2023 Florida Summer Age Group Championships (North)
- July 13-16, 2023
- Ocala, Florida
- LCM (50 meters)
- Results
The 2023 Florida Summer Age Group Championships were held this past weekend. The meet is split between two sites, with the North meet being held in Ocala this year and the South taking place in Ft. Meyers.
Topping the combined team scores at the North meet was the Bolles School Sharks, who beat the Southwest Stars Swim Club by a margin of 1341 points. Rounding out the top three teams with a total of 1834 points was Planet Swim Aquatics.
Team Scores (Combined):
- Bolles School Sharks – 3464.50
- Southwest Stars Swim Club – 2123.50
- Planet Swim Aquatics – 1834
- Loggerhead Aquatics – 1681
- Patriot Aquatics – 1638
Among the top performers of the meet was 14-year-old Rylee Erisman from Laker Swimming. Erisman collected six victories, setting personal best times in three of them. In the 50 freestyle, Erisman stopped the clock at 25.40, marking a personal best by over a second. Her performance qualifies her for the 2024 Olympic Trials next summer and ranks 4th all-time in the age group. Additionally, her time breaks her own Florida Swimming LSC Record, which stood 26.02 from May.
Erisman also notched a personal best time by over a second in the 100 freestyle. She clocked a 56.29 in finals, moving her up to 16th on the all-time rankings. Rounding out her best time performances was the 400 IM, where she cleared the field by over 25 seconds to post a 4:54.36 and enter the top-100 rankings at 93rd.
On the boys’ side, Owen Ekk of the ATAC swim club in Tallahassee also climbed the national rankings with his performances. Ekk, 14, opened his meet with a massive swim in the 200 free where he posted the 8th-fastest time in boys 13-14 age group at 1:53.63. His momentum carried through the rest of the meet, as he hit five more personal best times en route to five wins. He shaved off a few tenths in both the 50 and 100 freestyle, going times of 23.88 and 52.50, respectively. Those performances also move him way up in the rankings, with the 50 coming in at 14th all-time and the 100 landing at 17th.
He also saw massive improvements in the longer freestyle races, including dropping over 8 seconds in the 400 freestyle to hit a 4:00.57 and move to 12th all-time. In the 800 free, Ekk debuted on the top-100 list at 63rd with a best time of 8:28.12. He finished his meet with the 200 backstroke, where he recorded a huge best time of 2:09.89 to win the event by nearly four seconds.
Of his races, the 100 free, 200 free, and 400 free marked new Florida Swimming LSC records for his age group. The previous record of 52.53 in the 100 freestyle was held by Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel, set back in 2011.
Another standout swimmer in the boy’s 13-14 age group was Luke Zardavets from Planet Swim Aquatics. Zardavets also won six events with personal best times in all of them. The 14-year-old had a fantastic race in the 100 breaststroke, where he dropped a few tenths to post a meet record time of 1:06.74, erasing Dressel’s previous record of 1:06.89. His swim moves him up to 67th all-time, while runner-up finisher Bennett Aldrich climbed to 76th (1:06.87).
Among the other top performers for the girls was Erisman’s teammate Aidyn Reese. Reese swept the breaststroke events and 200 IM, establishing new best times in all of them. One of her highlights was the 200 breast, where she cleared the field by nearly four seconds to go a best time of 2:37.70.
Capturing the high point awards for the 11-12 age group was Reef McMeeking and Sabrina Avila. McMeeking won four events, highlighted by his swim in the 200 breaststroke where he dropped nearly five seconds to go 2:41.90. Avila also captured four wins, with her 100 freestyle time of 1:02.19 marking a new best by over two seconds.
Luca Bausher and Sarah Fiama led the way in the 10 and under category. Fiama won all six of her events, setting personal best times in five of them, while Bausher took home victories in five events. His meet was highlighted by his 50 fly, where he notched a personal best time of 22.42.
