Will Heck Breaks State Record at Florida 1A Championships as Bolles Dynasty Continues

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Photo Courtesy: FHSAA Instagram (@fhsaa)

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After deciding to move on with its postseason, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) hosted the 1A State Championships on Sunday, Nov. 15 at the Sailfish Splash Waterpark and Aquatics Center in Stuart, Fla. The meet, which was originally slated for Nov. 13, was pushed back two days due to Tropical Storm Eta.

The championship meet was highlighted by Bolles sophomore Will Heck, who, during prelims, broke the state record in the 100 breast with a time of 53.73.

Bolles continued their historic dominance in Florida high school swimming and diving by extending the longest championship streak in the Sunshine State. The girls claimed their 30th-consecutive championship crown with 380 points ahead of Saint Andrews (293), while the Bolles’ boys won their 33rd-straight title with a dominant 501 points ahead of The King’s Academy (222).

Click HERE for full results and team scores.

GIRLS MEET

Top 5 Team Scores:

1. Bolles – 380
2. Saint Andrew’s – 293
3. Cutler Bay Academy – 172
4. PK Yonge – 128
5. The King’s Academy – 125

The meet began as Saint Andrew’s’ Ella Martinez (26.35), Lucia Miller (28.68), Nicole Aguilar (24.87), and Stella Urness (23.45) won the opening 4×50 medley relay in 1:43.35, over a second ahead of Bolles (1:44.37).

The 200 free proved to be a tight race as only one-tenth separated the top three swimmers. SHOR’s Sarah Lankford led the charge in 1:49.21, while Saint Andrew’s Erin Miller (1:49.25) and Bolles’ Megan McGrath (1:49.31) followed suit.

Cardinal Mooney’s Michaela Mattes won the 200 IM with a final time of 2:01.10 while LSU-bound Sasha Ramey of Bolles took second in 2:02.90. Mattes, who is a sophomore, then posted a seven-second victory in the 500 free, getting her hand to the wall in 4:47.19 to successfully defend her state crown.

South Florida’s Erika Pelaez sprinted to the top of the podium for the second-straight year in the 50 free, posting a swift 22.52 for the victory. Bolles’ Manita Satianchokwisan also cracked the 23-second barrier to grab silver in 22.85 for the second year in a row. Pelaez defended her title in the 100 free in 49.47 as the only swimmer in the field to crack the 50-second barrier, again followed by Satianchokwisan in 50.21.

Satianchokwisan (23.33) joined forces with Bolles’ teammates Emily MacDonald (23.08), Katherine Meyers-Labenz (23.47), and Ramey (23.13) to win the 4×50 free relay in 1:33.01, ahead of St. Andrew’s (1:34.10). MacDonald (50.16), Ramey (51.27), McGrath (50.92) and Satianchokwisan (50.84) also won the 4×100 free relay in 3:23.19.

Aspen Gersper of St. Andrew’s flew to the top of the podium in the 100 fly, throwing down a best time of 54.51 for her first-ever state title. She then claimed her second individual accolade of the night by winning the 100 back, powering to the wall in a victorious time of 54.28.

On the boards, Berkeley Prep’s Amy Wotovich dove to first in the 1-meter event after posting a final score of 420.65 to secure the gold medal for the second-straight season. Windermere Prep’s Marcela Scaramuzza got her hands to the wall the quickest in the 100 breast, touching in 1:01.41 for the victory.

BOYS MEET

Top 5 Team Scores:

1. Bolles – 501
2. The King’s Academy – 222
3. Saint Andrew’s – 184
4. Berkeley Prep – 174
5. Bishop Verot – 140

Bolles began the boys’ meet as David Walton (23.97), Heck (24.25), Martin Espernberger (21.83), and Ansen Meyer (20.67) won the opening 4×50 medley relay in 1:30.72, over two seconds ahead of the field.

Heck highlighted the meet by winning the 100 breast in a final time of 54.20 to dethrone last year’s winner and teammate Meter (55.39). However, Heck’s time of 53.73 during prelims broke his former teammate Paul K. DeGrado’s state record of 54.21 set in 2018.

Andres Dupont Cabrera of Bolles cruised to first in the 200 free, turning in a time of 1:35.60 to win the event by nearly three seconds. He then followed that performance with another gold-medal worthy swim in the 100 free, winning the event in a quick 44.09.

The King’s Academy’s Joshua Zuchowski dominated the 200 IM, besting the field by three seconds to win in 1:46.85 ahead of future Kentucky Wildcat Logan Ingerick (1:49.83) of Berkeley Prep. Zuchowski’s time was just off the state record of 1:46.31 set by St. Thomas’ Bradley Ally in 2004. He also won the 100 back by over three seconds in 47.45.

Episcopal’s Julian Smith splashed-and-dashed his way to a win in the 50 free, clocking in at 20.56 to edge out Noah Sipowski (20.57) by one-hundredth of a second. Tiago Pereira of St. Andrew’s powered home to a win in the 100 fly with a final time of 47.22 to hold off Tennessee commit Espernberger (47.82).

Blakeman Shaw of Westminster Academy dove to first on the 1-meter board, posting a final score of 488.00 to clinch the title for the second year in a row. Bishop Verot’s Conor Cranfield led the charge in the 500 free for the second-consecutive season, winning the event in 4:26.27 for a 3.5-second improvement from prelims.

Bolles’ Dupont Cabrera (20.45), Meyer (20.60), William Heck (20.31), and Adnan Atwan (20.60) won the 4×50 free relay in a combined time of 1:21.96. They made it a relay sweep as Caio Cavarsan (44.18), Seth Tolentino (45.52), Tucker Peterson (46.59), and Harrison Herrera (46.44) concluded the meet by winning the 4×100 free relay in 3:02.73.

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Anya Keogh

3 years ago

Congratulations!!! Awesome swim and the hair….