The Ponte Vedra swim team had an excellent showing at the Fourth Annual Frank Holleman Invitational at Planet Swim Aquatics on Sept. 21, with the girls finishing runner-up and the boys squad coming home in third as a team.
The Sharks were led by coaches Kyle Berry and Ashley Reutter and battled against 20 other schools from around Northeast Florida during the event, which continues to grow with each year.
Some of the standout performances included senior Penny Zarczynski winning both the 50 freestyle and 100 fly, setting a new meet record in the 100 fly in the process with an All-American consideration time of 54.93 seconds.
Sophomore Thomas Smith did his part for the boys team winning both the 100 fly and 100 backstroke.
Smith showcased his versatility by setting a new school record with both swims and a new meet record in the 100 backstroke at 51.43 seconds.
Other winners for the Sharks came in the form of the girls 200 freestyle relay, where Zarczynski shined again, along with junior Ainsley MacAdams, freshman McKenna Biernacki, and Junior Kate Pelot easily won gold in the event.
It was the third straight win for the Sharks in the relay event.
Pelot, Zarczynski and MacAdams were back at it, and this time joined by junior Sydney Player to finish second place in the girls 200 medley relay.
Meanwhile, junior Lily Doyle had a busy day with a runner-up placing in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle, where she also earned an All-American consideration time.
The Sharks had several third-place finishes, including the team of Smith, Aaron Yang, Jono Milicevic and John Finnemore in the boys 200 freestyle relay, Pelot in the 100 freestyle, senior Dean Batelli in the 100 fly and freshman Eli Ahlers in the one-meter diving competition.
The Sharks are preparing for the district meet next up on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
