Isabel Ivey, Talia Bates Clock Meet Records As Buchholz Girls Dominate Florida 4A Meet

Photo Courtesy: Ally Barth

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The girls from Buchholz put together an all around impressive, dominant performance at tonight’s Florida 4A State Championships. Five state records fell this evening at the hands of the team.

The Buchholz women opened the meet as expected, in dominant fashion, in the 200 medley relay. The quartet of Caitlin Brooks, Kirschtine Balbuena, Julia Rodriguez, and Kaitlyn Cronin posted a state record as they hit the wall in 1:42.34.

Bucholz went two for two, as junior Isabel Ivey took 200 freestyle gold with her 1:44.68. The effort was not enough to take down the state record. Record holder and Plant senior Morgan Tankersley touched second 1:46.75, graduating with the state record still in her name.

Buchholz couldn’t win the next event, but they did put a swimmer on the podium. Balbuena picked up bronze with a 2:02.64, just behind Riverview’s Emma Weyant (2:02.44). Running away with the win was Cooper City’s Kathleen Golding in 1:59.72.

The defending state champs put a swimmer back on top again, though, when Talia Bates stopped the clock in 22.67 to defend her 50 freestyle title. Bates stepped back up in the very next event to win the 100 fly. Her time was the second state record of the day for Buchholz, a 53.28. Also under 54 were Oviedo’s Abigail Gibbons (53.60) and Winter Park’s Caroline Cooper (53.99).

Flagler Palm Coast freshman Micayla Cronk raced to a 49.58 for 100 freestyle gold. Golding joined her under 50 with a 49.79 for second.

Tankersley bounced back from her 200 freestyle to snag the win in the 500 free. The Stanford commit touched in 4:44.75, enough to hold off Weyant (4:45.11) and Mandarin’s Kensey McMahon, an Alabama commit (4:45.85).

Buchholz continued their dominant run as Bates, Cronin, Georgia Bates, and Ivey combined for a 1:31.66 to crush the field and take the 200 freestyle relay state record. Plant was second again. The team’s Brooks then stole the show in the 100 backstroke with a 52.65, just two tenths shy of Clara Smiddy‘s state record.

After coming up short in the 200 free, Ivey clocked her state record, a 1:00.99 100 breaststroke.

Ivey, Balbuena, Bates, and Bates then wrapped up the impressive performance, destroying the field and the state record in the 400 freestyle relay with a 3:20.95.

The team totaled 360.5 points. Plant was runner up with 273 while Riverview secured third with a score of 196.

Full results available here.

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