record in the 200 yard freestyle relay . In the Championship final Nersicio provided the fastest split of 22.67 to move the team from third to Gold in a new school record and first ever State title in a time of 1:34.25.The team of Nicole Gomez, Naïma Dessout, Eriana Temperino produced the fastest 1A winning time since 2014.

Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace Photo courtesy of theswimpictures.com

It was also the first time a CARIFTA region swimmer was on the Gold medal winning team since Bahamian Olympian Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace led off the 2006 Bolles team in a then state record time of 1:34.53.

Warriors Gold medal freestyle relay team from left to right Nersicio,Gomes, Coach John,Dessout and Temperino

There would also be another medal in the 400 yard freestyle relay as the Warriors replicated their best ever showing from 2017 with another Bronze medal. This time the quartet lowered the school record from 3:28.11 at the Palm Beach county champs to 3:27.44.

Nersicio would also go on to place fifth in the 100 yard freestyle in 50.64.  She has set the school record in the event at the this year’s Palm Beach County Championships with a a winning time of 50.34.

The Warriors would place fourth in the girls division with 208 points. The Bolles school won with 381 points, followed by Pine Crest with 303 points and Saint Andrews with 244.

BRANDON CHEONG’S GAME CHANGING BREASTSTROKE LEG HELPS BUCHOLZ EARN 4A STATES MEDLEY RELAY SILVER MEDAL

On Saturday November 16 at the Florida 4A State Championships in Stuart Florida Aruba’s Brandon Cheong provided a sensational breaststroke leg for the Bucholz high school to help them win the Silver medal in the 200 yard medley relay.

The final of the 200 yard medley relay at the  Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center saw Bucholz trailing in 6th place after the backstroke leg. It would take a great leg by Brandon to move them back into medal contention. He provided just that leg with a 25.91 split. That time was the third fastest leg in 4A State Championships  final history. That brought the team to third and gave anchor Julian Hill to challenge for the Gold. The total team was 1:33.70 earning them the Silver just behind Lake Brantley in 1:33.61. The team performance was also best the time done by Bucholz at the State Championships. This is the second consecutive Silver medal for the school as they placed second in 2017 in 1:33.99.

Brandon racing towards 50 metre breaststroke Silver at CARIFTA 2018 Photo courtesy of Mike C Lyn

Brandon had been having a great year in this distance as he won Silver medals in the 50 metre breaststroke at both the CARIFTA Championships in Kingston Jamaica and at home in Aruba for the CCCAN Championships with times of 30.38 and 30 .23.

Joint Silver medallists in the 15-17 age group at the 2018 CCCAN Championships in Aruba Jamaica’s Cameron Brown and Brandon Cheong Photo courtesy of CCCAN

There would be another Silver medal  for Cheong and his school mates in the 400 yard freestyle relay. The team moved from 4th in 2017 to second place in 2018 with a total team  time of 3:07.30. Cheong also recorded his best split at the State Championships with a third leg effort of 48.53.

In the 50 yard freestyle he recorded a personal best of 21.81 in the heats to make the B final. In that race he stopped the clock in 22.02 to place 6th his best performance at the Championships.  The 100 yard breaststroke saw him recording a season best of 58.49 in the heats before placing 4th in the B final in 59.66.

When draftingthecaribbean contacted Brandon he gave this assessment of the 200 yard medley relay

Brandon Cheong

“Honestly I had an amazing teammates this season, it wasn’t just me who had a great effect on the relay. My teammates made an awesome role for making states and we earned second place in the 200 yard medley relay. When I stepped on the block I knew I had to step up for my guys to win in the 200 medley relay. I’ve actually felt great in the water, I was mainly focusing on my turns, stroke and my underwater. When I touched the wall I saw the 25.91, I was actually shocked to go below 26 seconds in the 50 breaststroke. After I got out of the water I was supporting my teammates as loud as possible”.