Florida High School 3A State: Meet Preview and Top Races to Watch

FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Results will be live on meet mobile
• Friday, November 4th
• Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center, Florida
• Defending champs: Doral Academy boys, Gainesville girls
• 2015 state results 
• 2016 Regional meet recaps
• Psych Sheet
• Live Stream

Tomorrow marks the first of the Florida High School Athletic Association state meets, with the 3A state championships taking place in Stuart, Florida at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center. The top 24 swimmers in each event across all Florida 3A teams will gather to determine who will walk away as the 2016 state champions. The reigning champions from the 2015 meet are the Doral Academy boys and the Gainesville girls.

Top races to watch – Girls

Gainesville’s Alena Kraus is the defending champion in both the 100 and 200 freestyles. This season, she’s looking for her 3rd-straight state title in he 200 free, and back-to-back 100 free titles. After winning both races at regionals, she’s set herself up as the top seed in both with a 1:52.42 in the 200 free and a 52.08 in the 100 free.

Last season, Bartram Trail’s Summer Stanfield won the 200 IM at states as a freshman. Stanfield will have to get by Estero’s Alina Faunce if she wants to claim back-to-back titles, as she enters the meet as the 2nd seed behind Faunce’s 2:03.60 from regionals. Stanfield posted a 2:03-low to win her title last year, so look for a tight race between those 2 women as they vie for the 2016 gold.

Stanfield is also slated to swim the 100 back, where she’s currently the top seed. This is a change in her lineup from last season, as she previously swam the 100 fly as her 2nd event. Stanfield has the potential to win both races at states, but she’ll be up against defending 100 back champ Helena Heuberger, a junior for Clearwater. Heuberger had the 2nd fastest time coming out of regionals with a 57.79 to Stanfield’s 56.96.

Top races to watch- Boys

Belen Jesuit’s Aitor Fungairino is making a run at the distance freestyle sweep this season, looking for state titles in the 200 free and 500 free after finishing 2nd and 9th in those events respectively last season. He’s currently the top seed in the 200 free, coming in with the only sub-1:40 time with his 1:39.24 from regionals.

In the 500 free, he’s the 2nd seed behind Doral’s Adrian Aguilar, as the two swimmers finished within hundredts of each other at the regional meet. The 500 free is Aguilar’s only individual race, and he’s made a strong case as a championship contender this season.

At his regional meet, Naples junior Matthew Limbacher impressed with a quick 56.75 to win the 100 breast. At the state meet, he’ll be racing Mater Academy’s Julio Horrego, the 2015 runner-up in the 100 breast. Both swimmers have been sub-57, so it should be a good race between them for the gold. Horrego is also the defending 200 IM champ and will look to build a streak of wins in that race.