Kaii Winkler Drops 20.6/43.7/1:37.6 Freestyles At FHSAA 1A District Champs

2023 FHSAA 1A DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIPS

• October 16-21, 2023
• District Dates & Sites
• Results

The FHSAA Class 1A and 2A (smaller schools) have completed their District championships and will be moving on to Region meets. Class 1A is made up of 12 districts, each of which completed their championships last week.

Class 1A is now set for their Region Championships, which are taking place this week. Here are the qualifiers:

• 1A Region 1 selection/psych sheets (District 1-3)
• 1A Region 2 selection/psych sheets (District 4-6)
• 1A Region 3 selection/psych sheets (District 7-9)
• 1A Region 4 selection/psych sheets (District 10-12)

Highlighting the District meets were South Florida HEAT swimmers Kaii Winkler and Erika Pelaez, who both swept their individual events at the District 11 Championships.

Winkler, who fractured his wrist in late June, won the boys’ 200 free (1:37.68) and 100 fly (49.40) in what was his third meet of the season, also recording 50 and 100 free times of 20.64 and 43.71 leading off the HEAT relays.

All of those swims marked new season-bests for the NC State commit, having only raced one other SCY meet so far this season on October 7. One day prior to that, he raced at the South Florida HEAT Invite in SCM, clocking 48.89 in the 100 free and 1:47.35 in the 200 free in the 25-meter pool.

Last season, Winkler won 1A state titles in the 100 and 200 free. He currently owns personal bests of 19.44 in the 50 free, 41.96 in the 100 free and 1:33.28 in the 200 free. The 100 free time stands as the current boys’ 15-16 National Age Group Record.

Pelaez, also committed to attend NC State next fall, topped the girls’ 50 free (22.76) and 100 back (53.15) at the meet, also aiding the HEAT to wins in the 200 and 400 free relays with lead-off splits of 23.06 and 50.20.

Pelaez, who won the 100 back and 100 fly 1A state titles last season, owns a PB of 21.91 in the 50 free, 47.91 in the 100 free and 51.62 in the 100 back.

FHSAA CLASS 1A DISTRICT TEAM CHAMPIONS

• District 1: PK Yonge girls | Maclay (Tallahassee) boys
• District 2: Bolles (Jacksonville) girls | Bolles (Jacksonville) boys
• District 3: Trinity Prep (Winter Park) girls | Trinity Prep (Winter Park) boys
• District 4: Montverde Academy girls | Montverde Academy boys
• District 5: Lake Highland Prep (Orlando) girls | Lake Highland Prep (Orlando) boys
• District 6: Benjamin (Palm Beach Gardens) girls | Lincoln Park Academy boys
• District 7: Tampa Prep girls | Berkely Prep boys
• District 8: Out-of-Door Academy girls | Shorecrest Prep boys
• District 9: Community School of Naples girls | Community School of Naples boys
• District 10: The King’s Academy girls | The King’s Academy boys
• District 11: South Florida HEAT girls | Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale) boys
• District 12: Ransom Everglades girls | Ransom Everglades boys

Winkler heads into the Region 4 Championships as the top seed in both the 200 free and 100 fly, though he wasn’t the fastest among all 1A swimmers in the latter, with Bolles School’s Antoine Destang posting the fastest time in 48.78 heading into Region 1.

Pelaez was the fastest 1A swimmer in the 50 free and 100 fly during the District meets, while Saint Andrew’s School’s Alexia Sotomayer (100 fly, 55.32) and Aspen Gersper (100 free, 51.07) also posted top times out of Region 4.

Gersper won the 100 free state title last season.

Out of Region 1, Bolles swimmers Carter Lancaster (200 IM, 1:50.79), Andrew Kravchenko (50 free, 20.47), Xavier Sohovich (100 free, 45.63), Dillon Brigman (500 free, 4:36.14), Landon Kyser (100 back, 49.29) and Cohen Yuen Han Chiam (100 breast, 55.96) posted the fastest times in 1A on the boys’ side, while Ella Gotham (200 IM, 2:04.93) had the quickest clocking in one event for girls.

Kyser was the 100 back winner at the 2022 1A State Championships, while Lancaster topped the 200 IM field.

PK Yonge’s Lillie Nesty led all girls in the 200 free out of Region 1 in 1:52.01, having won the 2022 state tile in 1:46.65, and she also ranks 2nd in the 500 free (5:01.63) behind Region 2’s Allison Kelly (5:01.44) of Benjamin.

Another Region 2 swimmer who impressed was Monteverde Academy’s Emily Santos, who was fastest in the girls’ 100 breast at 1:02.57.