Jesuit pulls off a rare Tampa Bay repeat in state swimming

STUART — Jesuit boys swim coach Bill Shaffer spent all week trying to score the Class 2A meet. Based off his numbers, the Tigers were not going to have enough to defend their state team title.

But in the preliminaries, things changed. Jesuit swimmers performed better than expected.

"We made up a lot of ground," Shaffer said.

So much that the Tigers actually won by a comfortable margin, outscoring Miami Gulliver Prep 212.5-179. Jesuit becomes the first area boys swim program to win consecutive team titles since St. Petersburg in 1924-25.

Once again, the Tigers' performance in the relays paid off. The 200 medley relay team of Nicholas Shaffer, Robbie Shaffer, Anthony Kirchner and Alex Caceres won in 1:36.91. Jesuit also took second in the 400 free relay (3:11.69) and fourth in the 200 free relay (1:27.69).

The lone winner for the Tigers in individual events was senior Brendan Driscoll, a Duke commit who defended his title in the 500 free (4:32.29). Driscoll beat Bradenton Bayshore's Andrew Kalaman by less than a second.

"I was glad I was able to win again," he said. "It was something we needed to get another team title."

Also placing high for Jesuit: Sophomore Nicholas Shaffer was fourth in the 200 IM (1:53.12) and third in the 100 back (51.76).

Shaffer also coached the Holy Names girls to a runnerup finish for the third straight season.

Pilkowski pulls through

Last year, Patryk Pilkowski decided to leave Poland to live with his uncle in Land O'Lakes.

"I did it for swimming," he said.

In Poland, Pilkowski became a dominant sprinter. But he needed to be challenged.

"I knew the competition would be better in America," he said.
He found out just how tough it was a year ago when he finished 16th in the 100 free at state.

In order to get better, Pilkowski swam with a club team and spent countless hours in the weight room. He also changed his events, swimming the 50 free instead of the 100 free and adding the 100 back.

It all paid off with a state title.

In the 50 free, Pilkowski was one of the last ones out of the blocks, but he rallied, winning in 20.87 seconds, 0.09 ahead of teammate Zuri Ramsey.

Pilkowski wasn't finished. He swam the opening leg on the winning 200 free relay (1:25.68)  and 400 free relay (3:11.39) with Ramsey, Jack Kaatze and Ravidu Idippili. He also was second in the 100 back (50.97).

Ramsey also placed third in the 100 free in 46.71 seconds.

Ward’s wait is over

By the final lap of the 500 free, Taylor Ward had already left the field in her wake. As she touched the wall, the Land O'Lakes senior was finally able to exhale.

Years of frustration were finally over.

Ward won what had been an elusive state title in her signature event, taking first with a time of four minutes, 57.21 seconds, more than seven seconds ahead of Academy of the Holy Names' Cassidy Neely (5:04.64).

"It's a great way to wrap it all up as a senior," Ward said.

In years past, Ward put a lot of pressure on herself to perform on the high school season's ultimate stage. That was mostly due to her workload.

At state, Ward has always swum two individual events, as well as a pair of relays. That includes preliminaries and finals, all packed into one day. That format is far different from club meets where events are typically spaced out over a span of four days.

"This was my last year," Ward said. "I just wanted to take a step back. High school season is all about having fun. I wanted to enjoy it with my teammates and not stress too much.

"The state meet is usually just one big adrenaline rush, but I was able to relax this time."

Ward also took third in the 200 free (1:51.35) and teamed with Margarita Czupryn, Amaya Henry and Romina McCloskey on the third-place 200 free relay (1:39.28) and fourth-place 400 free relay (3:37.60).

It was a memorable week for Ward. Besides coming home with a bagful of medals, including her gold in an individual event, Ward also made her college plans official by signing with Vanderbilt.

"I've been super excited all week," Ward said.

Other notables

In diving, Dunedin's Jake Thompson (fourth, 374.15) and Lexi Atherholt (third, 365.60) had top-five finishes.

Lakewood's 200 medley relay team of Jonathan Ruefle, Justin Irvin, Cameron Gerrard and Sean Doolittle placed fourth (1:38.85).

Holy Names' 200 medley team of Neely, Katherine Taulbee, Ashlin Cannella and Bella Brooks placed fifth (1:51.27).  The 200 free team of Brooks, Taulbee, Sydney Wills and Ava Zaritsky placed fourth (1:39.70).

Land O'Lakes' McCloskey was third in the 50 free (24.17) and second in the 100 free (52.36).