Lillie Nesty Wins 3 Individual Events on Saturday at Florida Senior Champs

2024 FLORIDA SWIMMING SPRING SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 7-10, 2024
• FAST, Ocala, Florida
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Meet Central/Results
• Psych Sheets
• Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap
• Day 1 Boys Results | Day 1 Girls Results | Day 2 Results | Day 3 Results

17-year-old Lillian Nesty, daughter of University of Florida head coach Anthony Nesty, won three events on Saturday in Ocala, Florida on the third night of the 2024 Florida Swimming Spring Senior Championships.

In total, she swam four events in the finals session – and got faster as the night went on.

She opened with a win in the 50 free in 22.60, beating out Bolles’ Maryn McDade at the touch. That wasn’t a best time for her, but it kicked off an electric night of racing for the high school senior.

In her next race, the 100 back, she swam 52.60, which was her best time by 1.22 seconds. In the very next race, she won the 50 fly in 24.30, another best time. Unlike her dad, an Olympic gold medalist in the 100 fly, Nesty is not primarily a sprint butterflier. She didn’t swim the 100 fly on Friday, but that 24.30 in the 50 fly indicates that maybe her 100 yard best of 55.84 doesn’t represent her full-potential in the event.

She finished the night by swimming the leadoff leg of the Gator Swim Club’s 400 free relay in 49.07, a quarter-second improvement on her best time. The Sarasota Sharks won that relay in 3:22.27.

Nesty is committed to swim at Texas in the fall.

Other winners on the girls’ side of the meet included Addison Reese, who will swim for Anthony Nesty at Florida this fall, who won the 100 fly on Friday. On Saturday, she took the 200 IM title in 1:59.08, missing her best time by about half-a-second.

The only other swimmer under two minutes was Jessica Beede from the Academy Aquatic Club, who in the fall was the Florida Class 2A State Champion in the event.

23-year-old Canadian National Team member Mabel Zavaros won the 500 free in 4:43.70, leading the field by about four seconds. She previously won the 400 IM on Friday.

On the boys’ side, the Bolles School Sharks were on fire throughout the session.

16-year-old Andrew Kravchenko won in 20.06 and 15-year-old Antoine Destang was 2nd in 20.44. Kravchenko’s swim puts him in the top 40 all-time among 15-16s in the event, and Destang’s swim ranks him 4th in the country this season among 15-year-olds.

Both swimmers were back in the 100 backstroke two races later, though their 17-year-old teammate Carter Lancaster won in 48.72, a new personal best. Destang was 2nd in 49.05, and Kravchenko was 4th in 49.18, sandwiched around Aidan Levine from Tampa Bay Aquatics in 3rd in 49.16.

This was a tight battle at the time, with ATAC 16-year-old Ethan Ekk just .01 behind Kravchenko for 5th in 49.19. Ekk came out on the positive end of another close race earlier in the meet – he won the 500 free in 4:19.35, a best time for him. He used a huge final 50 of 25.21, overcoming a half-second deficit to out-touch Thomas Frost (4:19.42).

Ekk also won the 200 free (1:35.66) on Friday, in another tight battle, and was the top junior finisher in the 400 IM (3:49.26).

26-year old Fast Falcons coach and swimmer Grant Sanders, who swam four races on Friday, had a quieter night on Saturday, swimming just a single individual race. He dominated the 200 IM in 1:45.45, with Bolles’ Landon Kyser finishing 2nd as the top junior-aged swimmer in 1:48.09.

He also swam 44.51 leading of the Falons’ 9th-place 400 free relay, a race that was won by Bolles with a quartet of 44-second splits. Destang led off in 44.94, followed by Kravchenko (44.27), Xavier Sohovich (44.95), and Landon Kyser (44.42), combining for a 2:58.58.

The other winner on the boys’ side was Cameron Watson from North Florida Swimming, who touched first in the 50 fly in 22.26.

Team Scores After Day 3

Combined Top 5:

1. Bolles – 3175
2. Sarasota – 2530.5
3. Planet Swim Aquatics – 1453
4. ATAC – 897
5. Fast Falcons – 876

Boys Top 5:

1. Bolles – 1747.5
2. Sarasota Sharks – 869
3. Planet Swim Aquatics – 815
4. ATAC – 739
5. Fast Falcons – 588

Girls Top 5:

1. Sarasota Sharks – 1661.5
2. Bolles – 1427.5
3. Planet Swim Aquatics – 637
4. Southwest Stars Swim Club – 473.5
5. Gator Swim Club – 439