Gergely Gyurta Wins Men’s 800 Free on Day 1 of Plantation Sectionals

2018 Plantation (FL) Sectional Championships

• March 8th-11th, 2018
• Plantation, Florida
• 50m (LCM) Course, Prelims/Finals Format
• Meet Central
• Results through Thursday (PDF)

As the 2018 Plantational Sectional meet collectively awaits the arrival of international starpower in the from of swimmers like Ryan Lochte, Boglarka Kapas, Bruno Fratus, and Andrii Govorov, local standouts and age group swimmers from around the country kicked off the meet on Thursday with the distance events formerly known as “non-Olympic” (women’s 1500, men’s 800), and some relay swims.

There was a taste of what’s to come, however, when a pair of Olympians raced to the top of the men’s 800 free standings. Hungarian Gergely Gyurta, part of a training group from his home country that is currently in Florida, won the men’s 800 free in 8:02.97. He’s the 2013 European Champion in the 1500 SC Meters freestyle. In that race, he beat out Italian-American Mitch D’Arrigo, who recently changed his sporting citizenship, in 8:13.63. D’Arrigo’s better events are slightly shorter than this 800 in the 200 and 400 meter freestyles later in the meet.

The top age-grouper in that 800 was Ryan Staunch from Swim Florida, who was 3rd in 8:29.28. he’s just 15-years old.

The women’s 1500 was won by a swimmer almost as foreign – 18-year old Abigail Kilgallon from Scarlet Aquatics in New Jersey. She swam 17:03.06 to beat-out Georgia Darwent by almost 5 seconds for the win.

Day 1 Relay Winners:

• Gator Swim Club won the women’s 200 medley relay in 2:00.89, about 5 seconds from their best. That team was made up of Talia Bates, Isabel Ivey, Sydney Kang, and Juliana Lopez.
• Azura Florida Aquatics went 1-2 in the men’s 200 free relay, swimming 1:46.66 for the win from the “A” and 1:48.14 for 2nd from the “B”. The A relay was made up entirely of adult swimmers, while the B included 15-year old Cameron Brown swimming a 31.79 on the breaststroke leg.
• The East Coast Aquatic Club won the women’s 200 free relay in 1:49.10. Their relay included a 26.21 anchor from 16-year old Chade Nersicio as she ran down Pine Crest, who held a 1.3-second lead going into that anchor leg but ultimately took 2nd-place by a mere tenth-of-a-second.
• Azura Florida Aquatics won again in the men’s 200 free relay, swimming a 1:34.74. All 4 legs of their relay had sub-24 second splits, including a 23.52 from anchor Jorge Depassier.
• The Gator Swim Club topped the mixed 200 medley relay that ended the session, with Mason Wilby and Julian Hill leading off, while the dynamic back-half combo of Talia Bates and Isabel Ivey anchored. The 17-year old Bates split 27.74 on the fly leg while Ivey anchored in 25.99.

Men’s Team Scores After Day 1:

1. Azura Florida Aquatics – 258
2. South Florida Aquatic Club – 240
3. Gator Swim Club – 168
4. Southern Utah Swimming Association – 144
5. Bolles School Sharks – 121

Women’s Team Scores After Day 1:

1. East Coast Aquatic Club – 187
2. Bolles School Sharks – 184
3. South Florida Aquatic Club – 152
4. Blue Dolfins – 128
5. North Palm Beach Swim Club – 122

Combined Team Scores After Day 1:

1. South Florida Aquatic Club – 534
2. Azura Florida Aquatics – 510
3. East Coast Aquatic Club – 381
4. Gator Swim Club – 360
5. Blue Dolfins – 326