Prep swimming 2016: Gulf Coast girls, Naples boys win Class 3A-District 9 titles

PUNTA GORDA – The Gulf Coast High School girls swimming and diving team was a bit salty about how it finished up last season. The Sharks slipped to 19th at the Class 3A meet following two years of state runner-up finishes.

It was the first time in six years they finished outside the top 10.

This year, the Sharks are pushing toward state with redemption on their minds, doing some of their best swimming as a team at the right time. Brooke Boling and Olivia Ricard won individual events and their teammates scored valuable points to push Gulf Coast to a District 3A-9 title Thursday at South County Regional Park, improving on a second-place finish from a year ago.

The Sharks notched 441 points to hold off Estero (429), which boasted five individual district champs and two relay titles.

This isn’t Gulf Coast’s ultimate goal, though.

“We’re taking it one step at a time,” Sharks coach Harry Lawson said. “We’ve got three steps to go – regionals, state preliminaries and state.”

The Region 3A-3 meet will take place Saturday, Oct. 29 at the FGCU Aquatic Center.

Gulf Coast’s biggest advantage came in the diving competition with Ricard posting a 438.10 score to take first and 20 points, while Natasha Valdes and Brooke Prysi combined for 18 points. Meanwhile, Estero didn’t have any divers.

“They had more depth than we did,” Estero co-head coach Tim Jacobson said.

Aside from Boling's win in the 50-yard freestyle (25.80), the Sharks did most of their scoring in the relays – first place in the 200 freestyle relay, second in the 200 medley relay and second in the 400 freestyle relay – and swimmers like seniors Allison Moore and Kayla Tennant, who weren’t able to beat Estero swimmers head to head but earned top-3 finishes.

“Everyone has stayed focused this entire season,” Lawson said. “They know what they want and they’re working hard for it.”

Estero's Paige Madden and Alina Faunce both had hands in four district championships. Madden won the 100 freestyle (55.52) and the 100 backstroke (1:01.98), while Faunce took home top honors in the 200 IM (2:07.70) and the 100 butterfly (58.09).

They were a part of the 200 medley and 400 free relay teams that reached the top of the podiums.

Wildcats freshman Mikayla Puckett edged Naples’ Annalise Eisold by less than a second in the 100 breaststroke.

Jacobson and co-head coach Chelsea Franklin shared Lawson’s thoughts on a district title being far from the main goal. Franklin explained most of her girls will start tapering in the next week and a half or so in order to prepare for state.

“It looked like they’re ready,” she said.

Jacobson agreed.

“They’re looking to get into beast mode,” Jacobson said. “All of these girls would trade a district championship or regional championship for a state championship or a state runner-up finish.

Isabella Marsala medaled in the 200 free (1:58.80) and the 500 free (5:08.31) for Barron Collier (293), which finished third. Fort Myers (272) and Riverdale (224) rounded out the top five teams.

The top two finishers in each individual event from the district meet qualify for the regionals. In addition, the next overall best times at-large for a field of 24 from the remaining best times among top 16 finishers in the district meets comprising the region qualify for the regional competition.

In relay events, the top finishers in each relay event as well as the next overall best times at large for a field of 16 from the remaining best times among top-eight finishers from the district meets in the region qualify for regionals.

For diving, the top two places from each meet with a minimum qualifying score of 280.0 points advance. The remaining spaces are filled on an at-large basis from divers who placed in the top eight in their district and met the minimum score of 280.

In the boys team competition, Naples won seven out of 12 events, including two individual wins apiece for John Scanlon and Davis Olmsted. Gulf Coast was second with 394 points followed by Barron Collier (384), Charlotte (363.5) and Fort Myers (185).

Scanlon posted a 1:47.58 in the 200 free and a 4:46.51 in the 500 free. Meanwhile, Olmsted won the 50 free (22.90) and the 100 free (48.92).

Matthew Limbacher finished first in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.32) for the Golden Eagles, who also took the 200 medley relay and the 400 free relay.

Barron Collier freshman Anton Sunyak took home top honors in the 100 backstroke (57.73).

Class 3A-District 9 championships

at South County Regional Park in Punta Gorda

Girls

Team scores

Gulf Coast 441, Estero 429, Barron Collier 293, Fort Myers 272, Riverdale 224, Charlotte 188, Naples 180, South Fort Myers 56, Palmetto Ridge 46, East Lee County 36, Ida Baker 26, Lehigh 10

Individual results

(Top 2 automatically advance)

200 medley relay: 1. Estero (Paige Madden, Mikayla Puckett,  Alina Faunce, Alyson Currao) 1:54.56; 2. Gulf Coast 1:56.37; 3. Barron Collier 2:01.65; 200 freestyle: 1. Isabella Marsala (BC) 1:58.80; 2. Makailey Hauser (EST) 2:00.51; 3. Gabriella Shepherd (RIV) 2:02.56; 200 IM:  1. Alina Faunce (EST) 2:07.70; 2. Kayla Tennant (GC) 2:16.69; 3. Annalise Eisold (NAP) 2:17.46; 50 freestyle: Brooke Boling (GC) 25.80; 2. Alyson Currao (EST) 26.19; 3. Zhara Colas (FM) 26.74; 1-meter diving: 1. Olivia Ricard (GC) 438.10; 2. Brooke Pirro (FM) 377.70; 3. Becca Parnell (CHS) 375.85; 100 butterfly: 1. Alina Faunce (EST) 58.09; 2. Allison Moore (GC) 58.91; 3. Suzanna Logan (GC) 59.24; 100 freestyle: 1. Paige Madden (EST) 55.52; 2.Brooke Boling (GC) 55.87; 3. Gabriella Shepherd (RIV) 56.20; 500 freestyle: 1. Isabella Marsala (BC) 5:08.31; 2. Madi Baron (FM) 5:13.67; 3. Makailey Hauser (EST) 5:15.96; 200 freestyle relay: 1. Gulf Coast (Brooke Boling, Zoe Hendricks, Madison Moore, Kayla Tennant) 1:44.71; 2. Estero 1:50.72; 3. Riverdale 1:51.79; 100 backstroke: 1. Paige Madden (EST) 1:01.98; 2. Madi Baaron (FM) 1:02.28; 3. Allison Moore (GC) 1:02.66; 100 breaststroke: 1. Mikayla Puckett (EST) 1:10.37; 2. Annalise Eisold (NAP) 1:11.35, 3. Madison Moore (GC) 1:11.85; 400 freestyle relay: 1. Estero (Paige Madden, Alyson Currso, Mikayla Puckett, Alina Faunce) 3:46.50; 2. Gulf Coast 3:52.00; 3. Riverdale 3:53.39.

Boys

Team scores

Naples 396.5, Gulf Coast 394, Barron Collier 394, Charlotte 363.5, Fort Myers 185, Riverdale 125, Estero 86, Palmetto Ridge 83, South Fort Myers 58, Lehigh 38, Ida Baker 34, East Lee County 26

Individual results

(Top 2 automatically advance)

200 medley relay: 1. Naples (Davis Olmsted, Matthew Limbacher, John Scanlon, Alex Bradfield) 1:43.07; 2. Barron Collier 1:43.84; 3. Charlotte 1:46.35; 200 freestyle: 1.John Scanlon (NAP) 1:47.58; 2. Paolo Sunyak (BC) 1:48.36; 3. Clay Riemenschneider (FM) 1:48.39; 200 IM:  1. Dylan Hacker (CHS) 2:00.06; 2. Cole Gutknecht (GC) 2:02.04; 3. Wyatt Kellett (BC) 2:02.76; 50 freestyle: 1. Davis Olmsted (NAP) 22.90; 2. Matthew Limbacher (NAP) 22.99; 3. Nick Mattson (BC) 23.09; 1-meter diving: 1. Andrew Mizell (GC) 470.90; 2. Jaedyn Procacci (GC) 385.65; 3. Xavier Korda (GC) 359.15; 100 butterfly: 1. Cole Gutknecht (GC) 54.03; 2. Emmett Gillen (GC) 55.59; 3. Robert Ellison (NAP) 56.62; 100 freestyle: 1. Davis Olmsted (NAP) 48.92; 2. Jace Chouinard (RIV) 50.97; 3. Nick Mattson (BC) 51.44; 500 freestyle: 1. John Scanlon (NAP) 4:46.51; 2. Clay Riemenschneider (FM) 4:46.79; 3. Paolo Sunyak (BC) 4:47.46; 200 freestyle relay: 1. Charlotte (Tom Nelson, Yahia El Hamshary, Blake Thurman, Dylan Hacker) 1:32.17; 2. Gulf Coast 1:32.84; 3. Barron Collier 1:35.10; 100 backstroke: 1. Anton Sunyak (BC) 57.73; 2. Tom Nelson (CHS) 58.39; 3. Emmett Gillen (GC) 59.00; 100 breaststroke: 1. Matthew Limbacher (NAP) 1:00.32; 2. Dylan Hacker (CHS) 1:00.74; 3. Wyatt Kellett (BC) 1:04.30; 400 freestyle relay: 1. Naples (John Scanlon, Davis Olmsted, Alex Bradfield, Matthew Limbacher) 3:20.88; 2. Charlotte 3:23.84; 3. Barron Collier 3:25.31.