Florida HS 2A State: Meet Preview and Top Races to Watch

FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL 2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Florida High School Athletic Association 2A state meet is slated to take place on Saturday in Stuart, Florida at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center. The top 24 swimmers in each event across all Florida 2A teams will gather to determine who will walk away as the 2016 state champions. The reigning champions from the 2015 meet are the American Heritage boys and Gulliver Prep girls.

The girls 500 free has shaped up to be a good race at the 2A meet, with Bayshore sophomore Ryley Ober and Gulliver Prep’s Marcella Ruppert-Gomez each enter the meet with 4:53.8 seed times. Both girls were regional champs, with Ober winning region 3 and Ruppert-Gomez winning region 4. Ober will also headline the 200 free, where she’s looking dominant so far with her region-winning time of 1:50.36.

Ruppert-Gomez will also be swimming the 200 IM, where she’s the 3rd seed behind teammate Brooke Ellis and Tarpon Springs’ Mackenzie Stumpf. All 3 swimmers are seeded within a second of each other, so it looks like anyone’s race at this point. Ruppert-Gomez and Ellis will look to go 1-2 in that race to help their team to another state title.

American Heritage’s Catharine Cooper and St. Brendan’s Irvin Hoost look like the swimmers to watch in the sprint freestyles. Both swimmers clocked AA-C times to win regionals in the 50 free, and both are the top seeds in the 100 free as well.

The 100 fly may be one of the closest races on the men’s side, with the top 3 seeds all in the 51-second range. Gulliver Prep’s Trahern Gribble comes in as the fastest swimmer with his 51-low, but American Heritage’s Sebastian Vargas, the 2015 bronze medalist, will be looking for a win to help his team try to defend their title. Also in the mix will be Palatka’s Alec Dawson, who heads to the meet as the 3rd seed.

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About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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