2026 Florida Swimming Open Water Champs
- April 12, 2026
- Fort Myers Beach, Florida
- Open Water – 5K, 2K, Half Mile
- Results
With the long course season underway, it’s also open season for open water swimming in Florida, one of the strongest open water regions in the country. This past weekend, competitors from across the Sunshine State converged on the sun-drenched shores of Fort Myers Beach for the Florida Swimming Open Water Championships.
Representing clubs across the Florida Swimming LSC, swimmers competed in multiple age groups and distances, including a half-mile race for younger athletes, as well as 2K and 5K events. While they were racing, they were also chasing spots on the LSC’s Open Water Zone Team.
Demonstrating versatility across pool and open water racing, many of the top open water finishers also excelled at last month’s Sunshine State Showcase all-star meet, which capped off the short course competition season.
Top Girls Teams:
- GCST (Gulf Coast Swim Team) and Hydro (tie)
Top Boys Team:
- Swim Florida
Combined Team Winners:
- GCST and Sarasota Sharks (tie)
- SRQ (Sarasota Tsunami) Runner-Up
Top Individual Finishers
Open Women 5K Open Water
- Payton Griffin, 1:06:36.35, SRQ-FL
- Alana Hauser, 1:09:20.33, WFLA-FL
- Kylie Coles, 1:09:25.89, TEAM-FL
Open Men 5K Open Water
- Ryland Chappell, 1:02:42.42, Swim Florida-FL
- Connor Smith, 1:03:56.80, BERK-FL
- Nicholas Kirby, 1:04:32.32, GCST-FL
15-16 Girls 5K Open Water
- McKinnley Polk, 1:07.48.76, BERK-FL
- Sophia Małkowicz, 1:08.24.82, Sarasota Sharks-FL
- Polly Polk, 1:09.20.32, BERK-FL
15-16 Boys 5K Open Water
- Jack Reburn, 1:01:26.79, SLAC-FL
- Liam Schermerhorn, 1:02:42.89, SPA-FL
- Charles Shoemaker, 1:04:00.00, SRQ-FL
13-14 Girls 5K Open Water
- Syd Conlan, 1:10:36.01, Hydro Swim Club-FL
- Anabelle McClelland, 1:13:01.60, Hydro Swim Club-FL
- Isabella Gentili, 1:13:05.79, TBAC-FL
13-14 Boys 5K Open Water
- Ivan Fesenko, 1:04:46.98, BSS-FL
- Shane Feehan, 1:05:19.51, WFLA-FL
- Ricky Kaneaster, 1:06:26.64, Hydro Swim Club-FL
11-12 Girls 2K Open Water
- Kaitlyn Conboy, 30:17.42, HIGH-FL
- Brianna Swartzman, 31:06.53, Sarasota Sharks-FL
- Lillian Segovia, 31:56.19, TBAC-FL
11-12 Boys 2K Open Water
- Isen Wolfe, 29:44.22, SPA-FL
- Ethan Zhang, 29:46.00, SRQ-FL
- Leif Dowling, 29:54.77, Blue Dolfins-FL
10 & Under Girls Half Mile Open Water
- Gabby Botello, 14:58.32, GCST-FL
- Journey Maus, 17:37.10, GCST-FL
- Avery Williams, 17:51.87, FFST-FL
10 & Under Boys Half Mile Open Water
- Sebastian Horn-Rios, 16:16.17, T2 Aquatics-FL
- Van Yetter, 17:31.81, T2 Aquatics-FL
- Christopher Navarrete Espitia, 18:13.78, Sarasota Sharks-FL
After strong performances at the Open Water Championships, the following swimmers have been named to the 2026 Florida Swimming Open Water Zone Team. They will compete April 24–26, 2026, at the Southern Zone Open Water Championships, at Lake Longhorn, in League City, Texas:
Leah Abrams, Mila Adriani, Evie Carnathan, Ryland Chappell, Elizabeth Christie, Samuel Cimbala, Kylie Coles, Ricky Collingwood, Kaitlyn Conboy, Sydney Conlan, Ava DiPasquale, Leif Dowling, Alexandra Duty, Shane Feehan, Ivan Fesenko, Josef Florek, Sawyer Gregory, Payton Griffin, Jaxon Griffin, Alana Hauser, Mae Hershberger, Marianne Kaneaster, Richard Kaneaster, Jackson Kelly, Connor Kieffer, Addison Kieffer, Auburn Lester, Anabelle McClelland, Mazie Moberly, Grayson Mondragon, Olivia Perez, Julia Pieniadz, Molly Polk, Mckinnley Polk, Zach Poskon, Jackson Reburn, Amelia Sanderson, Lillian Segovia, Lucas Seng, Robert Shapovalov, Charles Shoemaker, Bradshaw Shoemaker, Connor Smith, Brianna Swartzman, Atlas Urun, Devin Williams, Luka Youssef, Ethan Zhang
The team from West Florida Lightning Aquatics (WFLA) with head coach Cashel Mack. Photo by Tom Feehan
L-R Benett Christel, Tampa Bay Aquatic Club (TBAC), Shane Feehan, WFLA, Ivan Maslianyi, Sarasota Sharks. Photo by Tom Feehan
Photo by Tom Feehan
L-R Shane Feehan, WFLA, 2nd place 13-14 boys, Ivan Fesenko, Bolles School Sharks, 1st place 13-14 boys. Photo by Tom Feehan
The more I learn about swimming the more interesting it gets for me, thanks to Elizabeth Rsenthal Spencer. I grew up in South Florida, but I giess I missed the obvious swimming fun and serious swimming going on! Quite embarrassing! However I am now learning, like about Open Water Championships, and enjoing it all. The very close times amaze and excite me as I wonder what its’ like to win or not by hundreths of a second! Congrats to all the above swimmers and winners!
Congratulations to all the swimmers, but huge shout out to Tsunami!!
The Florida Swimming LSC does a great job of promoting the sport and finding ways to help their athletes. Their staff does not get the credit they deserve. Great communication. Great leadership. Very professional and respectful to all.
… believe Brennan Gravley leads a portion of Florida OW as the Chair… congratulations on a good event…