2024 FHSAA 3A REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS
- October 28-November 2, 2024
- All Regions Sites
- All Results
- State Championship Psych Sheet
Florida high school’s 3A region meets have concluded as swimmers across 12 districts raced within four different regions. The winners of this meet decided who will qualify for the state meet later this month.
The Ponte Vedra High School girls collected their 3rd consecutive victory as two school records were broken along the way. Canadian brothers Ethan and Owen Ekk continued their dominance after racing in the Canadian Olympic Trials over the summer, securing the duo a spot at the state championship.
FHSAA CLASS 3A REGION CHAMPIONS
- Region 1: Ponte Vedra girls, Allen D Nease boys
- Region 2: Sunlake Land O Lakes girls, Jesuit High School boys
- Region 3: Saint Petersburg High School girls, Osceola (Seminole) boys
- Region 4: Fort Lauderdale High School girls, Saint Thomas Aquinas boys
CLASS 3A REGION HIGHLIGHTS
Girls
The Ponte Vedra girls have swam to victory in Region 1 for the third year in a row, finishing 42.5 points ahead of runner-up Allen Nease. Yale commit Penny Zarczynski took home four golds from her final region meet, taking 1st in the 50 free at 23.82. Her 100 fly time of 54.72 landed her 1st and set a new school record for the team. Zarczynski also swam her 200 free and 200 medley relays to gold. She’s swam in the state each year of high school. As a freshman, Zarczynski took 6th in the 50 free and 13th in the 100 fly. As a sophomore, she moved to 2nd in the 50 free and 1st in the 100 free. As a junior she finished 2nd in the 100 fly and 4th in the 200 free.
Zarczynski’s teammate junior Lily Doyle was a two-time finalist at the meet. She swam to 1st in the 500 free at a personal best time of 4:52.32, breaking a new school record. Her 200 free time of 1:51.98 landed her 2nd, .90 seconds behind Bartram Trail sophomore Jenna Frost. Doyle and Zarczynski join the team of 39 swimmers from Ponte Vedra that will race in this year’s state meet.
University of Kansas commit Aubrey Tuthill swept the distance events in Region 2 while representing Freedom High School. The senior took 1st in the 200 IM at 1:55.11, touching 2.12 seconds ahead of runner-up Emily Hissa. Tuthill also claimed victory in the 500 free at 5:03.58, dominating the event by over 20 seconds. Her time was 13.27 seconds faster than her district race, making for her best time of the season.
Freshman Olivia Perez of Freedom High School qualified for her first state meet. She touched 2nd to Tuthill in the 500 free at 5:24.42, and her 100 fly time of 1:01.35 placed her 4th. Perez swam alongside Tuthill on the team’s winning 400 free relay and swam the butterfly leg on the silver winning medley relay.
Freshman Brinkleigh Hansen added three more golds to her collection, helping Saint Petersburg High School take 1st. Hansen raced to 1st in the 200 free at 1:49.27, making her the only swimmer to finish under 1:50. Runner-up was Hansen’s older sister, Karrington Hansen, who finished in 1:50.54. Brinkleigh also took the gold in the 500 free at 4:46.84, racing in 7.73 seconds faster than her district race. Her and her sister will now compete alongside each other at the state meet this month.
Gulf Coast High School senior Isabel Katherine Rasmussen qualified as one of the two swimmers from her school to compete at the state meet. Rasmussen sprinted to 2nd in the 100 back touching at 1:01.70, almost 5 seconds faster than her district time. Rasmussen took 5th in the 500 free at 5:17.16, out-touching Allison Shaw by .30.
Sophomore Dajah German helped bring Fort Lauderdale High School to victory in Region 4. German swept the distance events, finishing 1st in the 500 free at 4:57.65 and 1st in the 200 free at 1:52.95. German was a two-time finalist at her freshman year state meet, taking 7th in the 50 free and 8th in the 500. With three more state meets left to go, German is already a fierce competitor.
Martin County High School sophomore Julia Murphy qualified for her first state meet after putting out two new personal best times. Her 100 free time of 55.49 put her in 2nd, 1.71 seconds faster than her district time. Her 50 free time of 25.20 landed her 4th, out-touching Plantation junior Chloe Cupid by .27. At her freshman year region meet, Murphy finished 13th in the 100 back and 14th in the 100 free.
Boys
Canadian brothers Ethan Ekk and Owen Ekk of Lawton Chiles continued their dominance from the district meet into the region meet. Ethan took 1st in his 200 free touching at 1:39.30, and finished 1st in the 500 free at 4:25.57, 7.32 seconds ahead of the rest of the heat. Owen raced to 1st in the 200 IM at 1:51.40 and 1st in the 100 free at 45.59, .03 seconds off the time he swam at districts. The duo are coming off of the Canadian Olympic Trials this summer where Ethan finished 3rd in the 200 back, 4th in the 400 free, and 7th in the 200 free. Owen, the younger of the brothers, finished 39th in the 50 free, 35th in the 100 free, and 27th in the 200 free.
Thomas Smith of Ponte Vedra took 2nd in the 100 fly at a personal best of 50.46, breaking the school record as just a sophomore. Smith raced a fast 100 back, touching in 1st at 52.45. Smith qualified for his second state meet, after finishing 9th in the 100 back and 15th in the 100 fly as a freshman.
Jesuit High School glided to 1st in Region 2, finishing 184.5 points ahead of Freedom High School. Junior Henry Neely helped create the lead, going home with four gold medals. Neely raced a new personal best time in each event he swam. His 100 free time of 46.90 placed him 1st, 1.48 seconds faster than his district swim. His 200 free time of 1:46.38 landed him 1st and was also a personal best, another 1.85 seconds faster than his district swim. Neely qualified for the state meet his freshman and sophomore years, but just missed out on making it to the finals. As Neely continues to drop time and has two more state meets to go, he’s a likely contender to climb up to the finals heat.
Senior Aidan Levine was Gaither High School’s only swimmer to make it to the region meet and now to state. Levine raced to 1st in the 100 fly at 49.25, beating the rest of the heat by 2.5 seconds as only swimmer to go under 50.00 in the event. His 100 back time of 49.99 also placed him comfortably first, finishing 1.38 seconds ahead of Lecanto freshman Noah Walker. Levine was a two-time finalist at the state meet last year, taking 2nd in the 100 back and 4th in the 100 fly. As a sophomore, he finished 3rd in the 100 back at state, and as a freshman he placed 6th. With this year being Levine’s last chance to take the title, he has a viable shot of coming in 1st.
Osceola Fundamental High School beat out Saint Petersburg High School for the boys in Region 3, thanks to the likes of Arnas Monkelis who claimed gold in every event he swam. The senior finished 1st in the 200 free at 1:42.22, and finished 1st in the 100 free at 46.85. He also helped his 200 medley and 400 free relays take home the gold. Monkelis first qualified for the state meet his sophomore year, taking 10th in the 100 free and 11th in the 200 free. As a junior, he rose to 7th in the 100 free and 8th in the 200 free. This year marks Monkelis’ last chance to nab a state title.
Saint Petersburg High School freshman Christian Guettler had a notable first region meet. He took 1st in the 100 breast at a new personal best time of 57.18, 1.90 seconds faster than his district time. Guettler also took 1st in the 50 free at 21.40, out-touching North Fort Myers senior Jacob Terry by 0.75. Guettler will move on to compete in his first state meet.
Two-time state finalist Louis St. Petery qualified once again for Sebastion River High School. The junior claimed 1st in the 100 fly at 50.55 and 1st in the 100 back at 52.08, 2.49 seconds ahead of runner-up Juan Orjuela. At his sophomore state meet, St. Petery finished 2nd in the 100 fly and 3rd in the 100 back. He swam in the 200 medley and 400 free relays his freshman year, helping the 200 medley relay claim 3rd.
Sophomore Sawyer Hackett of Melbourne High School will be competing in his second state meet this year. He claimed 1st in the 200 IM at 1:53.18, 1.96 seconds ahead of runner-up Stefano Mazzi. Hackett also took 1st in the 100 breast touching in 56.94, making him one of three swimmers in the event to swim under 1:00. As a freshman, Hackett competed in the 100 breast and 100 fly at the state meet. He finished 17th in the 100 fly and 16th in the 100 breast. Hackett’s region 100 breast time was 2.46 faster than his state time last year. His region time would have placed him 7th in last year’s state finals.
