The Regional Swim Meet was held at the Florida Gulf Coast University on Saturday, October 29. It was a great meet for the Freedom team. The boys regional team was composed of Jared Shollenberger, 12, Aidan Boggs, 12, Alex Espinosa, 12, Jacob Schuster, 12, and Martin Ruiz, 10. The girls team was made up of Genevieve Clark, 11, Essie Ro, 10, Maria Piña-Baquero, 9, Josie Clark, 9, and Abbi Leisure, 9. There were two relay teams that were raced by Freedom, and a few individual events.

“Our relays looked really good this year,” said Genevieve Clark, 11. “We didn’t make it to states but we were really close. Our relays are composed of mostly underclassmen so I think that we can get our two relays to the state competition next year if we work hard in the off season.”

The girls 200-yard freestyle relay was only three seconds off of the state cut. They did, however, capture the school’s 200-yard freestyle record (now 1:47.51) and the 200-yard medley record (now 1:59.11) at the meet.

The boys team also did very well. One qualifier in an individual event, as well as two relays. The boys 200-yard medley relay did well, but it was the 200-yard freestyle relay that was a surprise. Boggs had led the way for an enormous drop in time for the relay. Two of the swimmers each swam the 50 yards in under 24 seconds, a feat not accomplished by a Freedom swimmer since 2013.

After graduating so many senior girls last year, there were not high expectations for the Freedom girls team. However, with two state qualifiers this year and many more to come in the next couple of years, the swim program is staying strong at Freedom. Although, the boys team is graduating six seniors, almost half of the current team, so the boys program will need building up for next year.