Thursday, May 10, 2012

All County Swim Teams, December 17, 2000



BOYS
BRIAN RICHARDSON
School/Grade: Leesburg, Jr.
Event: 200-yard freesytle.

Time: 1:48.31.
The buzz: He had the fastest time in Lake County in the event this year and swam a personal best at the Class 2A Florida High School Swimming and Diving Championships to place 10th overall. In addition, he also was one of the county's most versatile performers, finishing in the top three in the honor roll in four other events.

ARNALDO GASCO
School/Grade: Eustis, So.
Event: 200-yard individual medley.
Time: 2:24.64.
The buzz: A swimmer who quietly came into the season, started making some noise early on and went on to qualify for the Class A state championships, where he finished 35th in an extremely competitive field and posted a career best time.

BOBBY STONEKING
School/Grade: Umatilla, So.
Event: 50-yard freestyle
Time: 21.82
The buzz: Stoneking could easily be named to the Lake Sentinel's first-team in just about any event. He had the fastest times in every individual event in Lake County with the exception of the 200 free, where he was the second fastest behind Richardson.

TYLER MORRIS
School/Grade: Leesburg, So.
Event: 100-yard butterfly
Time: 1:09.21.
The buzz: Morris is a swimmer who appears to have a bright future for the Yellow Jackets. He was a consistent contributor for the team this season. He swam in and placed among the area's top six in the 200 free, 200 I.M., 50 free, 100 free and 500 free along with the 100 fly.

BERRY STEVERSON
School/Grade: Eustis, Jr.
Event: 100-yard freestyle.
Time: 54.64.
The buzz: Steverson, the son of Eustis swim coach Janie Roth-Langholz, transferred from Umatilla to Eustis this year and came into his own this season, and established himself as one of the area's top sprint freestyle specialists.

SKIPPER WELLS
School/Grade: South Lake, Fr.
Event: 500-yard freestyle.
Time: 5:03.02
The buzz: Wells comes from a swimming family and has been regarded as one of the area's top swimmers in the Lake County Aquatics club team, which is coached by his father, Billy Wells. In addition to posting the area's second fastest time in the 500 free, he also was second in the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly.


NICK MOHNACKEY
School/Grade: Leesburg, Jr.
Event: 100-yard backstroke.
Time: 1:12.92.
The buzz: Mohnackey was a vaulable member of Leesburg's swim team, proving to be one of the area's top distance freestyle swimmers and also swam one of the legs on the county's fastest 400-yard freestyle relay team.

JOHN CLOSE
School/Grade: Leesburg, Jr.
Event: 100-year breaststroke
Time: 1:17.32
The buzz: Close was another swimmer who Leesburg Coach Rene James could use in any of the relay events, plus count on him to swim well in a couple of individual events like the breaststroke and the 50 free.

RELAYS
200-yard medley relay: Umatilla (Justin Parlow, Jr.; Austin Mansfield, Jr., Bobby Stoneking, So.; Jonathan Bryan, Jr.) 1:58.66.
200-yard freestyle relay: Leesburg (Tyler Morris, So.; John Close, Jr.; Alex Johnson, Jr.; Brian Richardson, Jr.) 1:37.37.
400-yard freestyle relay: Leesburg (Tyler Morris, So.; Nick Mohnackey, Jr.; John Close, Jr.; Brian Richardson, Jr.), 3:38.47.

HONORABLE MENTION: Eustis -- Jeremy Markley, So.; Josh Carpenter, Fr. Leesburg -- Brandyn Streeter, Jr. South Lake -- Dylan Bronson, Sr.; Dane Sit, Jr.; David Ricklick, Sr.; Kevin Phelps, Fr. Tavares -- Kyle Carter, Jr.; Anthony Ward, So. Umatilla -- Blake Merrill, Jr.

GIRLS
RACHAEL BAKICH
School/Grade: Umatilla, Fr.
Event: 200-yard freestyle.
Time: 2:16.73
The buzz: Another of the talented young, but not inexperienced, swimmers in Lake County. Bakich may be in her first year in high school, but is a veteran of club swim meets, and that experience showed as she swam several different strokes.

REBECCAH WORK
School/Grade: Leesburg, Fr.
Event: 200-yard individual medley.
Time: 2:15.77.
The buzz: Work could have been selected to the first-team in either of two events. Swimming in her first high school state meet, she placed 11th in the I.M. and was sixth in the 100 breaststroke and also swam on two of the counties' fastest relay teams.

TIFFANY FELTON
School/Grade: Leesburg, Fr.
Event: 50-yard freestyle.
Time: 24.72.
The buzz: The sister of Tanya Felton, who established a school record in almost every individual event when she was at Leesburg and now swims at the University of Tennessee, got her high school career off to a great start. She had the fastest time in the county in the event and placed seventh at state.

ABBEY BALLARD
School/Grade: Eustis, Fr.
Event: 100-yard butterfly.
Time: 1:05.56.
The buzz: Another in the talented group of freshmen who dominated area high school swimming this season. In addition to being one of the area's top swimmers in the fly, she also placed 17th at the state meet in the individual medley.

CANDICE ESGUERRA
School/Grade: Leesburg, Sr.
Event: 100-yard freestyle.
Time: 57.52.

The buzz: Esguerra established herself as one of the county's top sprint freestylers early on in her career at Umatilla and then transferred to Leesburg two years ago, where she continued to be one of the best. She was invaluable to Leesburg on the freestyle relay teams and also had an 18th-place finish in the 50 freestyle at state.

ANGIE LEACH
School/Grade: Leesburg, Sr.
Event: 500-yard freestyle.
 Time: 5:01.94.
The buzz: The career of one of the top female swimmers in Lake high school swimming history came to an end at the Class 2A state meet with an impressive performance. Leach finished third in the 500 freestyle and was ninth in the 200 free. She also anchored the county's fastest 200 and 400 free relay teams.

KRISTAN BIRD
School/Grade: Eustis, So.
Event: 100-yard backstroke.
Time: 1:03.55.
The buzz: Bird was undefeated during the regular season and set Mid-Florida Swim Conference and Eustis school records in the 200 free, 50 free, and 100 free, as well as in the 100 back. She also placed 24th at the state meet in the 100 back and was 15th in the 50 free.

MINDI DOUGLAS
School/Grade: Eustis, So.
Event: 100-yard breaststroke.
Time: 1:19.42.
The buzz: One of the top swimmers on the Eustis team for the past two years, she was among the swimmers who qualified for state on both Eustis' 200 medley and 200 free relay teams and also placed 37th in the 200 freestyle.

RELAYS
200-yard medley relay: Leesburg (Rebeccah Work, Fr.; Angie Leach, Sr.; Tiffany Felton, Fr.; Candice Esguerra, Sr.), 1:56.94.

200-yard freestyle relay: Leesburg (Tiffany Felton, Fr.; Candice Esguerra, Sr.; Kacie Watson, Jr.; Angie Leach, Sr.), 1:41.71.

400-yard freestyle relay: Leesburg (Tiffany Felton, Fr.; Candice Esguerra, So.; Rebeccah Work, Fr.; Angie Leach, Sr.), 3:43.70.

HONORABLE MENTION: Eustis -- Ashleigh Haydu, Sr.; Lauren Belanger, Jr.; Kerilyn Oakes, So.; Jenny Keene, Jr.; Beckey Keene, Jr. Leesburg -- Heather Esguerra, Fr.; Zoanna Barley, Fr.; Jordan McDonough, Fr.; Kim Marshall, So.; Holly Schack, So. Mount Dora -- Christy Pepper, So. South Lake -- Taylor Zentmeyer, Jr.; Kara Holley, So. Tavares -- Haley Lanier, Fr. Umatilla -- Lindsay Bisceglia, So.; Morgan Shipes, So.

COACH OF THE YEAR
RENE JAMES
Leesburg High School
The buzz: For the second year in a row, her Leesburg girls swimming team rolled through the regular season unbeaten and also won the Mid-Florida Swim Conference championship and the Class 2A, District 3 title. It then went on to the best finish in school history in a state meet, placing fifth in the team standings, only one point behind fourth-place Satellite High School. Leesburg's boys had one of their best seasons in recent history and the team is stocked with talented underclassmen who should make the team even stronger next season.

Resources


Saturday, April 21, 2012

Leesburg's Leach Shows Real Promise, December 14, 1997

Freshman Angie Leach Made It To The State Meet In Four Events In Her First Year Of High School Swimming.

December 14, 1997|By Joe Williams of The Sentinel Staff
Leesburg coach Rene James couldn't have planned it better.

Tanya Felton, who graduated from Leesburg last May and is now swimming for the University of Tennessee, took with her a state championship in the 200-yard freestyle, a fifth-place finish in state in the 100 free and a school record in just about every stroke.

Though a freestyle specialist, Felton gave James the versatility to compete in any event where she needed a swimmer and to guarantee the Yellow Jackets a high finish, if not a victory.
Enter Angie Leach, freshman.

She was an inexperienced high school swimmer, but a seasoned veteran on the Lake County Aquatics club team. She also was the answer to James' fears about who would fill Felton's role. The comparisons are natural.

Leach, The Lake Sentinel girls swimmer of the year, perhaps showing her age for one of the few times this season, did not come up to Felton's performances at last year's Class 5A state meet - finishing 28th in the 200 free (2:03.36) and 21st in the 500 free (5:24.44).

But she showed glimpses of a promising future.

Leach posted Leesburg's fastest times of the season in every individual event except the 100 backstroke, in which she didn't compete. She also anchored Leesburg's fastest 200 and 400 free relay teams and swam on its fastest 200 medley relay team.

''I don't mind the comparisons (to Tanya),'' Leach said. ''It is a compliment because she was so good.

''I like swimming a bunch of different events, and I want to get a couple of school records, but it is going to be hard to get many because of the times that Tanya swam.''

James, who recently returned from a week's vacation in which she watched Felton swim for the Volunteers at the University of Georgia Invitational, also can't help but make the comparisons.

''Obviously, Tanya was a person we could put in any event, and we knew she would do well,'' James said. 

''Angie moved into the spot that Tanya left, and she gave us the ability to have quality in any event we needed.

James described Leach as a ''universal girl.''

''She is a talent in any event we put her in. It is great to have that kind of flexibility,'' James said.

Though Leach is only a freshmen, she isn't far off of some of Felton's school records, including in the 200 free - arguably Felton's best event. She is just 6 seconds off Felton's best time in that event. Leach has gone a 1:58.78, and Felton won the state competition at 1:52.09.

''I think Angie has the potential of being very competitive by her senior year,'' James said. ''She, like Tanya, is very dedicated to the sport. She is competitive and all, but she is still young.''

James said she hopes Leach will keep focused on scholarship possibilities.

However, Leach is limited by high school rules to competing in two individual and two relay events in each meet.

Her list of the team's fastest times is quite impressive. Among some of her team-leading times, she is 16 seconds faster than the next fastest time in the 200 free, 9 seconds faster in the 200 individual medley, 4 seconds faster in the 100 free, 39 seconds faster in the 500 free and 4 seconds faster in the 100 breast.

Leach said the season was what she expected.

''Being a freshman and the team leader was kind of different, but everybody looked at each other about the same, so it didn't really matter.''

Leach showed her quality at the district meet, one of the fastest districts in the state, when she won the 500 free and was second in the 200 free.

She also helped Leesburg's 200 free and 400 free relay teams qualify for state, meaning that as a freshman she competed in the maximum number of events allowed at state - four.

''Coming in as a freshman, she did a good job,'' James said.

She said Leach recorded personal-best times when she finished as district champion in the 500 at 5:12.61 and second in the 200 with a time of 1:58.78.

''I was hoping all along that she would win district in the 500 free. In the back of my mind, that was my goal for her - to win district in one of her events.

''One thing nice about her being a freshman is that I could kind of hide her because a lot of high school coaches didn't know her.''

Now there is little chance of Leach laying low.

Resources

Jackets In College: Tanya Felton University of Tennessee

 Tanya Felton
5-9 - Senior - Sprint Freestyle
Leesburg, Fla. - Leesburg H.S.
Club: Lake County Aquatics (Coach: Bob Anderson) 
 
COLELLA ON FELTON: "Tanya made some break-throughs as an athlete last year, and I feel that we have just begun to really see what she is capable of doing. Like the other seniors, I feel that this can be Tanya's best year yet, and she has been exhibiting a real sense of confidence in regard to not only scoring at SECs but qualifying for the NCAA Championships." AT TENNESSEE: 1999-2000: Competed for Tennessee in sprint free events and a variety of relays...Part of three relays that each finished fifth at the SEC Championships, including the 200y, 400y and 800y free units...Individually, finished 13th in the 200y free at the SEC meet with a season and career-best time of 1:50.3 while adding a 14th-place finish in the 100y free with another season and career best of 51.29...Marked UT's top 200y free time of the year...Finished fourth in the 200m free and 10th in the 400m free at the Indiana Invitational...Helped 800m free relay team to a win at the Indiana Invitational with a time of 8:21.16...Took 11th in the 200m free at the Minnesota Invitational (2:05.25) while helping 200m free relay team to a sixth-place finish...
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Resources

Jackets In College: Angie Leach Florida State University




Class:
Senior

Hometown:
Leesburg, Fla.

High School:
Leesburg

Height:
5-9

Position:
Free



THREE-TIME ACC ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL 

2003-04: Continued improvement with a pair of personal-best times during her junior campaign...Improved her personal-best time in the 500-yard free to 4:57.37 with an 18th-place showing at the ACC Championships (Feb. 18-21). That time broke her into the Seminoles' all-time list at number ten...Scored her first career-best mark during the dual meet season as she hit the wall with a time of 10:13.55 to take third against Alabama (Jan. 23). Placed in the top three on 12 different occasions during the dual meet season, including three victories...Captured a blue ribbon with her time of 17:15.10 in the 1,650 free against Georgia Tech (Jan. 17)...Recognized for her schoolwork with a nod on the ACC Academic Honor Roll. 

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Resources