COMETS SHINE AT DIVISION II MEET

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

Sarah Walpole, Nicole Cordoba, Nico Raimont, Teddy Sandoval and several of their Comets teammates saw their hard work pay off Saturday at the Florida Gold Coast Division II South Short Course Championships.

On a chilly night in front of a packed house, the Comets took turns winning races, swimming career-best times and qualifying for this week’s Florida Gold Coast Junior Olympics in Coral Springs.

After two days of competition, the Comets swam 37 Florida Gold Coast Junior Olympics qualifying times—21 boys and 16 girls—in both prelims and finals and expect a few more on Sunday.

Walpole, 8, made her FGJO cut with a second-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:28.22. The third-year swimmer is called a firecracker by her coaches for her exuberance in and out of the water.

The Comets had two other swimmers make their FGJO cuts in the same butterfly event. Kayla Kelley, 9, won in 1:24.01 and and Delanie Perez, 9, was fourth in 1:29.84.

Kelley and Walpole bettered their morning preliminary FGJO cut times.

“I cut three seconds off my best time,” said Walpole, a third grader. “I think it was because I was cold and I wanted to get out of the pool. When I got here I thought I would have a good race. I went nice and smooth on my first 50 and then I went a little faster at the end.

“I am happy, happy, happy, this is my best meet ever,” said Walpole, hugging her towel for warmth. “The butterfly is my favorite. I’m glad my mom made me swim because I want to swim in the Olympics. I like coming to practice and working hard because it makes me better and better.”

Raimont, a 10-year-old fifth grader, made his first FGJO cut with a third-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle in 33.36 and was ecstatic afterwards.

“It felt good,” said Raimont, whose been swimming for four years. “I went fast. I knew I could do it. I am very excited. I felt good in the water. When I did the flip turn I just took off and left it in the water. I’m glad I got into swimming. I don’t mind the hard work especially when I have races like this.”

Cordoba, a 13-year-old eighth grader and former ballet dancer, has been swimming for only two years but is more than making up for lost time. She swam a career-best time in the 50 freestyle in 27.75 to place second and is closing in on her FGJO cut times.

“I think I am doing pretty well right now,” Cordoba said. “I am motivated every day in practice. I am happy. I am swimming my best and that’s what counts. I love being in the water.”

Sandoval, a 13-year-old seventh grader, finished third in the 50 freestyle in a career-best 27.14. He was also pleased with his fifth place finish in the 200 freestyle in 2:08.90.

“I was really happy with my swims,” said Sandoval, a former golfer and baseball player. “I really like the competition in the sprints. You just go all out and try not to breathe because it slows you down. It’s really a lot of fun. I love the water.

“My goals in swimming are to get a scholarship and try to get to the Olympics,” Sandoval said. “I don’t mind practice. I really like it because my friends are there and they encourage me to keep on swimming.”

The Comets won six individual boys races. They were:

Alfredo Mesa Jr., 11, 1,650 freestyle, 20:12.32, FGJO cut; Andres Lares, 10, 10-and-under 100 backstroke, 1:23.46; Federico Maeso, 10, 10-and-under 50 breaststroke, 42.74, FGJO; Juan Lucas, 11, 11-12 200 backstroke, 2:35.08 FGJO; Julio Simon, 18, 14-18 200 backstroke, 2:16.88; and Andres Menchaca, 12, 11-12 butterfly, 2:43.68 FGJO.

The Comets captured 12 individual girls events. They winners were:

Jennifer Rodriguez, 9, 10-and-under 200 freestyle, 2:37.57, FGJO cut; Jessica Rodriguez, 11, 11-12 400 IM, 5:13.82, FGJO and 200 backstroke, 2:28.17, FGJO; Caroline Cabeza, 13, 13-14 400 IM, 5:45.44; Victoria Sage, 15, 15-18 400 IM, 5:05.38, FGJO; Kayla Kelley, 9, 10-and-under 100 butterfly, 1:24.01, FGJO; Katy Davis, 14, 13-14 200 backstroke, 2:28.45, FGJO; Stephanie Freiria, 17, 14-18 200 backstroke, 2:28.82, FGJO; Cristina Villegas, 11, 10-12 50 freestyle, 30.95; Rachel Ling, 14, 12-14 50 freestyle, 27.37, FGJO; Leonie Davis, 13, 13-14 200 butterfly, 2:28.59 FGJO; Mady Fernandez, 15, 14-18 200 butterfly, 2:26.49; and Kimberly Marquez, 16, 15-18 50 breaststroke, 37.46, FGJO.

“Our kids look forward to JOs and they know this meet is pretty much the cut-off,” Comets age group coach Luis Soler said. “Our kids, both beginners and age groupers, always do well in Division IIs. That says a lot for our program. We always come out and dominate. All you saw were yellow and blue caps.

“When our swimmers come to Division IIs they have the complete mindset of making a JO cut,” Soler said. “That is what the whole season is about. It comes down to this particular meet if they haven’t gotten their cuts. The kids know this is the biggest meet before JOs, which is the Big Show. We have fun with it.”

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com