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St. Johns Spotlight: Swimmers break 15 records at Frank Holleman Invitational

clayton freeman, jacksonville florida times-union
·6 min read

When Lily Doyle woke up Saturday, she wasn't expecting to become a record holder by evening.

"I'm really happy, because I didn't expect it going into the meet," said the Ponte Vedra sophomore, who touched the wall in 4:56.56 in the girls 500-yard freestyle at the Frank Holleman Invitational. "I dropped a lot of time, so I was very surprised."

Doyle was far from alone: Meet records tumbled early and often in Saturday's 20-team invitational at Planet Swim, the third edition of the fast-growing event that now ranks among the largest competitions on Northeast Florida's aquatic schedule.

Swimmers jump into the pool for the girls 500-yard freestyle during the Frank Holleman Invitational high school swim meet.
Swimmers jump into the pool for the girls 500-yard freestyle during the Frank Holleman Invitational high school swim meet.

St. Johns splash: Top teams and swimmers to watch for the 2023 high school swimming season

Perennial superpower Bolles, fielding some but not all of its swimming stars, topped the boys standings with 541 points, ahead of Nease and Bartram Trail. Ponte Vedra, Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A girls champion last year, placed first in the girls list with 497 points, with Bolles and Creekside next in a showcase that brought together hundreds of the region's leading swimmers.

"We all get along. Obviously there's a rivalry with that, but it's so fun to get up and go," said Bolles sophomore Lucas Knapp, who swam the boys 200 free, 100 fly, 200 medley relay and 400 free relay.

The roll call of records: Bartram Trail's Thomas Frost (1:50.10 in the boys 200 individual medley, 4:27.96 in the 500 free); Bolles' Andy Kravchenko (20.55 in the boys 50 free and 51.74 in the 100 backstroke); Fleming Island's Maryn McDade (50.97 in the girls 100 free, 22.94 in the 50 free); Fletcher's Maxwell Shaver (291.90 in boys diving); Tocoi Creek's Alex Kim (50.23 in the boys 100 butterfly); and Bolles' boys 200 medley relay of Krish Jain, Eldad Zamir, Michael Gumino and Kravchenko.

Nease's Luke Zardavets leads the field during the boys 100-yard breaststroke at the Frank Holleman Invitational.
Nease's Luke Zardavets leads the field during the boys 100-yard breaststroke at the Frank Holleman Invitational.

Nease collected meet records in bunches. Charlotte Driesse recorded a 2:04.98 in the girls 200 IM, Olivia Moore swam 1:51.04 in the girls 200 free, freshman Luke Zardavets won the boys 100 breast in 56.40 and two relays set new marks. Jack Mainville, Declan Costello, Walker Lanoue and Brandon Gear won the boys 200 free relay in 1:27.26, and Mainville, Lanoue and Gear combined with Zardavets to take the 400 free relay in 3:08.90.

"We utilize this meet as a midseason test to see where the kids are and then adjust the training for the next six to eight weeks where they compete at states," said Nease coach Gustavo Calado. "To be able to test the kids at a high-quality meet where we have a field of the best swimmers in North Florida here coming together, this is a real luxury test for us."

The event, which also includes a food donation drive to benefit the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County, also marks the one-month mark before district meets for Class 3A and 4A.

"I think we're setting up really well for the incoming state series," Ponte Vedra junior Penny Zarczynski said. "We're looking really good, so I'm excited. We have a good shot for this year."

Barracudas perfect at Elise Bush Invitational

Beachside players celebrate a block by Lainie Stapleton (9, center) against Bishop Kenny during a Sept. 20 match.
Beachside players celebrate a block by Lainie Stapleton (9, center) against Bishop Kenny during a Sept. 20 match.

In barely a year on the volleyball court, Beachside's Barracudas have proven that they're more than ready for prime time.

The Barracudas slashed through the Elise Bush Invitational at Bolles with five wins in barely 24 hours Friday and Saturday, defeating Providence, Ridgeview, Episcopal, three-time state champion Ponte Vedra and finally Jupiter.

At 13-2, Beachside has lost to only Mandarin and Bishop Kenny, the latter in a closely-contested four-set match on Wednesday. The Barracudas' victory against Ponte Vedra was the first for any St. Johns County school against the Sharks since October 2016.

Versatility stands out for the Barracudas. While sophomore Adriana Jeanpierre leads the attack with 172 kills, sophomore Erica Duffy (85 kills, 177 assists) and freshman Mollie VanDeusen (25 kills, 106 assists) are filling multiple roles in a young lineup that's strengthened by the senior core of Laney Lipovetsky, Macey Williams and Air Force-committed middle blocker Lainie Stapleton.

The statewide MaxPreps rankings currently list Beachside inside the top 40, among three Northeast Florida schools in the Class 5A top 10.

Creekside's Johnson dominates Bale-N-Trail

Creekside cross country runner Alyson Johnson, pictured at the Florida Horse Park Invitational, collected another win Saturday at the Bale-N-Trail Original.
Creekside cross country runner Alyson Johnson, pictured at the Florida Horse Park Invitational, collected another win Saturday at the Bale-N-Trail Original.

News flash: Alyson Johnson is fast.

The Creekside sophomore left her previous best time in the dust on the way to a dominant 17:50.5 at Saturday's Bale-N-Trail Original at Bartram Trail.

Johnson, a double FHSAA track champion last year, is entering exclusive territory. She's already cut nearly a minute from her 2022 best of 18:46, and she now joins a list of just above a dozen Northeast Florida runners to break 18 minutes in a girls 5K competition.

While Johnson starred for Creekside's girls, it was the Knights' boys team that took top honors at Bale-N-Trail. Led by sophomore Asa Swope (16:12.6, second behind Ocala Trinity Catholic's Cedric McFadden), Creekside scored 57 points to edge Gainesville Oak Hall by way of tiebreaker because of the effort of sixth runner William Foulk.

Girls team honors at Bale-N-Trail went to a superbly balanced Bishop Kenny. Emily Wheldon led BK with a third-place 18:50 and seven other Crusaders broke 20 minutes to finish with 29 points, ahead of Oak Hall and Providence.

Two other area runners, meanwhile, went especially low on the clock away from the First Coast. Mandarin sophomore Alaysa Chipunov won the girls title at the Hare and Hound Invitational in Charlotte, N.C., chopping half a minute off her personal best to run 19:25.4. That earned the Mustangs a fifth-place finish in the multi-state meet, with help from a sixth-place 20:12.6 from Ashlin Price.

Fleming Island senior Graham Myers also ran a season-best 15:26.2 at the Wingfoot XC Classic at Sam Smith Park in Cartersville, Ga., the hometown of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

The scene now turns to Tallahassee's Apalachee Regional Park, site of Saturday's FSU Invitational and a preview of November's state finals.

Around the area

Tocoi Creek wing Kaitlynn Weaver committed to St. Leo women's basketball. … The annual High School 9:12 Basketball Media Day is scheduled for Oct. 24 at Winston Family YMCA in Riverside. … The FHSAA converted Monday's scheduled board of directors meeting to an orientation session for its new members appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The board is next scheduled to meet Nov. 5-6 in Gainesville.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school sports 2023: St. Johns swimmers top Holleman meet records