On The All-Star Team

PLANT CITY - Given that Newsome High School was the most dominant swim team in Hillsborough County, spots for non-Newsome athletes on the Western Conference All-Star team were tough to come by.

But a few members of the Plant City and Durant squads were too good to be ignored.

State qualifiers Stephanie Barker and Anna Palermo of Plant City High and divers Kaylee Doback and Chris Plante of Durant were on the first team when the all-star squads were announced earlier this month.

Plant City and Durant are in the National Division, made up of the east Hillsborough County schools. The rest of the Western Conference is split into the Federal and American Divisions (central and north Tampa). Coaches vote on the all-star teams, recognizing the best performers in each at the end of the season.

Barker reached the state meet finals in all four of her years at Plant City High. She made the finals of the 100-yard butterfly at the Class 3A meet Nov. 3 and finished in seventh. Palermo, a junior, was a qualifier in the 100-yard breast stroke.

Doback and Plante had their best-ever results at state meet, making the top four. Each won the regional diving title their past three years.

Newsome's boys finished fourth as a team at the Class 2A meet and the Newsome girls were fifth, so the Wolves filled almost all of the spots in the American Division First Team.

Barker, picked for the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, and Palermo were the only non-Newsome swimmers on the girls First Team.

Nikita Markov, a sophomore, gave Plant City a presence on the boys first team with his efforts in the 50-yard freestyle. East Bay was the only other school to prevent Newsome from unanimous selections on the boys team.

In addition, Plant City's Corrie Rennick was named Coach of the Year.

Second Team honors went to Markov for the 100-yeard freestyle and the Durant 200-yard medley relay team of Harrison Campo, Logan Butler, Eddie Bandi and Ray Santiesteban.