Jordan fulfills state swim goal

Since her first trip to the state meet as a Berkeley Prep sixth-grader, Laura Jordan dreamed of making a championship final.

The Bucs senior fulfilled her goal Saturday night with a spot in the 50 freestyle final at the Class 1A state meet, finishing with an eighth-place medal.

"I just went into it open-minded," Jordan said. "I really wanted to have the best time and hopefully get the (school) record, which was a 24.22 and I ended up getting a 24.23. But that was my first championship final and that was my goal since the sixth grade.

"I really wanted to do that and I'm happy that I got a medal."

The Berkeley Prep boys 200 free relay team of Zach Eicholtz, Zack Bandes, Alex Bandes and Will Miller also picked up a medal by finishing eighth with a season-best time of 1:29.47.

"That's as fast as we've gone in a while," Berkeley coach Kevin Rosepapa said. "It was our best time all year and I'm happy with that. They get a medal and that was the goal."

Rosepapa switched the order of the relay from the morning preliminary to produce the best time. Eicholtz, the lone senior on the relay team, went from anchor to first leg to set the pace.

"I was very nervous, but that was my last 50 of my high school career so I went all out," Eicholtz said.

Jordan and the Bucs boys were the only Hillsborough County swimming competitors to reach the championship finals. The meet was dominated, once again, by Jacksonville Bolles.

The Bolles girls team won its 20th consecutive team championship and 24th overall, while the boys won their 23rd in a row, 33rd overall.

The Bolles boys set a state record in the 200 free relay and a national record with a 1:29.79 in the 200 medley relay. The previous national record (1:31.22) was set by Cincinnati St. Xavier in 2000. The Bolles girls set state records in the 200 free relay and the 100 back.

In the diving competition, Tampa Prep's Kaliya Burton-Akright ended her high school career by taking fifth place in the girls 1-meter event with 447.60 points. It's the third year in a row she has medaled.

Last year, Burton-Akright finished fourth. As a sophomore, she finished fifth and just missed a medal as a freshman when she finished ninth.

"I hit some and didn't hit some, but overall, it was an OK meet," Burton-Akright said. "It was not my best, but I'm happy I medaled all three years."