Bishop Kenny Boys Complete Three-Peat, Holy Names Girls Go Back-To-Back At FHSAA 2A Champs

2023 FHSAA 2A State Championships

• November 3, 2023
• Ocala, Florida
• Florida Aquatics Swimming Training (FAST)
• SCY (25 yards)
• Full Results (PDF)

The Academy of Holy Names girls and Bishop Kenny boys reigned supreme once again at the FHSAA 2A State Championships on Friday in Ocala, while five swimmers showed out by sweeping their individual events.

The Holy Names girls won their second straight title by well over 100 points over Gulliver Prep, while Bishop Kenny won the boys’ meet for the third consecutive time with a 76.5-point margin of victory over Eastside.

GIRLS’ RECAP

Holy Names was in full control of the girls’ meet throughout the session, with senior Brooke Beede and junior Isabella Dieffenthaller sweeping their events for the second straight year.

Congratulations to Academy of the Holy Names on winning the Class 2A Girls Swimming and Diving State Championship! Awesome day of swimming and performances by the Jaguars! @HolyNamesAD #FHSAA #SwimmingandDive pic.twitter.com/ecJnzijQ3S

— FHSAA (@FHSAA) November 4, 2023

Beede, a South Carolina commit, set new lifetime bests en route to wins in the 200 IM (1:59.91) and 100 back (54.99), having won the latter last year (she topped the 200 free last year and didn’t race the 200 IM). TR Robinson junior Adeline Cloutier was a close runner-up in the 100 back, clocking 55.15 for a new PB.

Dieffenthaller successfully defended her titles in the 50 free (23.24) and 100 free (50.16), setting new best times in both (23.21 50 free in the prelims). Cloutier placed 2nd in the 100 free in 50.82.

Beede and Dieffenthaller teamed up to lead Holy Names to wins in the 200 medley (1:42.87) and 400 free (3:27.59), with the team winning both events by a massive margin. Beede notably anchored the 400 free relay in 50.05.

Also doubling up individually was Jensen Beach senior Brynn Stoneburg, who defended her 2A state title in the 500 free (4:57.58) and secured the 200 free crown for the first time (1:51.33) after placing 2nd last year. The Navy commit owns respective PBs of 1:50.73 and 4:56.16.

The second-place finisher in the 200 free was Seabreeze freshman Alexis O’Keefe (1:53.66), while TR Robinson senior Avery Hawker was the runner-up in the 500 free (5:02.25).

Prior to that, Hawker won the 100 fly in 54.96, having placed 2nd last year in a PB of 54.18.

Other Winners

• Cardinal Gibbons sophomore Juliet Radich won the 1-meter diving event with a score of 473.65.
• Bishop Kenny (1:37.80) topped the field in the 200 free relay over Gulliver Prep (1:38.64), with senior Rachel Howard providing a blistering 23.44 anchor leg.
• Gulliver Prep junior Reese Rosenthal shattered her best time by more than a second to win the 100 breast in 1:03.13, having placed 3rd last year (in 1:05.56).

Team Scores (Top 5)

1. Academy of the Holy Names, 316
2. Gulliver Prep, 195
3. West Florida (Pensacola), 147
4. TR Robinson, 127
5. Seabreeze (Daytona Beach), 122

BOYS’ RECAP

Bishop Kenny completed the three-peat thanks to a deep squad that included just one individual title but two relay victories.

Congratulations to Bishop Kenny @BKHS_Athletics on winning the Class 2A Boys Swimming and Diving State Championship! Awesome day of swimming and performances by the Crusaders!#FHSAA #SwimmingandDive pic.twitter.com/V9Yzn0ilAM

— FHSAA (@FHSAA) November 4, 2023

The top individual performer of the meet was Eastside senior Liam Aleman, who led the team to a 2nd-place finish overall thanks to wins in the 200 IM (1:52.64) and 100 breast (57.87).

Aleman set a pair of best times in the prelims of those events, clocking 1:52.33 in the 200 IM and 57.58 in the 100 breast. He also split 26.58 swimming breast as Eastside won the 200 medley relay in 1:36.44.

Leading Bishop Kenny in scoring was sophomore Carter Wright, who won the 100 back by over two seconds in a new PB of 49.17, and he added a runner-up finish in the 50 free, finishing just shy of Key West senior Alexander Smith (20.89) in 20.93.

Bishop Kenny junior Owen Kerkezi was another top performer for the team, earning runner-up finishes in the 100 free (46.32) and 200 free (1:40.64).

Kerkezi also anchored Bishop Kenny to victory in the 200 free relay (1:25.90) with a 20.69 split, and Wright’s lead-off (45.92) and Kerkezi’s anchor (46.59) led them to the win in the 400 free relay (3:09.71).

Claiming victory in the 200 free was West Nassau County’s Brody Singley, who broke 1:40 for the first time in 1:39.59. Singley, a junior, followed up by winning the 500 free (4:29.74), having placed 2nd in the 500 and 3rd in the 200 last year.

In the 100 free, Arnold senior Ben Parsons topped the field in a massive PB of 45.83, having finished 11th last season, showing a year-over-year improvement by more than two seconds.

Other Winners

• Lake Buena Vista’s Nathan Frette defended the 1-meter diving title with a score of 520.45.
• Paxon School’s Cameron Watson busted through the 50-second barrier for the first time in the prelims of the boys’ 100 fly, clocking 49.61 before getting down to 49.58 to win the final.

Team Scores (Top 5)

1. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), 236.5
2. Eastside High School, 160
3. Arnold (Panama City Beach), 133
4. American Heritage Plantation, 124.5
5. Seabreeze (Daytona Beach), 112