2024 Florida HS 3A Roundup: District Highlights

Florida’s 3A high school swim teams have wrapped up their District Championship meets, as 12 districts across the state competed against each other. The top finishers will now move on to four Region meets to ultimately determine who will qualify for the State Championships in November.

Girls

Junior Elisabeth Breck and senior Khloe De Santana Guidry both swam Niceville High School to first place in District 1 with a combined eight gold medals. Breck placed 1st in the 100 free with a season-best time of 53.74 and 1st in the 100 back with another season-best of 58.23. She helped her 200 free relay take 1st, and led off her winning 200 medley relay with a new personal best 50 back time of 27.12.

Guidry clinched 1st in the 50 free at 25.46, outtouching second-place winner Olivia Ahearn by .22. Guidry also took 1st in the 100 breast at a winning time of 1:09.94. She assisted Breck in swimming the 200 free relay and 200 medley relay to 1st, alongside teammates Reanna Panarisi and Emma Michel.

Senior Ava Fuller of Gainesville High School was the high-point winner for women in District 2. The University of Kentucky commit swept the distance free events, claiming 1st in the 200 free at 1:54.99 and 1st in the 500 free at 5:09.26. She continued her freestyle dominance in the relays, helping her team claim 1st in the 400 free relay and 2nd in the 200 free relay.

Yale commit Penny Zarczynski of Ponte Vedra High School took home four gold medals, finishing the 100 fly at 55.21, exactly two seconds ahead of second-place winner Sophie Fox. Zarczynski also nabbed 1st in the 50 free at 23.58, and helped her team take 1st in the 200 free and 200 medley relays.

Boys

Standford commit Ethan Ekk of Lawton Chiles High School swam two new personal best times at the meet. The senior helped his team take 1st in the 400 free relay, leading off with a new personal best time of 45.14. He reached another personal best in his 200 medley relay leadoff split of 23.58, taking gold for yet another relay. Additionally, he claimed 1st in both of his individual events, touching at 1:37.59 in the 200 free and 4:24.44 in the 500 free.

Ekk’s younger brother Owen Ekk scored four medals at the meet as only a sophomore. Owen swam alongside Ethan in the 400 free relay, anchoring the winning team that his brother led off. He also swam in the winning 200 free relay, leading off with a seasonal best split of 21.37. Owen clinched 2nd in the 100 free touching at a 45.55 and 1st in the 200 IM at 1:50.59.

The brother duo made waves when they decided to represent Canada over the summer and swim at the Canadian Olympic Trials. Ethan placed 3rd in the 400 free, 3rd in 200 back, and 7th in the 200 free, making him just a hair behind the Olympic qualifying team. Owen competed in three events at the Canadian Trials, finishing 6th in the 50 free, 7th in the 100 free, and 9th in the 200 free.

Freshman Mason Baldwin scored four golds at the meet, walking away as the second-highest point winner from Duncan U Fletcher High School. Baldwin swam a new best time of 53.80 in the 100 back, landing him in 1st by 4.51 seconds. His 50 free time of 22.21 was also a personal best, leading him to 3rd place as the fastest freshman in the event. Baldwin led off the team’s winning 200 medley relay, and assisted his team in winning the 400 free relay. As just a freshman, Baldwin’s performance places him on the list of ones to watch as he continues throughout his first high school season.

Sophomore Luke Zardavets of Allen D Nease Sr High School was the only boy to win four gold medals in District 3. Zardavets swam a season-best in the 100 fly, finishing 1st in 49.87. He touched 1st in the 100 breast at 58.20, beating senior Simeon Prosinski by 1.6 seconds.

Region 2 – Districts 4, 5, 6

Girls

Senior Livia Rodrigues of South Lake High School demolished her opponents in the 100 back, placing 1st at a time of 58.86, a 13-second win. Her 200 IM time of 2:09.15 put her in 1st by a whopping 17 seconds. Her 400 free relay placed 3rd, and her 200 medley took 4th.

Freshman Emily Hissa from Wiregrass Ranch High School was a three-time finalist at her first Districts meet. She took 1st in the 200 free at 1:58.79, nearly four seconds ahead of her next-fastest opponent. Her 100 back time of 1:01.06 landed her 2nd, almost six seconds faster than the next freshman in the event. Her 400 free relay took 3rd, and her 200 medley relay took 4th as Cypress Creek untouched them by .37.

Regan Bright collected four golds at the meet, making her the top-performing girl in District 5. The Sunlake High School junior took 1st in the 100 back at 59.41 and 1st in the 100 fly at 56.94, six seconds ahead of 2nd place winner Alexa Bartling.

University of Kansas commit Aubrey Tuthill took home four 1st-place finishes at her final Districts meet of her high school swim career. The senior found 1st in the 500 free at 5:16.85 and 1st in the 200 free at 2:00.81, as well as swimming her 400 free and 200 free relay teams to 1st in District 6.

Boys

Sophomore Jacob Tsai from Lake Buena Vista was the top-performing boy of District 4. He scored a new personal best in the 200 IM of 2:01.18, touching first by 11 seconds. His 100 fly time of 55.26 was a season-best, landing him in 1st ahead of junior Dj Rivera. Tsai swam both his 200 free and 200 medley relays to first for a total of four gold medals from the meet.

Noah Walker put out three new best times at the meet. The freshman representing Lecanto High School claimed 1st in the 200 IM boasting a 1:55.81, and took 1st in the 100 back at 50.96. His 200 medley relay leadoff split of 23.88 was also a best time, helping his team take first. His 400 free relay also took first, winning by ten seconds.

Alex Zendegui from Wiregrass Ranch High School claimed 1st in both of his individual events, sweeping the distance freestyle events for District 5. The sophomore’s 500 free time of 5:05.37 was a season-best, and his 200 free time of 1:53.03 out-touched second-place winner Adam Williams by .29.

Senior Sean Thatavakorn of Freedom High School swam two season-bests in his individual events, punching 1st in the 50 free at 21.91 and 1st in the 100 free at 48.35. He swam a personal best in his 200 medley relay split of 25.96, leading the team to first.

Girls

Freshman Brinkleigh Hansen of Saint Petersburg collected some serious hardware at her first-ever Districts meet. Hansen claimed 1st in the 500 free at 4:54.57, seven seconds ahead of teammate Zoie Fjare who placed 2nd. Her 200 free time of 1:51.29 put her in 1st, two seconds ahead of her sister Karrington Hansen who is a junior.

Charlotte High School seniors Kasey Roy and Zoe Schwartz took home a total of 80 points for their school, each placing 1st in every event they swam. Both Roy and Schwartz were part of the winning teams for the 200 and 400 free relays, alongside their winning individual events. Roy took 1st in the 50 free (24.86) and 1st in the 100 free (53.85), while Schwartz claimed 1st in the 100 back (59.64), and 1st in the 200 IM (2:15.69).

Honorable mention swims include senior Isabel Katherine Rasmussen of Gulf Coast High School, who took home three golds and one silver. Rasmussen dominated the 500 free, touching in 5:30.65, 51 seconds ahead of second-place. Her 100 back time of 1:05.09 also landed her in 1st. Rasmussen was part of her school’s 1st place 200 medley relay team, and 2nd-place 400 relay team.

Boys

Arnas Monkelis of Osceola Fundamental High School won four golds at the meet. The senior took 1st in the 100 free at 47.46, the only swimmer in District 7 to break 50 seconds. His 200 free time of 1:44.66 also landed him in 1st, nearly two seconds ahead of teammate Strader Franzese. Monkelis and the other Osceola Fundamental boys took home 1st in both the 200 medley and 400 free relays.

Aidan Clements of Jesuit High School was the high-point winner for District 8, placing 1st in all of his events across the board. The senior swam a 51.80 in the 100 fly, putting him three seconds ahead of second-place finisher Liam Maloney. His 200 free time of 1:43.75 also put him in 1st, making him and Denis Jones the only two men to break 1:50 in the district. Outside of his individual events, Clements swam his 400 free relay and 200 medley relay to 1st, leading off both races.

Sophomore Carter Dumont of Gulf Coast High School put out three personal best times, winning two golds and two silvers. Dumont clinched 1st in the 100 free, swimming a 52.80. His personal best 200 IM time of 2:13.64 also found him in 1st. His medley relay leadoff split of 28.62 was a personal best time, leading his team to 2nd. With two more years of high school to go, Dumont shows promising progress.

Region 4 – Districts 10, 11, 12

Girls

Sophomore Julia Murphy of Martin County High School raced to four golds at her district meet. Her 50 free time of 25.87 put her in 1st, making her the only female swimmer in District 10 to break 26.00. She also collected 1st in the 100 free, touching at 57.20. Murphy swam her 200 medley relay to victory by leading off the team, and anchored her winning 200 free relay.

Dajah German of Fort Lauderdale High School showed off in the distance freestyle events. The sophomore placed 1st in the 500 free at 5:15.94 and 1st in the 200 free at 1:57.55, while swimming her 200 free and 400 relay to first as well. German placed 8th in the 500 free in the state meet as a freshman last year.

Freshman Ana Ospina of Miami Beach Senior High School had notable swims, taking 1st in the 100 fly in a new personal best of 1:04.79, just .06 ahead of 2nd place. Her 100 back time of 1:08.79 placed her 4th, .18 seconds behind 3rd place. Ospina was part of her school’s winning 400 free and 200 medley relay.

Boys

Sophomore Sawyer Hackett was the youngest high-point award winner for District 10, tied with juniors Louis St. Petery and Finn May. Hackett represented Melbourne High School, claiming 1st in the 100 breast at 58.46 and 1st in the 200 IM in a 1:53.88. He saw his 200 medley relay to 2nd place, swimming a personal-best 50 breast split of 27.81.

University of Alabama commit Gabriel Tortola was the top-performing boy in District 11. His 200 free time of 1:42.66 was a season-best, landing him in 1st. His 100 fly time of 52.20 also put him in 1st, just .35 seconds ahead of Becket Menacho. Tortola was part of Saint Thomas Aquinas High School’s 1st place 200 free and 400 free relays, landing him as a four-time gold medal winner at the meet.

Senior Leonardo Lopez-Casula of Miami Beach Senior High School cleaned up at his last district meet. Lopez-Casula took 1st in the 50 free at a new personal best of 21.90, the only boy in District 12 to break 22.0. His 100 fly time of 51.87 was also a personal best, and he swam a seasonal best time leading off the 400 free relay to victory. He swam his 200 medley relay to victory as well, racing a seasonal best time in his 50 fly split.