Heritage’s Cooper, Gibbons’ Yates take home titles

STUART American Heritage Plantation senior Catharine Cooper had an impressive performance at the FHSAA Class 2A Swimming and Diving Championship at Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Athletics Center on Friday.

Cooper, an All-American, won the girls 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.53. She also stood out in the 100-yard freestyle with a third-place finish (52.74). Cooper helped American Heritage take second place in the girls 200-yard freestyle relay (1:39.32) and had the fastest individual time of all swimmers at 23.39. She was joined in the relay by Olivia Mason, Thea McKenna and Annita Huang.

Cooper had won the state championship in the 50-yard free and 100-yard free as a junior.

“I felt more pressure last year and I was thinking about my times for getting to college and where to go to school,” Cooper said. “It was more personal since this time it was my senior year and I wanted to have fun with it. I practiced and trained like crazy and did well.”

Cooper, who will swim at San Diego State University next year, has competed with American Heritage since the eighth grade.

She has also been swimming at international meets for Panama since 2013. Cooper has previously medaled and had her personal fastest times in the 50-free and 100-free at the Central American Caribbean Championships in Trinidad and Tobago.

Cooper also has competed in the Swimming World Championships in Budapest.

“I have had so many unforgettable experiences while swimming internationally,” Cooper said.

Cardinal Gibbons junior Savannah Yates won the girls 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:05.92. In the 50-yard freestyle, Yates finished second (24.05) and just behind Cooper.

Also swimming in the 50-yard free was Suncoast freshman Sierra Robinson, who finished sixth (24.67) while American Heritage freshman Olivia Mason followed in seventh (24.75).

American Heritage senior Nicholas Pacitti earned second place in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:34.05. Pompano Beach freshman Raphael Santos clocked in with a time of 4:42.40 to finish sixth. Santos also came in sixth during the 200-yard IM (1:57.79).

Pompano Beach junior Mattheus Santos had a time of 21.45 to earn fourth place in the boys 50-yard free. Santos also clocked in at 47.16 for sixth place in the 100-yard free while American Heritage senior Kevin Porto came in eighth (47.85).

American Heritage senior Christian Kopecki finished in sixth place in the boys 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:44.07.

Cardinal Gibbons’ Hudson Coldren had a final score of 454.25 to finish in second place among 19 competitors in the boys 1-meter diving event.

Pompano Beach freshman Lily Ehrlich had a final score of 337.30 to place ninth overall among 24 participants in the girls 1-meter diving event.

Suncoast finished in third in the girls 400-yard freestyle relay (3:37.57) and fourth in the 200- free relay (1:40.33).

Pompano Beach finished third in the boys 400-yard freestyle relay (3:13.35) and fourth in the 200-free relay (1:27.80).

Pompano Beach finished fifth for boys and American Heritage came in sixth for girls and eighth for boys. Suncoast finished seventh for girls.