The Ponte Vedra Sharks and Nease Panthers will be well represented at the Class 3A state competition in both the team and individual disciplines.
The Ponte Vedra High girls swim team captured their third straight region title thanks to a bevy of six regional champions.
Three of the six champions did so as an individual and included Penny Zarcynski in the 100-foot butterfly, Kate Pelot in the 100 backstroke and Annabelle MacAdams in the 100 breaststroke.
Although three individual titles are impressive, the Sharks did not stop there and earned a trio of team titles as well, including Zarcynski and Pelot both earning three titles apiece during the event.
Zarcynski and Pelot were on the team that won in the 200 freestyle relay, while Zarcynski also finished first in the 400 freestyle relay and Pelot helped her group earn top honors in the 200 medley relay.
Joining Pelot and Zarcynski in the 200 freestyle relay was Valentina Fraga and Sophie Fox, while Zarcynski teamed up with Fraga, Ainsley MacAdams and Lily Doyle to win the longer 400 freestyle relay.
Annabelle MacAdams, Fox and Sydney Player teamed up with Pelot to take home gold in the 200 medley relay.
There were so many other Sharks that were close to winning the region but will get another shot at it with the state title on the line on Nov. 11 during the state championship in Ocala.
These close finishes included Fox coming home second in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly; Annabelle MacAdams as runner-up in the 200 individual medley; and Doyle coming home second in the 500 freestyle.
For the Nease boys swim team, they made it two years in a row that they won a regional team championship and will look for even more golds as they prepare for states.
The Panthers won regional championships in the 100 breaststroke with Luke Zardavets and the 400 freestyle relay, with a team of Zardavets, Jack Mainville, Walker Lanoue and Brandon Gear.
Mainville, Lanoue and Gear joined Declan Costello as they looked to double-up the freestyle relays but wound up runner-up at the 200-foot distance.
Aaron Sorlie’s form looks ready for state’s after a second place finish in diving and Zardavets big day continued with a runner-up outing in the 200 individual medley.
Although the Ponte Vedra boys and Nease girls swim teams did not have enough points to rack up the team success, they did have some memorable individual challenges for titles, including Thomas Smith finishing second in the 100 backstroke discipline.
Olivia Moore and Charlotte Driesse each captured regional titles for the Panthers, with Moore’s coming in the 200 freestyle and Driesse earning her title in the 200 individual medley.
