Bolles sweeps; Pine Crest girls, St. Andrew’s boys finish 2nd
Jacksonville Bolles swept the boys and girls titles at the 57th annual Woodson Invitational at Pine Crest School.
Bolles, winners of 33 straight boys state championships and 30 consecutive Class 1A girls state titles, edged the host Class 2A state champions Panthers in the girls’ portion of the meet with 279 points. Pine Crest’s girls were runner-up with 215 points. Saint Andrew’s was third and tied with Winter Park with 201 points.
The meet attracted 16 teams and 400 athletes. COVID protocols precluded the parents and spectators from attending the meet. The Woodson is the longest-running high school meet in the state for swimming and diving and featured one of the strongest fields in meet history.
The meet was not held last year because of the pandemic. In 2019, Pine Crest won the combined and girls team titles and boys won the team title.
“This whole year was upside down, weird in a lot of ways,” said Pine Crest coach Mariusz Podkoscielny. “Gradually getting back to normal was very good and motivating for all of us, but having that meet after it was canceled last year is saying we are back on track.”
“Last year having the skipped year was hard,” Podkoscielny added. “Having it back was the icing on the cake.”
Bolles cruised to the boys’ title with 406 points. St. Andrew’s was second (147), while Pine Crest was third. Bolles won the combined championship with 685 points, while Pine Crest was runner-up with 355, just seven points ahead of St. Andrew’s. Boca Raton was fifth (169) and University School was sixth (166).
Boca Raton High School senior
Max Zum Tobel, who recently committed to
North Carolina State, won both the 50 Free
(20.54) and the
100 Free (45.00).
“I felt pretty good because we had a rough week of practice,” said Zum Tobel, who won the Andy Coan award for being named the meet’s Outstanding Male Swimmer. “I was happy with my times. We worked out yesterday and I doubled yesterday. Overall it was a good meet.
“I can’t wait for the state series,” Zum Tobel added. “This meet had a lot of the top swimmers so it showed me what I was up against.”
Pine Crest junior Julia Podkoscielny was a double winner as she captured the 200 Free (1:48.02) and the 500 Free (4:49.41) setting meet records in both. It earned her the Ann Marshall Award as the meet’s top female swimmer.
“Overall, it was a lot of fun. The team spirit was really good today,” said Julia Podkoscielny, who also won the Ann Marshall Award in 2019. “Everybody was hyping everyone else up and that made it fun.
“We have been excited for this meet for so long because this is our home meet,” she said. “It’s the most exciting meet honestly. It is our house. We make posters, do cheers…it is so much fun. I am so glad that [Ann Marshall] was here to present the award. That meant a lot.”
Saint Andrew’s senior Nicole Aguilar was also a double winner as she took the 200-IM (2:03.59) and the 100 fly (55.52). Saint Andrew’s Aspen Gersper won the 100 back (57.55) and was third in the 100 free (52.71).
“I felt pretty good,” Aguilar said. “I wasn’t expecting this.
I dropped a lot of time on my 200-IM and it is still midseason. I dropped three seconds and I never won any races at the Woodson.”
Pine Crest’s girls won the 200 free relay (1:35.66), while the Boca Raton boys were runner-up (1:29.76). Pine Crest’s Isabella Chambers was runner-up in the 50 free (24.16). Boca Raton’s Katherine Nordheim (58.60) was runner-up in the 100 fly.
Pine Crest divers finished 1-2 in both the boys and girls 1-meter diving as Allen Levitis scored (499.55) and Danyal Ghadiali (398.55) was the top boys’ finishers and Ava Andersen (437.45) and Sarrah Ghadiali (406.10) were the top finishers in the girls’ competition.
“It’s very big,” Anderson said. “I have never won anything except for a dual meet competition. I have mostly come in the top three in bigger meets so this is really exciting.
“This gives me a lot of confidence heading into the FHSAA state series, especially because I am a junior,” Andersen added. “I think I just have to keep working on the basics and get everything in line.”
Saint Andrew’s sophomore Diego Balbi won the 100 fly (49.58) and the 100 back (51.48).
“Today was really big and it should be to trust the process,” Balbi said. “I didn’t have any expectations coming into the meet, I just wanted to go fast. When I got to the finals, I went after it.”
The meet gave both teams, Bolles and Saint Andrew’s, the opportunity to size up each other since Pine Crest has returned to Class 1A after re-classification.