2024 Florida HS 2A Roundup: District Highlights

2024 FHSAA 2A DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIPS

• October 28 – November 2, 2024
• District Sites and Dates
• All Results

The 2A schools in Florida high school’s swimming league have wrapped up their District Championship meets. The 2A schools represent the medium-sized schools across the state, one step up from the smallest-sized schools in 1A. A total of 12 Districts competed and will now move on to four Region meets to determine who will qualify for the State Championships in November.

FHSAA CLASS 2A DISTRICT CHAMPIONS

• District 1: West Florida School of Technology girls, Fort Walton Beach boys
• District 2: Stanton College Prep School girls and boys
• District 3: Bishop Kenny girls, Eastside High School boys
• District 4: The Villages High School girls and boys
• District 5: Satellite High School girls, Titusville High School boys
• District 6: Tarpon Springs girls, Pasco (Dade City) boys
• District 7: McKeel Academy of Technology girls, Hardee High School boys
• District 8: Academy of the Holy Names girls, TR Robinson High School boys
• District 9: Naples High School girls and boys
• District 10: Pompano Beach High School girls and boys
• District 11: Mater Lakes Academy girls and boys
• District 12: Mast Academy girls, Belen Jesuit Preparatory boys

REGION 1 – DISTRICTS 1, 2, 3

Girls 

The girls’ teams of District 1 faced a tight race for the gold, with just 54 points separating 1st from 3rd. West Florida School of Tech took 1st, 41 points ahead of runner-up Fort Walton Beach, and JR Arnold fell 3rd, just 13 points behind Fort Walton. Junior Taylor Clements of West Florida School brought home 3 golds and 1 bronze, scoring the highest points among her team. Clements soared to 1st in the 50 free at 24.79, 1.25 seconds faster than 2nd place finisher Addie Kelly. Clements also found her way to 1st in the 100 breast, finishing in a time of 1:08.31, nearly two seconds faster than the rest of the pack. She anchored her team’s gold-winning 400 free relay, and led off the bronze-winning 200 free relay.

Fort Walton Beach High School followed in a close 2nd thanks to swimmers like Brigham Young University commit Cher Patrick. Patrick dominated the distance events, winning 1st in the 500 free in a time of 5:12.22, a whopping 28.65 seconds faster than 2nd place. Patrick also took 1st in the 200 free, touching at 2:00.17.

Stanton College Prep swept District 2, winning both the girl’s and boy’s division. Junior Gabriella Marim won gold in every event she swam, breaking three new personal best times. She lowered her best 200 IM time to 2:08.43, and swam a 1:04.45 in the 100 breast. She led off her team’s winning 400 free relay with a personal best split time of 53.44. As only a junior, Marim has been a tough competitor at each year’s district, region and state meets. As a freshman she took 3rd in the 200 IM and 4th in the 100 breast at the 2A Region 1 meet, just missing out on qualifying for state. She came back stronger as a sophomore, placing 5th in the 100 breast and 5th in the 200 IM at the 2A state meet. Her times this year make her a likely candidate to qualify for the state meet.

Sophomore Elise Panna of Eastside High School had a notable meet, walking away with three golds and one silver. Panna raced to 2nd in the 100 free at 54.35 and claimed 1st in the 100 back at 59.07, outracing 2nd place finisher Pearson Wedel by over ten seconds. Panna led off her team’s 1st place winning 400 free relay and 200 medley relay. As a freshman, Panna qualified for state in the 100 free and 100 back. She took 12th in the 100 free and finished 7th in the 100 back, swimming a new best time in prelims at 58.57. Had she swam her prelims time in finals, she would have placed 5th. Panna has had an impressive swimming career only two years into high school, making her a name to watch going forward.

Boys

Fort Walton Beach Senior Fisher Kelly dominated District 1, going home with four golds. The sprinter raced to 1st in the 50 free at 21.89, 1.83 seconds faster than 2nd place finisher Madden Marez. Kelly also took 1st in the 100 free at 47.87, making him the only boy to break 50.00 in the event. His efforts on the 400 free and 200 medley relays brought both teams to gold.

Mitchell Chao collected four golds for Stanton College Prep School, helping the boy’s team take victory by over 300 points. Chao was the only boy to swim under two minutes in the 200 IM, speeding into the wall at 1:58.96, over two seconds behind his best time. His 100 breast time of 59.92 made him the only boy to swim under a minute, beating out teammate Drew Watson by 0.99 seconds. Chao was part of his team’s winning 400 free relay and 200 medley relay, leading off his 200 medley team that took 1st by nearly ten seconds.

Auburn University commit Brody Singley of West Nassau County High School swam in his 3rd district meet, finishing with two golds and one bronze. The senior took 1st in the 200 free, out-touching Eli Little by almost two seconds. He also raced to 1st in the 100 fly, and helped his 400 free relay go home with 3rd. Singley first made it to the 2A State meet as a sophomore, finishing 2nd in the 500 free and 3rd in the 200 free. He came back to claim victory in both events as a junior. Singley, who has traditionally been a distance swimmer in years past, is hoping to debut his 100 fly at this year’s state meet ahead of his collegiate swimming career.

Juniors Carter Wright and Liam Roberts of Bishop Kenny collected four gold medals each for their school. Wright raced to 1st in the 100 back at 52.25 and finished 1st in the 50 free at 22.40, barely beating out 2nd place finisher Abraham Burangulov by .28. He anchored his team’s winning 400 free relay, and led off the winning 200 medley.

Roberts claimed 1st in the 100 breast touching at 59.44, the only boy to break a minute in the event. His 200 IM time of 2:00.25 was also fast enough to place him 1st with a lead of three seconds. Roberts swam alongside Wright in the winning 200 medley relay, and led off the 200 free relay with a personal best time of 22.37.

REGION 2 – DISTRICTS 4, 5, 6

Girls 

The race for 1st in District 4 could not have been any closer as The Villages High School beat out Crystal River High School by just one point. Junior Lara Braganza scored the most points for The Villages. She scored 1st in the 100 fly at 57.28, 5.16 seconds faster than runner-up Lia Richards of Crystal River. She also took 1st in the 100 free at 1:56.13 with teammate Campbell Stever close behind her, as Crystal River girls Richards and Brooke Bennett raced to 3rd and 4th.

Morgan Gibson of Crystal River took 1st in both of her individual events, swimming a new personal best time and breaking two school records. Her 500 free time of 5:06.61 gave her a winning lead of nearly two seconds, and her 200 IM time of 2:09.04 beat out her Villages opponent Ava Ehinger by 3.63. Her 200 medley relay was disqualified due to a false start, however thankfully for them the Villages A relay was also disqualified for a false start in the same event. The school’s 200 medley relay of Madison Rose, Gibson, Richards, and Bennett placed 3rd, breaking another new school record.

Iona University commit Marissa Hengesbach won three golds and one silver for Bishop Moore School. She was the only girl to break two minutes in the 200 free, touching at 1:58.35, 8.66 seconds faster than runner-up Caitlyn Rideout. Hengesbach swam to victory in the 100 fly at 1:00.76, almost 2 seconds behind her best time. She anchored her winning 200 free relay, and swam the freestyle leg of her 200 medley relay that finished 2nd.

Tarpon Springs High School freshman Becca Bones had a successful first district meet, finishing 1st in the 200 IM and 3rd in the 100 free. Her 200 IM time of 2:48.26 was 36.83 seconds faster than her previously recorded time in January of 2023. Her 100 free time of 1:08.52 was also a new personal best, swimming in 5.51 seconds ahead of her previous time. Bones has only been swimming competitively since 2021. At only a freshman, the young swimmer shows great potential.

Boys

Two-time state finalist Bryce Labonte of Vanguard High School swept his events in District 4. He won the 500 free by 14.1 seconds and finished 1st in the 200 IM by 12.10 seconds. As a sophomore, Labonte placed 7th in the 100 back and 13th in the 200 free at the 2A state meet. As a junior, he rose to 2nd in both the 200 IM and the 500 free. This year’s state meet will be Labonte’s final chance to claim a state title.

Titusville men dominated District 5, claiming victory by over 200 points. Seniors Brayden Hunt, Hayden Lester, and Gavin Gumieny each won four golds for the team. Hunt took 1st in the 50 free and 100 free, Lester finished 1st in the 100 back and 100 fly, and Gumieny took home the gold in the 100 breast and 200 IM. The boy’s 400 free relay, 200 free relay, and 200 medley relay all finished 1st as well. Senior Matthew Mahony also had a notable meet, swimming in the winning 200 medley and 200 free relays as well as winning 1st in the 200 free. He placed 2nd in the 100 free, making for his only silver medal.

Sophomore Mateo Arias of Bishop Moore School swam two new personal bests at only his second Districts meet. His 500 free time of 5:06.60 put him in 1st by 7.50 seconds, and he finished 2nd in the 200 IM by less than a second. Arias made it to the 2A Region 2 Championship meet as a freshman, finishing 6th in the 500 free.

Just as Bones showed up for the freshman girls at Tarpon Springs, Tristan Craythorne represented the freshman boys at the school. At his first Districts meet, Craythorne placed 2nd in the 100 breast and 3rd in the 100 fly, swimming a new personal best time in both.

Other notable swims include senior Nick Chany of Weeki Wachee High School’s 500 free. Chany took 1st at 5:22.59, 8.55 seconds away from 2nd place finisher Maxwell Hrach. Chany broke his previous best time by nearly a second. The senior has never qualified for the 2A state meet, making this year his last chance.

REGION 3 – DISTRICTS 7, 8, 9

Girls

Junior Saydee Herrera of Hardee Senior High School put out two best times at the District 7 Championship, walking away with two golds, one silver, and one bronze. Herrera raced to 1st in the 50 free at 26.04, with less than a second separating the top three finishers. Her 100 free time of 57.42 was a personal best by 3.61 seconds, putting her 1st ahead of senior Kayla Shuff. She anchored the 200 medley relay, racing the team to 3rd, and anchored the silver-winning 200 free relay.

King Senior High School sophomore Olivia Lewis dropped 5.45 seconds off her 500 free, landing her in 1st at 5:28.64. Her 200 IM time of 2:22.51 also put her in 1st with 10.89 seconds separating her from 2nd place finisher Gracie Williamson. Lewis made it to the 2A Region 3 Championships her freshman year, taking 6th in the 500 free and 7th in the 200 free. Her times this year are significantly faster than last year, giving her a likely chance at making it to the finals of the upcoming Region 3 meet.

Academy of the Holy Names’ girl’s team plowed their way to 1st, winning by over 300 points. Sisters Isabella Dieffenthaller and Catherine Dieffenthaller both won four golds for the high school as quite the dynamic duo. Isabella took 1st in the 100 free at 50.30 and 1st in the 50 free at 23.51. Catherine raced to 1st in the 100 breast at 1:06.38 and 1st in the 200 IM, touching at a 2:12.59. The sisters swam alongside each other in the 200 medley and 200 free relays, leading their team to victory both times.

Aubrey Rogers High School junior Reese Vetor is aiming to move up to state this year after making it to the districts meet her freshman year and the region meet her sophomore year. She came out with an impressive start this year, taking 1st in both of her individual events. Her 200 IM time of 2:10.88 was a new personal best by almost 3 seconds, and her 100 breast time of 1:08.58 put her in 1st, just .06 ahead of teammate Cameron Vetor.

Boys

The Lake Wales High School boy’s team set three new school records at the District 7 Championship. Sophomore Marcos Cabrera broke the school’s 100 free record, swimming a PR of 49.71, and landing him in 1st as the only boy in the event to break the 50 second mark. Sophomore Dominic Nguyen broke the school’s 50 free record, taking 1st in the event at 23.87. Junior Robert Coulombe took down the school’s 500 free record, swimming in 5:44.30 and taking 5th overall. As Cabrera and Nguyen have two more years of high school left and Coulombe has one, don’t be surprised if these records are broken again.

Seminole High School sophomore Joey Campagnola collected four golds in District 8. His 200 IM time of 1:52.83 landed him in 1st, 13.99 seconds ahead of runner-up freshman Owen Taylor. His 100 back time of 51.92 also put him in 1st, almost five seconds ahead of the rest of the heat. He led off his team’s winning 200 medley relay, and anchored the winning 200 free relay. Campagnola attended Saint Petersburg Catholic High School his freshman year, which is a 1A team. He took 5th in the 100 back and 200 IM at the 1A State Championship last year, already making him a top threat for this year’s 2A State Championship.

Nicholas Kirby of Estero High School is another sophomore in Region 3 who is making a name for himself. Kirby swam a personal best in both of his individual events, landing him two golds. His 100 fly time of 53.17 marked the first time he swam under 54, and his 200 free time of 1:45.16 was 2.62 seconds faster than his previous best. Kirby also swam on his team’s winning 400 free and 200 medley relay, bringing him to a total of four gold medals.

REGION 4 – DISTRICTS 10, 11, 12

Girls

The girls of Pompano Beach High School beat out Calvary Christian High School by 50 points. The school’s top performer was freshman Alina Rodriguez who walked away with four golds and one silver. Rodriguez placed 1st in the 100 fly at 58.92, the only girl to swim under 1:00. Her 200 free time of 1:59.25 also put her in 1st, out-touching junior Alejandra Gil-Restrepo by 1.05 seconds. Rodriguez also swam on her school’s winning 200 free and 400 free relay. With it being just her first year in high school, Rodgriguez has room to become a dangerous competitor in District 10 over the next few years.

Calvary Christian High School junior Marley Tyner took home her 1st district golds in the 50 free and the 100 free after finishing 3rd in the 50 free and 5th in the 50 free at last year’s district meet. While Tyner has never qualified for state, this year is Calvary Christian’s first time competing in class 2A after moving in from class 1A. With a new set of competitors, Tyner has two more years to race her way to state.

Mater Lakes’ girls team rose to 1st in District 11, breaking four school records in the process. Freshman Jia Amores took the 100 back record at 58.75, placing 1st in her heat by almost four seconds. Freshman Mely Ramos broke the 100 free record in her 400 free relay split, touching in a 55.60. The girls’ 400 free relay of Ramos, Cami Sepulveda, Jenesys Amores, and Jia Amores broke a school record and took 1st, as well as their 200 medley relay of Sepulveda, Alani Lopez, Jia Amores, and Anais Gedeon.

Senior and Rice University commit Gio Musiello of Gulliver Preparatory School took home four golds at her final district meet. She swam to 1st in the 200 IM at 2:09.64 and took 1st in the 100 back at 59.44. She also brought her 400 free relay and 200 medley relays to first. Musiello was a two-time finalist at last year’s state meet, finishing 3rd in the 100 back and 2nd in the 200 IM. As a sophomore she placed 2nd in both events, and as a freshman she placed 3rd in the two events. This year will be her final chance at claiming the state title once and for all.

Boys

It was a tight race for first, but Pompano Beach boys pulled ahead of Calvary Christian by just 19.5 points. Juniors Matthew Smith and Adriano Brunetti scored the most points for Pompano Beach, each walking away with two golds, one silver and one bronze. Smith put out a new PR in the 500 free of 5:01.20, securing his spot in the lead by 4.88 seconds. His 200 free time of 1:52.01 landed him 2nd, 3.55 seconds behind Calvary Christian swimmer Christian King. Brunetti swam to first in the 100 fly at 54.60, the only man in the heat to swim under 1:00. His 200 IM time of 2:07.87 placed him solidly in 2nd, 6.56 seconds behind 1st and 2.14 seconds ahead of 3rd. Smith and Brunetti swam alongside each other in the 200 free and 400 free relays to take home a gold and bronze medal.

Johns Hopkins University commit Alessandro Pereira scored the most points for American Heritage School. Pereira touched 1st in the 500 free, nearly seven seconds ahead of 2nd place. He took 2nd in the 200 IM at 1:59.13 after being out-touched by Mater Lakes senior Jaden Amores. Pereira anchored his team’s 400 free relay and swam the breaststroke leg of the 200 medley relay, leading both relays to 2nd.

Freshman Ariel Gutierrez of Belen Jesuit Preparatory High School swam a personal best in both of his individual events. His 500 free time of 5:08.99 put him in 1st, 3.81 seconds ahead of 2nd place finisher Andy Plasencia. His 100 fly time of 58.37 was also a personal best, landing him in 4th. His first 50 fly split was a new best for Gutierrez as well, touching in a 27.36. With three more years of high school training to go, Gutierrez has showed himself as a name to watch.