Relays Power TBAY At State

After the Tampa Bay Aquatics boys under-12 200-yard free relay team got out of the water, they and the rest of their team realized they could be on the verge of a special meet.

"The first relay they did on Friday night, they missed the state record by 0.09 seconds," TBAY coach Jason Bowes said. "We knew they were going to swim fast, and we weren't really talking about it, so at the end of the relay, they got out and were like, 'Oh my god, we just missed a state record.' I think if they had been a little more aware of it, they would have got it, to be honest with you, because after they figured that out, they went after every single record."

The quartet of Rasmus Skjaerpe, Jared Young, David Wong and Kyle Kimura won that opening relay by more than three seconds, and it provided a springboard for the team to break two state records and sweep all four under-12 division relays at the Florida Junior Olympic Championships at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville.

Skjaerpe, Wong, Kimura and Austin Sellers recorded a time of 4 minutes 4.75 seconds in the 400 medley relay, and Skjaerpe, Wong, Kimura and Jed Rodriguez took over a second off the previous record with a 1:51.73 in the 200 medley relay. Skjaerpe, Young, Wong and Kimura finished first in the 400 free relay, winning in 3:42.18, nine seconds ahead of their nearest rivals.

TBAY finished third overall at the championships behind the Sarasota Sharks and Bolles, with four individuals winning state titles. Skjaerpe won a pair of gold medals individually, giving him six for the meet, as he won the boys under-12 50 and 100 backstroke, while Rodriguez won both the boys under-12 50 and 100 breaststroke.

On the girls side, Michelle Turek won both the girls under-12 50 and 100 free, while Rebecca Werdine won the girls under-14 50 free.

"I think their preparation was perfect," Bowes said. "They were just relaxed and excited. It really came down to the preparation, the three months, two months leading up to the meet."

The Brandon Blue Wave finished 10th overall, with Merrill Wilson winning the 100 and 200-yard fly, setting a Junior Olympic record in the 200 with a time of 2:01.27.

Plant Crew Eager To Get Back On Water

After a long winter of training, the Plant High rowing crew gets back on the water this weekend for the first meet of the spring season, a dual-meet against the Orlando Area Rowing Society.

Coach Matt Abel said the team is glad to be out of the gym and back on the water.

"Very much," Abel said. "Winter training is something you know you have to do, and it's exciting when you see athletes get more fit and more strong throughout the winter, but there's no substitute for going back on the water six days a week and just rolling all the time and working on moving the boat. It's still hard work physically, but mentally it's so much more enjoyable putting into practice what you've been training hard to do all winter."

With U.S. National teamer Molly Hamrick and potential national team members Elisabeth Murray and Kristen Brownlee returning to lead the women's squad, the Panthers are set up for another strong season. Murray rowed for the U.S. High Performance team in Germany last year and Brownlee attended U.S. Rowing's Junior B Development camp last year.

"They're both strong contenders this year for being involved in the junior national team process," Abel said. "They participated in the development process last year, and I think, besides Molly of course, our chief folks out there that have a chance to make it. We have some other great athletes on the women's side, but those two given their experience last year are the forerunners in that."

Plant's boys team also figures to make a jump forward. After gaining experience last season, the Panthers have a strong senior and junior class that has Abel enthusiatic.

"This year is one of the first years we've returned this many athletes that have experience coming out of nationals," Abel said. "So our first boat looks to be very strong again, and should be faster than last year, and then our second boat looks to take an even larger step than the first eight is going to take. We're returning lots of guys out of both those boats. We were a little young last year, this year we're a little more experienced."

Watson Finishes Second In Tallahassee

In blustery Sunday conditions, Aaron Watson from Palm Harbor fell two shots short of claiming his first Florida Junior Golf Tour title, finishing in a tie for second at the event at the under-18 event at Southwood Golf Club in Tallahassee.

Watson shot an even-par 72 on the opening day, and finished with a total of 149. Chase Thurston of Haliburton, Canada, who also led after the first round, took the title with a two-round total of 147.

Watson has finished in the top 10 four times in five events on the FJT this season after he finished third at Placid Lakes in January.

Tampa's Charles Silverfield finished in a tie for ninth place with a 154, while Devin Hernanandez of Seminole finished in 21st with a 158, and Kenny Cavender of Trinity finished in 23rd with 159.

In the girls event, A.J. Newell of Tampa finished in a tie for third with a total of 159, 12 shots behind Erica Popson of Davenport.

Amy West of Valrico finished fifth with a 161.