By Johnny Inama
The Ponte Vedra Sharks swim team have reached the middle of their season and have had a strong first half. On September 8, the Sharks faced off against St. Augustine High School (SAHS) and Fernandina Beach High School (FBHS) in their first meet of the season. The Sharks won an impressive 18 of 24 total events. Senior, Annie Wohlgemuth won the most individual events for the girls winning the 200 yard individual medley and the 100 yard breaststroke. The girls won all three relays as they blew out all other competitors in the 400 yard freestyle relay winning by nearly 30 seconds. The boys also had an impressive performance winning all of the relays and the majority of the individual medleys.
On September 17, the Sharks were faced with their most important meet yet, the second annual Frank Holleman Invitational, which featured thirteen schools in total. The girls finished first among all schools with 626 points, with the next closest team being Nease with 493 points. Many new meet records were also set. The reigning state champion 200 medley relay team consisting of Annie Wohlgemuth, Annabelle MacAdams, Mary Agnes Smith and Penny Zarczynski easily won first and set a new meet record. Annie Wohlgemuth brought home first place in the 100 back and 100 fly, and Penny Zarczynski placed first in the 100 free and second in the 50 free for the girls. The boys had some solid performances at the meet as well. The boys 200 free relay team consisting of John Finnemore, Fabrizzio Lijeron-Herrera, Jason Li and Ryan Yang helped carry the boys to third place overall among the thirteen total schools. “I feel PV is in a good spot going into the state series with a lot of impressive swims,” said junior, Ryan Yang when asked about how he felt about the team following the Frank Holleman Invitational.
On September 20, the Sharks competed against Creekside high school in their third meet of the year. The girls team won their third straight meet of the season with 124 points, while Creekside finished with just 61. The boys were close to a win, but Creekside pulled out a close one winning 90 points to 80 points. The Sharks will face Bartram and Beachside in their fourth meet on October 4 followed by their fifth meet against Nease on October 8.
