Bolles School Boys Win 37th Straight Florida 1A State Title, Girls Claim 34th In A Row

2024 FHSAA 1A Championships

• November 15, 2024
• Florida Aquatics Swim & Training (FAST), Ocala, Florida
• SCY (25 yards)
• Meet Central
• Full Meet Results (PDF)

It was another dominant showing for the Bolles School at the Florida High School (FHSAA) 1A State Championships on Friday in Ocala, sweeping the state titles by more than doubling up the next-best teams.

The Bolles School boys won their 37th state title in a row, while the girls’ squad won their 34th straight.

 

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GIRLS RECAP

The Bolles School girls roared to the state title thanks in part to winning seven events, including a sweep of the relays which kicked off with a new state record.

In the meet-opening 200 medley relay, the Bolles quartet of Lucero Mejia Arce (25.72), Victoria Edgar (28.90), Ella Chan (23.82) and Lila Higgo (22.40) combined for a time of 1:40.84, breaking the FHSAA State Record of 1:40.93 established by Bolles last year. Both Mejia Arce and Edgar were members of last year’s record-breaking relay as well.

Higgo, a senior and Michigan commit, won the 100 back in a time of 52.74, lowering the 52.83 best time she set one week prior at the Regions Championships. She also played a crucial role on the other winning relays.

In the 200 free relay, Higgo led off in 22.79 and was followed by Leah Chin (23.22), Riley Miller (23.24) and Ella Chan (23.21) as Bolles finished in a time of 1:32.46, cruising to victory by more than four seconds. Higgo’s lead-off was just shy of the 50 free best time she set at Regions (22.63).

To close things out, the 400 free relay saw Higgo (50.06), Allison Kelly (50.58), Ainsley Stephan and Mejia Arce (last two splits incorrect on results) combine for a time of 3:22.44, earning them victory by more than six seconds.

Kelly picked up a win of her own in the 200 free, dropping more than a second off her best time in 1:48.06, edging out Kings Academy senior and Liberty commit Emma Herrera (1:48.23), who also cracked 1:49 for the first time.

In the 100 breast, Edgar (1:02.48) won a tight battle with Windermere junior Addison Bitel (1:02.65) and Bolles teammate Gracyn Lanning (1:02.81) after the trio had respective finishes of 4th, 3rd and 6th in the event last season.

The other victory for Bolles came in the 1-meter diving event, where the team went 1-2 with Gianna Vasto (469.80) and Alexiya Downer (448.05) dominating the rest of the field. The two of them were 3rd and 2nd, respectively, last season.

The lone female swimmer to win two individual state titles was Jacksonville Episcopal sophomore Blakely Hammel, who cracked 23 seconds for the first time to win the 50 free in 22.90. She followed up by winning the 100 free in 50.17, having gone a bit quicker (50.11) in the prelims. Bolles’ Kelly was the runner-up in the 100 free in 50.52.

One week earlier at the Region 1 Championships, both swimmers set best times, with Hammel clocking 49.71 and Kelly going 50.40.

Union County junior Eva Whitehead, who was 22nd in the 200 IM in 2023, won the title in a personal best time of 2:00.01, improving more than 12 seconds compared to what she went as a sophomore.

Saint Andrews senior Alexia Sotomayor set a lifetime best of 53.51 in the prelims of the 100 fly, and followed up by winning the final in 53.65. She finished 2nd in the event last year.

Also winning was Shorecrest Prep sophomore Isabella Riva, who hit a PB of 4:50.11 to claim the 500 free title after breaking 4:51 for the first time in the prelims (4:50.67). It was a close battle with Bolles’ Stephan (4:51.91) and Kings Academy’s Herrera (4:52.37) 2nd and 3rd.

Team Scores – Top 5

1. Bolles (Jacksonville), 605.5
2. Saint Andrew’s School, 249
3. Kings Academy West Palm Beach, 128
4. Benjamin (Palm Beach Garden), 117.5
5. Montverde Academy, 113

BOYS RECAP

The Bolles dominance was even more prevalent on the boys’ side, as they won every single swimming event on the schedule and swept the podium numerous times.

Leading the way for Bolles were seniors Andrew Kravchenko, Xavier Sohovich, and junior Liam Carrington, all winning two individual events apiece.

Kravchenko, a Stanford commit, won a repeat title in the 50 free, knocking three one-hundredths off his personal best in 19.84, and he followed up by winning the 100 free in 43.65, .01 under his PB.

Saint Andrews senior and Boston College commit Lucas Bailey was the runner-up in both races, hitting a 50 free best time of 20.12 and then clocking 45.02 in the 100 free.

Sohovich, who is headed to Navy next fall, opened the meet up with a massive best time in the 200 free, bringing his PB down from 1:37.29 to 1:37.04 in the prelims before dropping a time of 1:34.92 in the final. The swim cracks the top 100 all-time in the boys’ 17-18 age group (93rd).

The 17-year-old followed up with another seismic PB in the 500 free, dropping seven seconds to clock 4:20.27, with NSU School sophomore Juan Vallmitjana hitting a best time of his own in 4:24.02 to place 2nd.

Last year as a junior, Sohovich won the 100 free and was 3rd in the 200 free.

Carrington led 1-2-3-4 sweeps for Bolles in both of his wins, spearheading the attack with best times in the 200 IM (1:47.16) and 100 back (48.51), both marking drops of more than a second relative to his PBs coming into the meet.

Also winning or Bolles were seniors Antoine Destang and Eldad Zamir.

Destang, a Michigan commit, led a 1-2-3 for Bolles in the 100 fly, clocking 47.61 to near his best time of 47.27 set in December. Junior George Dovellos hit a PB of 48.23 to take 2nd.

Zamir defended his title in the 100 breast, leading another dominant 1-2-3-4 showing for Bolles with a time of 54.69, just shy of his best time of 54.31 set en route to winning last year. Finishing as the runner-up was senior Cohen Barron Chiam, who reset his best time by eight one-hundredths in 54.84.

The relays were a trio of tour de force performances from Bolles, with Charles Zuhoski and Tristan Dorville joining with Carrington, Zamir, Destang, Sohovich and Kravchenko in the victories.

Bolles Relay Wins:

• 200 medley relay – 1:28.09 (Carrington – 22.39, Zamir – 24.88, Destang – 21.05, Charles Zuhoski – 19.77)
• 200 free relay – 1:21.25 (Kravchenko – 20.23, Zuhoski – 20.66, Tristan Dorville – 20.31, Destang – 20.05)
• 400 free relay – 2:56.44 (Sohovich – 44.82, Destang – 44.28, Carrington – 43.84, Kravchenko – 43.50)

Winning the 1-meter diving event was Pine Crest School’s Allen Levitis, who defended his title with a score of 535.50.

Team Scores – Top 5

1. Bolles (Jacksonville), 626
2. Saint Andrew’s School, 209
3. Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale), 160
4. Montverde Academy, 152
5. Community School of Naples, 96