Gulliver Prep Sweeps Class 2A Swimming Championships

SFHSSports: Twitter | Facebook

It was a perfect ending to the season for Gulliver Prep.

Not only did the girls' swim team defend its title and three-peat but the boys' team, with only seven state qualifiers, won its first state crown to enable the Raiders to sweep the team titles for the first time in the program's history.

On an electrifying night at the FHSAA State 2A Swimming and Diving Championships at Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Center in Stuart, the boys' championship came down to the final event.

Going into the 400-yard freestyle relay final, Gulliver Prep was leading by one point. Throughout the night, the boys' competition was close with only four points separating Gulliver Prep, Arnold and Tampa Jesuit for most of the meet.

"I told them to stay confident," said Gulliver Prep first-year head coach Chris George.

And confident the foursome of junior Trahern Gribble, senior Pablo Luchau, senior Orest Danyliv and junior Miguel Cancel was. The foursome won the relay in 3:07.31, an All-American consideration time, to clinch the title.

The boys finished with 234 points. Arnold was second in 225 and Tampa Jesuit was third with 220 in one of the closest competitions in state meet history. Three-time defending champion American Heritage was fifth with 109.

"I don't think anything was going to stop them from winning that relay," George said. "I had confidence in the relay. I knew they were going to do it. They prepared for this and they wanted it.

"It was insane seeing the points going back and forth. The kids were excited the entire time."

Gulliver Prep was led by double winner Miguel Cancel in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:48.25 and 500-yard freestyle in 4:24.99. Both are automatic All-American times. Cancel competes for Puerto Rico internationally.

Junior Trahern Gribble won the 100-yard butterfly in 49.83, an All-American consideration time and was third in the 100-yard backstroke in 51.52. Gribble's father, Matt, a University of Miami swimmer, two-time Olympian, world champion and world record holder was tragically killed at age 41 in a car accident in Miami. Gribble thanked his father after his race for inspiring him in the butterfly.

Gulliver Prep also took second in the 200-yard medley relay in 1:37.19 and third in the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:27.06.

The girls' team, with 12 state qualifiers, was just as impressive dominating the field with 322 points for its three-peat, the first team in Miami-Dade County ever to accomplish the feat.

Academy of Holy Names was runner-up with 159. American Heritage Plantation, led by double winner Cathy Cooper, was fifth with 111 points.

Gulliver Prep swept all three girls relays. Sophomore Emily Cordovi, sophomore Olivia Hernandez, junior Alica Mancilla and sophomore Sarah Abril won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:47.08, an All-American consideration time.

Abril, eighth-grader Chloe Hernandez, sophomore Daniela Luchau and senior Brooke Ellis won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:38.74.

Cordovi, Abril, Mancilla and Ellis won the 400-yard freestyle in 3:34.06.

Cordovi also won the 100-yard butterfly in 54.67, an All-American consideration time and 100-yard backstroke in 56.34, also an All-American consideration time. "I was extremely nervous," Cordovi said. "It's all about training, what you do in practice is what you do at a meet," Cordovi said.

"It was real special for the girls to defend," George said. "They have been together the past couple of years now. It is special because they are still a really young team. We can still hopefully continue on this path that we've got. One of the nice things is that the girls wanted to win for each other."

George stepped into the head job after helping to build the program as an assistant coach under his mentor Jeff Poppell, who left the program to coach college swimming at Florida. Poppell was one of the first to text and congratulate his former swimmer.

The program never lost a step under George's guidance and gained even more momentum this season building off its past success.

"For us winning both titles shows we are committed to setting goals for ourselves and working towards them," George said. "We are not worried about what other teams are doing. We did the job we needed to get done to get to our goals and be the program we want to be.

"For me, it's just special because these swimmers made the transition a little easier. I was around those athletes all the time when Jeff was here. We came together as a team and we knew what we had to do. I saw them at practice every day, I know the work they put in and now see the results.

"It was just gratifying to see how happy those kids were. They were so excited about what they accomplished. It's bigger than any other feeling I've ever had as a coach."

Broward had two individual state champions. American Heritage junior Cathy Cooper won the 50-yard freestyle in 23.34, an All-American consideration time, and 100-yard freestyle in 52.31. Cooper represents Panama internationally.

"This feels amazing," Cooper said. "My goals have always been to win the 50 and 100. I wanted my times to be faster but I am pretty happy overall that I won."

University of Georgia-bound Zach Allen of Cardinal Gibbons won his third straight 2A diving title. He won the 1-meter springboard title with a season-best 551.90 points.