SEBASTIAN, Florida, November 4. THERE was a conversation among those assembled early Saturday afternoon about the Florida Class A swimming & diving finals being renamed "the Bolles Invitational." After all, it was apparent early that no team was going to challenge Bolles except the Bulldogs themselves. In fact, they threatened both state and national records on their way to winning the championships on a chilly and windy night at the outdoor aquatic complex in Sebastian, Florida.
With a roster full of Olympic hopefuls, the boys won their 16th State Championship in a row and 26th overall, while the girls won their 13th State title in succession and 17th overall at the North County Aquatic Complex.
Bolles got off to a quick start in the finals, winning the girls' 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:45.16 just narrowly missing the National Independent and State High School Record of 1:45.01 set by Bolles in 1997. Senior Stephanie Carr continued the title march with a come from behind victory in the 200 free with a time of 1:49.50, a personal best time by over a second. Junior Yi-Ting Siow of Bolles then captured the 200-yard individual medley in the championship final with a personal best and nation leading time of 1:59.91, just missing the Florida state record held by former U.S Olympian Allison Wagner set in 1994. Siow returned later in the evening to win the 100 Breast in a time of 1:03.67.
The 500 free featured an exciting race between Bolles teammates Anja Carman and Stephanie Carr. Both girls led a 1-2-3-4 Bolles finish with times of 4:44.63 and 4:44.85, respectively. Both times represent the fastest times in the country thus far and are under the nation's fastest time from a year ago. Anja Carman returned to compete in the 100 Backstroke winning easily with a personal best time of 54.94 just missing the Florida State record of 54.69 set by Christy Watkins in 1997.
On the final event of the evening, the Bolles School relay team of Anja Carman, Kate Skaggs, Stephanie Carr, and Yi Ting Siow capped off Bolles' Championship run with a win in the 400 Freestyle relay with a time of 3:30.16
On the boys side, Bolles was led by first time state title winners Yi-Khy Saw, Tuck Kar Wong, and Kunakorn Yimsomruay. Tuck Kar Wong took first in the 100 Fly with a personal best time of 50.72 and a second place finish in the 200 Free with a time of 1:40.52. Yimsomruay and Saw led a 1-2 finish for Bolles in the 200 individual medley with personal best times of 1:52.90 and 1:53.40, respectively. Saw came back later in the evening to win the 500 freestyle with a best time of 4:29.70 to take his first state championship title. All three boys combined efforts in the 200 Freestyle and 400 Freestyle Relays to win easily with times of 1:26.77 and 3:09.47. It marked the 16th consecutive time that Bolles has capped off their boy's state championship with a win in the 400 Freestyle Relay.
Florida 1A State Championship Meet Results can be found at: http://www.fhsaa.org/swim/state/1a/