2026 Plantation Spring Sectionals
- February 12-15, 2026
- Plantation, Florida
- Long Course Meters (50 meters), Prelims/Finals
- Meet Site (with Results PDFs)
- Psych Sheets
- Meet Mobile: “2026 SZSS Spring Championships” (or search Plantation)
15-year-old Sydney Hardy led a classic Sarasota Sharks opening to the 2026 Plantation Sectionals, heading a dominant distance group to take a big team lead.
Hardy started her meet with an 8:49.96 in the 800 free on Thursday. She used a big last 50 split of 31.21 to pull past, and eventually away from, her teammate Clare Custer. Custer finished 2nd in 8:51.17.
Then on Friday, Hardy won the girls’ 400 IM in 4:49.29, more than six seconds ahead of the field. That led a 1-2-3 finish for Sarasota, which had five finishers in the eight swimmer A-Final.
These have been bread-and-butter races for the Sharks for a long time, though most recently as the former training home of current 400 IM World Record holder Summer McIntosh.
Hardy also finished 2nd in the 200 free in 2:02.96, which is her only non-win of the meet so far and also her lone best time of the meet so far (.65 second improvement).
That 200 free was won by fellow 15-year-old Abi Burke from T2 Aquatics. She swam 2:02.15 to slide under her previous best time of 2:02.20 that was done in her last long course 200 free – from July. This is her 2nd career Sectionals title after winning the 50 free in Ocala over the summer.
The men’s side of the meet included an appearance from Dylan Carter, a Trinidad national based at the international Azura Florida Aquatics near Miami. On Thursday, the stroke 50s were held, and Carter won both the 50 fly (23.75) and 50 back (26.70).
Among the junior-aged male competitors, SoFlo’s Juan Vallmitjana was a front-runner, winning his first two events of the meet. He opened with a dominant performance in the 800 free on Thursday, finishing in 8:05.69. That was about 16 seconds better than the field, though it was six seconds shy of his best.
He then kicked off finals on Friday with a win in the 200 free in 1:54.02.
The Spaniard, who raced at the European Junior Championships last year, is committed to Virginia for fall 2027.
Other Day 1 & 2 Winners
- Crosby Fenniman, who is committed to NCAA D2 program Delta State, won a nailbiter in the men’s 100 breaststroke in 1:05.64. He placed .01 seconds ahead of Montverde’s Cobi Wu, with Saint Andrew’s Jared Berke finishing 3rd. For Fenniman, that crushed his previous best time of 1:07.05 and gives him a Winter Juniors cut for 2026.
- 15-year-old Jianna Amores of the South Florida Stallions won the 100 fly in 1:00.51. The South Florida Stallions are a relatively new team in the deep southern suburbs of the expanding Miami metroplex, but they made some headway at this meet – Anthony Pineiro finished 2nd in the 200 free.
- Sarasota’s Zoe Gruber won the women’s 100 breaststroke in 1:13.27, beating out SoFlo’s Naiyla Di Sarno (1:13.52).
- 25-year-old Jacob Rubin from SoFlo won the men’s 100 fly in 55.72, with 16-year-old Charles Howard finishing 2nd in 55.89.
- 18-year-old Sarasota Shark Vito Sgroi won the 400 IM in 4:32.16. He is an Arizona commit.
Team Scores After Day 2
Top 5 Women’s Teams
- Sarasota Sharks – 531
- SoFlo Aquatics – 192
- Gator Swim Club – 178
- Saint Andrew’s – 157
- Montverde – 150
Top 5 Men’s Teams
- Sarasota Sharks – 326
- Azura Florida Aquatics – 237
- SoFlo Aquatics – 202
- Saint Andrew’s Aquatics – 153
- SwimRise Aquatics – 133
Top 5 Combined Teams
- Sarasota Sharks – 857
- SoFlo Aquatics – 394
- Saint Andrew’s Aquatics – 310
- Montverde Aquatic Club – 269
- Azura Florida Aquatics – 237
