Ponte Vedra Girls Win First-Ever FHSAA 3A Title, Lawton Chiles Boys Victorious

2021 FHSAA Championships – Class 3A

• Saturday, November 13, 2021
• Sailfish Splashpark Aquatics Athletic Center, Stuart, FL
• Results (PDF)

The Ponte Vedra High School girls won their first-ever FHSAA title on Saturday at the Class 3A Championships in Stuart, Florida, while the Lawton Chiles boys returned to the top of the heap for the first time since 2017.

GIRLS RECAP

Ponte Vedra won two relays and placed second in the other to lead them to the title by 42 points, scoring 245 to lead two-time defending champion Lawton Chiles (203).

Ponte Vedra got things rolling by winning the meet-opening 200 medley relay in a time of 1:46.05, led by Ann Wohlgemuth‘s scorching 25.89 backstroke lead-off. The team of Wohlgemuth, Annabelle MacAdams, MaryAgnes Smith and Penelope Zarczynski combined to win the race by almost three seconds.

The school’s other event win came in the 200 free relay, where Zarczynski, Wohlgemuth, Holly Cox and Olivia Copland put up a time of 1:36.27 to edge out Lawton Chiles (1:36.68).

Countryside junior Summer Cardwell was the lone swimmer to win multiple individual events, first repeating in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46.36.

Cardwell followed up by dethroning two-time defending champion Lydia Hanlon of Lawton Chiles in the 100 fly, with Cardwell clocking 54.18 to Hanlon’s 54.66.

Hanlon had also won three 3A titles in a row in the 100 back, but took third in that race behind Port St. Lucie senior Sarah Evans (53.70) and Wohlgemuth (53.85) in 54.17.

In the 100 breast, Naples junior Sabyne Brisson (1:02.25) dethroned defending champ Emma Wortman (1:03.04).

Successfully defending a title from last year was Freedom High School’s Michelle Morgan, who won the 200 IM or a second straight year in a time of 2:01.06.

Lawton Chiles closed the meet off with a dominant six-second win in the 400 free relay, clocking 3:29.17 with a 50.87 anchor from Hanlon. Ponte Vedra took second in 3:35.66.

OTHER WINNERS

• 50 Free – Maryn McDade, Fleming Island, 23.58
• 1-Meter Diving – Katie McKyton, Saint Petersburg, 478.65
• 100 Free – Isabella Ekk, Lawton Chiles, 51.35
• 500 Free – Stella Watts, Lawton Chiles, 4:46.86

TOP 5 TEAM SCORES

1. Ponte Vedra, 245.0
2. Lawton Chiles, 203.0
3. Saint Petersburg, 165.0
4. Countryside, 136.5
5. Freedom, 126.0

BOYS RECAP

With the defending champs from Sarasota competing in 4A, Lawton Chiles won the boys meet by 20 points over Jesuit, their first victory since 2017. 2019 winners Barron Collier placed fifth.

Lawton Chiles won the meet with depth—the school had zero individual victories. Leading them in individual points was sophomore Ryder Gentry, who took second in the 100 free and third in the 200 free.

In the 100 free, Palmetto Ridge senior Colton Rasmussen touched first in a time of 45.28, followed by Gentry in 45.85.

In the 200 free, Gainesville senior Aidan Fuller (1:38.02) led a tightly-contested race over Rasmussen (1:38.34) and Gentry (1:38.39).

Fuller added a runner-up finish in the 500 free, clocking 4:28.27 as Countryside junior Andrew Taylor dominated his way to victory in 4:19.17.

Taylor also decisively won the 200 IM in 1:48.88, almost four and a half seconds clear of the field.

Another top performer was Seminole junior Andrew Bilitto, who won the 50 free (20.56) and took second to Sebastian River junior Mitchell Ledford in the 100 fly (46.86 for Ledford, 47.55 for Bilitto).

Jesuit won two of three relays, touching first in the 200 medley (1:35.21) and 400 free (3:09.48), with Aidan Clements and Liam Schindler factoring in on both.

Clements, a sophomore, added an individual win of his own in the 100 back (51.39).

OTHER WINNERS

• 1-Meter Diving – Justin Toth, Booker T Washington, 450.20
• Osceola (Barr, Neel, McDonald, Godcharles), 1:27.31
• 100 Breast – Victor Valdez, Mater Academy, 56.76

TOP 5 TEAM SCORES

• Lawton Chiles, 259.0
• Jesuit, 239.0
• Countryside, 162.0
• Osceola, 160.0
• Barron Collier, 138.0