Swimming: West Florida, Navarre girls, Washington, Gulf Breeze boys capture County Championships

All 11 area swimming and diving teams hit the pool one last time on Thursday as a precursor their respective upcoming district meets.

Seven area squads squared off in the Escambia County Championships at the Washington Aquatic Center while the remaining four teams battled in the Santa Rosa County Championships from the Pullam Family YMCA.

Here's a recap of Thursday's two meets.

Escambia County Championships

The area's two strongest programs added more hardware to their respective trophy cases.

Collecting wins in eight events and second-place finishes in four others, host Booker T. Washington and its boys swimming team cruised to an easy overall victory.

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The Wildcats were without one of their fastest swimmers in sophomore Max Little, who was on the mend with an wrist injury. Nonetheless, the team piled up 423 points, 167 ahead of its nearest competitor.

"We had a couple of guys step up and fill that void. All the kids performed where they needed to and some kids stepped up and performed even greater than we thought," Booker T. Washington head coach Whitney Voeltz said. "Some of the best times were from kids that have been struggling throughout the season, but they showed up at the right time tonight. That helped us get the win for the boys team again."

Sophomore Coulson Voeltz and junior Logan Robinson led the Wildcats, as each swimmer earned a pair of individual wins and were a part of two relay wins. Voeltz was victorious in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.76 seconds. He followed that with a triumph in the 100 backstroke after a time 57.21. Robinson claimed individual wins in the 200 individual medley (1:56.53) and the 100 butterfly (51.15).

The duo joined freshmen Ian Malone and Landon Garcia to a first-place performance in the 200-yard medley relay (1:43.31). Malone, Robinson and Voeltz teamed with freshman Kouper Kraus to a victory in the 400 freestyle relay (3:25.25).

The only other programs to win events on the boys side were West Florida and Tate. With victories in the 1-meter dive and and 100 breaststroke, the Jaguars were the runner-up after a team score of 256. Boosted by wins from junior Braedon Jacobs in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle, the Aggies finished finish fourth with 127 points. Pensacola Catholic was sandwiched in between in third after putting up 135 points.

The Wildcats boys team repeated as county champions, as did the West Florida girls squad. The Lady Jaguars racked up nine wins en route to a first-place total of 371 points.

"I think it's a product of the hard work they've been in since August," West Florida head coach Justin Luciano said. "They've really come together and the hard work is paying off. Some of our new freshmen girls have helped out in that end."

One Lady Jaguars freshman has been unbeatable since her arrival to the program. Undefeated throughout the season, Taylor Clements continued her excellence by taking part in four event victories.

She turned in the top time in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.96) and the 50 freestyle (25.35). Clements joined forces with juniors Kaylee Loper, Jaydah Phelan and Shelby Smith to a win in the 200 medley relay (1:54.48). The freshman and Phelan later teamed with junior Jennifer Mims and freshman Avery Witte to claim first place in the 200 freestyle relay (1:45.16).

Mims also had a perfect meet. She totaled 244.05 points take the 1-meter dive and clocked in at 58.21 to win the 100 freestyle. Lastly, the junior swam with Witte, Loper and Smith en route to a victory in the 400 freestyle relay.

The Lady Jaguars have not lost a race in the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relays in 2022.

Behind a pair of first-place finishes from Sara Lypko, the Lady Wildcats were second with 292 points. The senior triumphed in the 200 individual medley (2:21.26) and the 500 freestyle (5:26.59).

She was one of a number of seniors recognized in their final regular-season meet of their high school careers.

"It's kind of bittersweet," said Lypko, who has been a member of the Booker T. Washington swim team since she was a freshman. "I'm going to miss it a lot, I have a lot of memories here. But it's been a good time and I'm really sad that it's going to end tonight.

"I could go back to each year and bring up small memories, but each year is special and unique. I've just made a lot of good friends and I'm going to miss everyone."

Next up for Lypko and the rest of the Wildcats is the District 1-3A meet at the UWF Aquatic Center. The dive finals take place at 5 p.m. Thursday before the swimmers hit the pool at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

Meanwhile, West Florida will compete in the District 1-2A meet, which begins with the diving finals on Oct. 25 at the Frank Brown Aquatic Center in Panama City Beach.

"I think we have a strong chance of winning districts this year. Arnold is always strong, but I think we got them this year," Luciano said of West Florida's chances. "I think we got the numbers to put four girls in event and we also got the numbers to place high."

Santa Rosa County Championships

The four-team meet featured tighter team results than what took place in Escambia County.

In boys competition, Gulf Breeze outpointed Pace despite not winning as many events on Thursday. The Dolphins won three events to the Patriots' four victories, but the eventual victors used numerous top-three finishes to score 418 points, 23 points clear of second-place Pace.

Jameson Walker was a part of all three of Gulf Breeze's wins. The Dolphins senior triumphed in the 200 freestyle (1:55.39) and the 500 freestyle (5:13.22). He joined Ben Ashford, Tristan Seeley and Kevin Herr to a first-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay (3:35.39).

Pace's Hudson Trammel matched Walker's production.

The Patriots senior took first in the 100 butterfly (50.5) and the 100 backstroke (55.66). Trammel teamed with Parker Proffitt, David McCright and A.J. Stuckey to a win in the 200 medley relay (1:48.4).

A similar pattern transpired in girls competition.

Gulf Breeze took a meet-best seven victories, but Navarre, and its three wins, was crowned champions. The consistent Lady Raiders scored 492 points to the Lady Dolphins' 454 points.

Claire Sczesny led Navarre by placing first in the 100 freestyle (1:00.0) and 200 freestyle (2:12.44). The senior also swam with Jenna Cavanaugh, Kyalie McCann and Alina Schorzman to a win in the 200 medley relay (2:11.57).

Jillian Beardsley was involved in four of Gulf Breeze's wins. Victorious in the 100 butterfly (1:03.81) and the 100 backstroke (1:04.4), the Lady Dolphins sophomore led off wins in the 200 freestyle relay (1:51.27) and the 400 freestyle relay (4:10.12).

Escambia County Championship Results

Team scores - Boys

1. Booker T. Washington - 423

2. West Florida - 256

3. Pensacola Catholic - 135

4. Tate - 127

5. Pensacola - 106

6. Escambia - 60

7. Pine Forest - 56

Team scores - Girls

1. West Florida - 371

2. Booker T. Washington - 292

3. Pensacola Catholic - 158

4. Tate - 121

5. Pensacola - 84

6. Pine Forest - 79

7. Escambia - 17

Individual winners

1-meter dive (G): Jennifer Mims, West Florida - 244.05

1-meter dive (B): Lukas Currie, West Florida - 198.85

200-yard medley relay (G): West Florida (Kaylee Loper, Taylor Clements, Jaydah Phelan, Shelby Smith) - 1:54.48

200-yard medley relay (B): Booker T. Washington (Ian Malone, Landon Garcia, Logan Robinson, Coulson Voeltz) - 1:43.31

200-yard freestyle (G): Lauren Thompson, Tate - 2:05.92

200-yard freestyle (B): Braedan Jacobs, Tate - 1:44.03

200-yard individual medley (G): Sara Lypko, Booker T. Washington - 2:21.26

200-yard individual medley (B): Robinson, Booker T. Washington - 1:56.53

50-yard freestyle (G): Clements, West Florida - 25.35

50-yard freestyle (B): Malone, Booker T. Washington - 22.71

100-yard butterfly (G): Phelan, West Florida - 1:04.3

100-yard butterfly (B): Robinson, Booker T. Washington - 51.15

100-yard freestyle (G): Mims, West Florida - 58.21

100-yard freestyle (B): Voeltz, Booker T. Washington - 50.76

500-yard freestyle (G): Lypko, Booker T. Washington - 5:26.59

500-yard freestyle (B): Jacobs, Tate - 4:56.02

200-yard freestyle relay (G): West Florida (Mims, Avery Witte, Phelan, Clements) - 1:45.16

200-yard freestyle relay (B): Booker T. Washington (Kouper Kraus, William Flores, Garcia, Cain Scoggins) - 1:37.45

100-yard backstroke (G): Loper, West Florida - 1:03.17

100-yard backstroke (B): Voeltz, Booker T. Washington - 57.21

100-yard breaststroke (G): Clements, West Florida - 1:07.96

100-yard breaststroke (B): Jackson Hebert, West Florida - 1:04.98

400-yard freestyle relay (G): West Florida (Mims, Witte, Loper, Smith), 3:58.0

400-yard freestyle relay (B): Booker T. Washington (Malone, Voeltz, Kraus, Robinson), 3:25.25

Santa Rosa County Championship Results

Team scores - Boys

1. Gulf Breeze - 418

2. Pace - 395

3. Navarre - 364

4. Milton - 175

Team scores - Girls

1. Navarre - 492

2. Gulf Breeze - 454

3. Pace - 207

4. Milton - 176

Individual winners

200-yard medley relay (G): Navarre (Jenna Cavanaugh, Kyalie McCann, Alina Schorzman, Claire Sczesny) - 2:11.57

200-yard medley relay (B): Pace (Parker Proffitt, David McCright, Hudson Trammel, A.J. Stuckey) - 1:48.4

200-yard freestyle (G): Sczesny, Navarre - 2:12.44

200-yard freestyle (B): Jameson Walker, Gulf Breeze - 1:55.39

200-yard individual medley (G): Lexi Montgomery, Gulf Breeze - 2:33.41

200-yard individual medley (B): McCright, Pace - 2:16.9

50-yard freestyle (G): Olivia Ahearn, Gulf Breeze - 27.51

50-yard freestyle (B): Noah Day, Milton - 22.44

100-yard butterfly (G): Jillian Beardsley, Gulf Breeze - 1:03.81

100-yard butterfly (B): Trammel, Pace - 50.5

100-yard freestyle (G): Sczesny, Navarre - 1:00.0

100-yard freestyle (B): Day, Milton - 49.75

500-yard freestyle (G): Lily Walker, Gulf Breeze - 5:40.26

500-yard freestyle (B): J. Walker, Gulf Breeze - 5:13.22

200-yard freestyle relay (G): Gulf Breeze (Beardsley, Caroline Smith, Ahearn, L. Walker) - 1:51.27

200-yard freestyle relay (B): Navarre (Chase Jennings, Tyler Pace, Jedidiah Teague, Brenner Mavity) - 1:35.9

100-yard backstroke (G): Beardsley, Gulf Breeze - 1:04.4

100-yard backstroke (B): Trammel, Pace - 55.66

100-yard breaststroke (G): Grace Charriere, Milton - 1:15.18

100-yard breaststroke (B): Pace, Navarre - 1:06.57

400-yard freestyle relay (G): Gulf Breeze (Beardsley, Ahearn, L. Walker, Montgomery) - 4:10.12

400-yard freestyle relay (B): Gulf Breeze (Ben Ashford, J. Walker, Tristan Seeley, Kevin Herr) - 3:35.39

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia, Santa Rosa end regular season with County Championships