Swim and Dive: Booker T. Washington boys have another high finish in sight at 3A state meet
Justin Toth became Booker T. Washington's first boys state diving champion in program history back in 2021.
He earned that accomplishment by being the No. 1 seed in the event. Fast forward two years later, the Wildcats will march into another state meet as the favorite to win three separate events.
With swimmers seeded first in the 200-yard medley relay along with the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle, Booker T. recently hit the road for the Class 3A State Championship scheduled Saturday from the Florida Aquatics Swimming and Training facility in Ocala.
"We're really excited," Wildcats head coach Whitney Voeltz said. "We don't have as many athletes as some of the other schools have going into it, but what we do have is kind of quality, not quantity. We got some top seeds in several events. Hopefully, more than just two or three kids will be on the podium. Hopefully, most of our team will be on the podium."
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Senior swimmer Logan Robinson adds: "Honestly, I'm kind of nervous but if anything, I'm ready to cheer the other guys are as well."
The swimmers began tapering late last week, after years of eight-hour trips to Stuart and competing at an outdoor pool, Booker T.'s ride to the indoor FAST facility only takes five hours. The team left for central Florida on Thursday morning, as Voeltz believes the shorter distance will be a big help in terms of preparation.
Coming off a district title and a second-place finish to nemesis Nease at regionals, the Wildcats will look to improve on their fifth-place overall finish from a year ago. They collected 142 points, just one point behind St. Thomas Aquinas for fourth.
And once the competition, many eyes will be on the Wildcats to see if they can live up to the expectations in those three events. Voeltz believes his athletes can handle that weight.
"Sometimes, maybe in a team sport, getting the No. 1 seed means you have targets on your back everything is going out to get you. Same thing happens in individual sports, like long swimming or diving. However, a lot of these kids that are seeded that high had the internal drive and they want to maintain that," Voeltz said. "They do not want to drop down. They'll dig down deeper, work harder and do what they need to do, scratch and claw as a Wildcat to maintain a spot on top. You know, sometimes it can be kind of detrimental, but we're hoping that we end up staying on top of that."
Chief among the swimmers with that strong internal drive is Robinson. Qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Trails, the Booker T. senior hopes to cap his prep career with multiple strolls to the podium.
He is top seed in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 40.21 and is also ranked No. 1 in 100 butterfly (48.71). Stating that executing his turns and under waters is most crucial to victory, Robinson believes he'll have stiff competition in the 200 free, as he plans to turn on the jets in the final 100 yards. However, the senior thinks the butterfly could be his to lose.
"(Being the No. 1 seed) does bring a certain level of confidence, but I know in the 200, there's definitely some faster guys," he said. "I feel like some of them weren't peak condition at regionals. So I know that it's gonna be closer than it seems as of right now. But for the 100 fly, it's certainly a confidence boost. I'm really hoping I can win that race."
Named PNJ's Boys Swimmer of the Year in 2022, Robinson has earned state-podium finishes in each of the last two years. When his final race is complete, he will leave behind quite the legacy at Booker T. Washington.
"He's been great, obviously, and when he's been out there, he's done some really good things," Voeltz said. "He continues to get faster. Each meet I keep worrying that this is going to be his fastest, then he surprises us with fastest times the next week. He's continued doing so, so hopefully he'll stay on that track. It would be great to see home sweep (his events) and be on top of podium for all these races."
Robinson will be the anchor on the Wildcats' other top-seeded event: the 200 medley relay (1:35.71). He'll swim alongside Ian Malone, Max Little and Coulson Voeltz, as the foursome placed fourth in that event.
For Coulson Voeltz, a return trip to state is a full-circle moment as he suffered an left-knee injury during the soccer season in February.
"I didn't think I was able to get back into it. I came back faster and everything's just feels a lot better," he said.
That same foursome is a narrow second seed in the 400 freestyle relay (3:07.15), trailing Nease by 0.3 seconds. Booker T. captured a runner-up finish in that event at state last season.
Now, looking up at the same opponent that beat them in their last meet, the Wildcats enter their final meet with a specific motivation.
"Nease is a sort of biggest competition anyway," Robinson said. "So I feel like it might play out the exact same way as regionals, but this time we just kind of piece it together and swim as fast as we are able to."
Other events where the team is seeded high include the 50 and 100 freestyles along with 100 breaststroke. In the first two events, Malone is ranked second in both with times of 21.45 and 46.14, respectively. Little (58.94) is ranked third in the breaststroke.
Class 3A State qualifiers
Boys
200 Medley Relay: 1. Booker T. Washington - 1:35.71; 11. Gulf Breeze - 1:42.43
200 Freestyle: 1. Logan Robinson, Booker T. Washington - 1:40.21; 13. Ben Ashford, Gulf Breeze - 1:46.74
200 Individual Medley: 7. Max Little, Booker T. Washington - 1:58.3; 26. David McCright, Pace - 2:06.4 (Alt)
50 Freestyle: 2. Ian Malone, Booker T. Washington - 21.45
1-Meter Dive: 9. Donivan Alexander, Booker T. Washington - 335.25; 10. Donovan Lawerence, Pace - 320.2
100 Butterfly: 1. Robinson, Booker T. Washington - 48.71; 6. Aidan Hall, Booker T. Washington - 51.8; 12. Braedan Jacobs, Tate - 52.77; 18. Cain Scoggins, Booker T. Washington - 53.46
100 Freestyle: 2. Malone, Booker T. Washington - 46.14; 13. Coulson, Booker T. Washington - 48.38; 19. Jacobs, Tate - 48.8; 22. Ashford, Gulf Breeze - 49.13
200 Freestyle Relay: 12. Booker T. Washington - 1:31.44
100 Backstroke: 14. Voeltz, Booker T. Washington - 55.36; 26. Scoggins, Booker T. Washington - 56.8 (Alt.)
100 Breaststroke: 3. Little, Booker T. Washington - 58.94; 20. Addison Lee, Gulf Breeze - 1:01.53; 26. Hall, Booker T. Washington - 1:02.43 (Alt.)
400 Freestyle Relay: 2. Booker T. Washington - 3:07.45; 15. Gulf Breeze - 3:23.05
Girls
200 Medley Relay: 17. Gulf Breeze - 1:58.31
1-Meter Dive: 9. Lillian Vige, Tate - 361.0; 13. Ashley Beam, Gulf Breeze - 350.9
100 Butterfly: 20. Josephine Harris, Pace - 1:01.93; 21. Caroline Smith, Gulf Breeze - 1:02.42
500 Freestyle: 24. Abigail Robinson, Booker T. Washington - 5:27.33; 26. Lily Walker, Gulf Breeze - 5:30.38 (Alt.)
Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Boys Swimming: With three No. 1 seeds, Booker T. Washington eyes high state finish
