St. John’s County has experienced record-breaking growth over the past couple of years and with that growth, a new school — Beachside High School — was opened Aug. 15 on the east side of I-95.
Playing for a new sports team at a new school can sometimes be difficult at the start of the season. There is a lot of planning involved and many obstacles to overcome. But for the BHS Barracudas' swim team, the swimmers, the coaches and the parents have jumped right in to assist and help build the success of the program.
The 2022-23 inaugural swim and dive team is made up of swimmers at all different skill levels, ages 14-17. There are no seniors this year as the first graduating class will be in 2024. The team consists of 28 total swimmers, 21 female swimmers and seven male swimmers.
But this small swim team has been performing above and beyond throughout the season at a 2A level.
The BHS Barracudas went on to compete at the local level at the 2A district competition in Gainesville with all seven male swimmers competing, as well as 12 female swimmers and two divers. BHS walked away with the girl's 200 medley relay championship and the 200 free relay championship with Haylee Hite, Gina Faunce, Kyra Lagatoris and freshman Reese Boswell leading the way to an overall second place girls' finish.
Other notable finishes include:
Boys
Individual Performance Boys
Individual Performance Girls
The next stop was the regionals 2A in Pensacola at the UWF campus. The BHS Barracudas swimmers competed with 17 swimmers and one diver and finished with the following times:
As the season concluded, the Barracudas attended the 2A state competition in Stuart with the team bringing nine swimmers and one diver that included two relay teams and four individual event contenders.
The BHS Barracudas came home with medal-placing finishes:
The BHS Barracuda swim team is under the supervision of Coach Lauren Huss and Cyro Tavares.
