St. Andrew’s boys nip Pine Crest by a point to gain team-title split

Pine Crest and St. Andrew’s dominated their Class 1A regional swimming and diving meet this weekend as the South Florida powerhouses went head-to-head in preparation for the state championship meet this weekend.

Tomas Piza and Joshua Balbi fueled the St. Andrew’s boys team as the Scots narrowly edged Pine Crest 408.5-407.5 in the boys overall team rankings.

“I’m very happy with the times at regionals,” St. Andrew’s coach Sid Cassidy said. “We often use the regional meet as a stepping stone, but it was definitely nice to beat Pine Crest by one point.”

Piza earned victories in both the 100-yard freestyle (46.49) and the 200 freestyle (1:41.31), while Balbi earned All-American consideration along with a win in the 100 butterfly (49.99).

Sophomore Tiago Pereira contributed to the team’s win by finishing first in the 50 freestyle (21.49).

The St. Andrew’s boys and girls relay teams also found success in the meet as the Scots finished with four relay victories.

Behind the efforts of Balbi, Piza, Pereira, Zach Moore, Ryan Nordheim, John Hollowell, and Seth Berke, the boys relay teams managed to post wins in the 200 medley relay (1:36.02), 200 freestyle relay (1:25.82) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:08.44)

Meanwhile, Pine Crest cruised to finish on top of the girls overall rankings, beating out the Scots 501-376.

The Panthers’ girls relay teams led the way.

“For most of our swimmers, it wasn’t their first go-around,” Pine Crest coach Mariusz Podkoscielny said. “The relays have been phenomenal all season, and I feel this most balanced team we’ve had in a while.”

In the 400 freestyle relay, Pine Crest took gold with the team of Alexandra Meszaros, Rachel Botting, Julia Podkoscielny and Andrea Santander. The team’s time of 3:26.97 received automatic All-American consideration.

St. Andrew’s team of Gabriella Beltrano, Shayna Fetes, Madelyn Rippo and Aspen Gersper came out victorious in the girls 200 medley relay.

Fetes was the cornerstone of the St. Andrew’s girls team as the senior earned a first-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.95).

In the girls 500 freestyle, Trinity Christian’s Nicole Gomez finished with a 4:55.39 time to earn gold. The junior also placed first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:50.06.

University School’s Maia Goldstein placed first in the girls 1-meter dive (495.70), while Pine Crest’s Kevin Mendez won the boys 1-meter dive (545.25).

In the 2A regional, Pompano Beach’s boys had a strong performance, finishing second with 256 points, behind only Gulliver Prep’s 293.

In the 2A girls 1-meter diving, Suncoast’s Juliana DeBock topped the field at 406.90 with Pompano Beach’s Christina Hilton second at 394.15.

In the boys 500-yard freestyle, American Heritage’s Daniel Escobar won with a 4:39.04. Pompano Beach was tops in the 200 freestyle relay (Mattheus Santos, Dante Poe, Shane Schulte and Raphael Santos).

Suncoast’s Gavin Smith won the 100 backstroke in 53.63.