Gainesville is clearly the epicenter of girls swimming in Florida this year. Eastside High won the Class 2A state swimming title on Thursday in Orlando, and then Buchholz did the same on Friday in Class 3A.
The Bobcats, who finished state runners-up the past two seasons, beat out Boca Raton 171-167.
Senior Riley Flanagan led the way for Buchholz by finishing first in the 100-yard backstroke with an All-American time of 55.55. The meet came down to the final event, the 400-freestyle relay. The Bobcats needed to finish fifth or higher and have second-place Boca Raton not win the event. That’s exactly what happened: Buchholz finished fifth and Boca Raton took second.
Miami Palmetto's Michael Saco won four gold medals at the Class 3A state meet in Orlando. (Photo courtesy of Miami Herald)
The big individual winner of the 3A meet was Miami Douglas sophomore Lindsey McKnight who won three gold medals and one silver. McKnight defended her 100-yard breaststroke title, finishing with an All American automatic time of 1:03.26. She also was on the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams.
In the boys’ meet, Miami Palmetto became the first Miami-Dade public school to win a state team swimming title since the 1960s. The Panthers easily outdistanced second-place Countryside 249-169.5.
Palmetto senior Michael Saco was the star of the day. He was part of the winning 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relays, both in All-American automatic times. Saco also broke the state record of 20.22 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.11 to finish with four gold medals.
Girls team scores: 1. Gainesville Buchholz 171, 2. Boca Raton 167, 3. Parkland Douglas 148, 4. Orlando Olympia 137, 5. Winter Park 123.5, 6. Clearwater Countryside 123, 7. Sarasota 113.5, 8. Port Orange Spruce Creek 102.5, 9. Tampa Plant 94, 10. Miami Palmetto 92.
Girls individual results: 200 medley relay: 1. Boca Raton 1:47.00. 200 free: 1. Taylor Katz (Tarpon Springs East Lake) 1:48.79. 200 IM: 1. Melanie Margalis (CC) 1:57.07. 50 free: 1. Kaitlin Frehling (Seminole) 23.36. Diving: 1. Cheri Hammond (Winter Garden West Orange) 528.40. 100 fly: 1. Ana Anaya (Miami Ferguson) 54.52. 100 free: 1. Ginny Grams (POSC) 51.36. 500 free: 1. Margalis (CC) 4:42.62. 200 free relay: 1. Parkland Douglas 1:35.77. 100 back: 1. Riley Flanagan (GB) 55.55. 100 breast: 1. Lindsey McKnight (PD) 1:03.26. 400 free relay: 1. Parkland Douglas 3:28.01.
Boys team scores: 1. Miami Palmetto 249, 2. Clearwater Countryside 169.5, 3. Orlando Olympia 169, 4. Winter Park 145.5, 5. Palm Harbor University 135, 6. Sarasota Riverview 97, t7. Seminole, Apopka 92, 9. Vero Beach 89, 10. Hagerty 73.
Boys individual results: 200 medley relay: 1. Winter Park 1:36.44. 200 free: 1. Bradley DeBorde (Altamonte Springs Lake Brantley) 1:38.68. 200 IM: 1. Nicholas Caldwell (SR) 1:49.80. 50 free: 1. Michael Saco (MP) 20.11. Diving: 1. Tommy Nuebacher (OO) 652.65. 100 fly: 1. Juan Sequera (Doral Reagan) 50.78. 100 free: 1. Saco (MP) 44.65. 500 free: 1. Caldwell (SR) 4:22.88. 200 free relay: 1. Miami Palmetto 1:23.86. 100 back: 1. Mate Fabian (CC) 50.81. 100 breast: 1. Douglas Ramos (Miami Columbus) 57.99. 400 free relay: 1. Miami Palmetto 3:06.97.
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