2022 FHSAA Championships – Class 3A
- Friday, November 4, 2022
- Sailfish Splash Waterpark and Aquatics Center, Stuart, Fla.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Defending champions:
- Girls: Ponte Vedra High School
- Boys: Lawton Chiles High School
- FHSAA Swim & Dive Central
- Full Results (PDF)
After winning their first-ever state title last year, the Ponte Vedra High School girls repeated as FHSAA 4A champions on Friday, earning a decisive victory by 129.5 points over Saint Petersburg.
On the boys’ side, Allen D. Nease High School, which competed in 4A last season, came out on top with 290 points, defeating Jesuit (245), which finished in the runner-up spot for the second straight year. 2021 champion Lawton Chiles placed third.
GIRLS RECAP
Leading Ponte Vedra to the team title was senior Ann Wohlgemuth, who claimed victory in the 100 back (54.40) after placing second last year. She also led off a pair of victorious relays, splitting 25.28 for the 50 back as the team won the 200 medley relay (1:44.82), and then clocking 23.79 for the 50 free as Ponte Vedra topped the 200 free relay (1:35.41).
Wohlgemuth, a UGA commit, was also the runner-up to Countryside senior Summer Cardwell in the 100 fly, swimming a PB of 54.84.
Cardwell, a Louisville commit, won a pair of repeat 4A title, including setting a new best in the 100 fly (53.72). She also won the 200 free in 1:46.65, with her PB sitting at 1:46.36 from last year’s state meet.
Also successfully defending their title from last season was Fleming Island junior Maryn McDade, who roared to the 50 free win in a lifetime best of 23.07.
In the 100 free, Ponte Vedra sophomore Penny Zarczynski came through with the win in 51.19, resetting her personal best time in a tight battle that saw five swimmers under 52 seconds.
Zarczynski also took second to McDade in the 50 free, hitting another best of 23.36.
Another impressive sophomore was Nease’s Charlotte Driesse, who won the 200 IM (2:04.40) and was also third in the 100 free (51.58).
At the end of the meet, Driesse led off the Nease 400 free relay in 52.46, helping propel the team to victory in 3:28.86 in a narrow race with Ponte Vedra (3:29.05). Sophomore Olivia Moore also posted a blistering 51.41 anchor leg to hold off Ponte Vedra’s Zarczynski (51.24).
Other Winners
- 500 free – Ashley Sampson, Forest High School, 4:59.30
- 100 breast – Sabyne Brisson, Naples High School, 1:01.94
- 1-meter Diving – Ava Brinkman, Fleming Island High School, 448.85
Top 5 Team Scores
- Ponte Vedra High School, 340.5
- Saint Petersburg High School, 211
- Allen D. Nease High School, 210
- Naples High School, 181
- Saint Thomas Aquinas, 166
BOYS RECAP
The Allen D. Nease boys won the state title on the strength of their depth, including picking up a pair of relay wins in the 200 medley and 400 free.
The 200 medley relay featured seniors Dylan Ramos (24.33), Rich Nguyen (25.30), Joseph Wyatt (22.65) and Matthew Koziol (20.60) combining for a time of 1:32.88, topping runner-up Jesuit (1:34.24) by well over a second.
Wyatt (48.47), Brandon Gear (47.11), Walker Lanoue (47.31) and Koziol (45.75) then came together to punctuate the team victory by winning the 400 free relay at the end of the meet in 3:08.64.
Individually, three different swimmers went two-for-two, including Sebastian River senior Mitchell Ledford successfully defending his title in the 100 fly.
Ledford, a 17-year-old NC State commit, put up a lifetime best of 46.33 to win the 100 fly, lowering his previous PB of 46.64 set at the 2021 Winter Junior Championships – East.
Ledford’s time moves him up into 36th all-time in the boys’ 17-18 age group.
Ledford also won the 100 back in 48.47, well under his best time coming in of 50.96. He had brought that PB all the way down to 48.54 in the prelims.
Gainesville junior Michael Mullen, a Florida commit, had an incredible showing in the 200 IM, dropping more than four seconds to win the title in 1:46.25, nearing the state record of 1:45.51 set by Josh Zuchowski last year.
Mullen’s previous best, set at the Region Championships on Oct. 26, was 1:50.43.
The 2021 champion, Countryside senior Andrew Taylor, was the runner-up in 1:48.40. Taylor did successfully defend his title in the 500 free, clocking 4:22.30.
Mullen, 17, also won the 100 breast in 55.61, having set a new PB of 55.26 in the heats. Nease’s Nguyen cracked 56 seconds for the first time to place second in 55.83.
The third swimmer doubling up individually was Lawton Chiles junior Ryder Gentry, an LSU commit who was second last year in the 100 free and third in the 200 free.
This time around, Gentry roared to victory in both races, swimming a best of 45.17 in the 100 free and winning by two seconds in the 200 free (1:39.11).
The 50 free was a hotly contested battle, won by Saint Thomas senior Samuel Collingwood (20.69) over defending champion Andrew Billitto (20.91), Koziol (20.96) and St. Augustine’s Jack Mainville (20.96).
Other Winners
- 200 free relay – Jesuit High School, 1:25.72
- 1-meter Diving – Alexander Just, Seminole High School, 480.90
Top 5 Team Scores
- Allen D. Nease High School, 290
- Jesuit High School, 245
- Lawton Chiles High School, 170
- Saint Thomas Aquinas, 143
- Booker T Washington High School, 142