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Plant Girls Ease Way To Another Title

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By KATHERINE SMITH

ksmith@tampatrib.com

Published: November 2, 2008

TAMPA - The Plant girls swim team has won a district title so many years in a row that Coach Gil Gonzalez has lost count. The Panthers are so used to winning, swimmers had to battle more than the other competitors at Saturday's Class 2A-District 8 meet. They had to battle complacency.

Plant easily won with a score of 641 points, 289 more than second-place Hillsborough.

"The goal was to not be thinking about next week and to do their jobs tonight," Gonzalez said. "What I wanted them to do was have fast times today so that they can have new goals next week."

Three-time state champion Meg Anderson was a two-time winner for Plant, in the 50 free and 100 free. Hillary Hahmann also won two district titles, in the 200 free and 500 free.

Both Anderson and Hahmann swam on the first-place 200 and 400 free relay teams.

The Panthers' victory sets up a rematch with Newsome at next week's region meet in St. Petersburg. Plant is the defending 2A-Region 3 girls champion, taking the title from Newsome last year. Newsome beat Plant by four points in the regular season.

"We've got to make up four points somewhere," Gonzalez said. "I'm sure we got as many swimmers through as they did, and it's going to be which ones go to the finals to score the points."

Plant's boys team also took the district title, beating second-place Hillsborough by 70 points. While the Plant girls placed first in all but two events, the Plant boys didn't place first until the final event, the 400 free relay.

The Panthers boys displayed their depth, with five second-place and four third-place finishes.

"It's been awhile for them. It's been a few years," Gonzalez said. "They were hungry. They really were. They were the ones that showed all the enthusiasm on deck because they had more to earn than the girls."

Hillsborough sophomore David DeSena helped his Terriers finish second with individual titles in the 100 butterfly and 500 free.

King sophomore Cody Wei was also a double winner, in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke.

Wei decided to swim the 100 back last week to help him obtain his goal of a top-eight finish at the state meet.

"I looked at the 100 back times last year, and they were pretty competitive," said Wei, who also swam a leg of the first-place 200 medley relay. "I looked at the 100 fly and they were too close, so 100 back gave me more of a break."

Reporter Katherine Smith can be reached at (813) 731-8025.

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