CECIL FIELD – The Fleming Island High boys and girls swim teams both finished third behind champion BartramTrail and runnerup Nease high schools at the St. Johns River Athletic Conference swimming and diving championships held Saturday at the Cecil Field Aquatic Center.

Top teams in the SJRAC include Fleming Island, in Class 4A; Bartram Trail, in Class 3A, the defending boys district 3-3A champion and region 1-3A runnerups to Creekside for the girls, Tallahassee Chiles for the boys, with Nease girls fourth in districts and regions as well as Middleburg. Orange Park is in Class 2A.

In team points for the girls, Bartram Trail, the Class 3A runnerup last year to Creekside, won with Nease second, Fleming Island third, Orange Park sixth and Middleburg eighth. For the boys, Bartram Trail, Class 3A third place last year, won with Nease second and Fleming Island third with Orange Park fourth and Middleburg eighth. Fleming Island was third in Class 4A last year. Bartram Trail and Nease were the only teams with divers scoring points.

“I’m pleased with our efforts overall, especially as we are a young squad in the processof rebuilding,” said Fleming Island coach Jordan Bright. “We have had a solid season with excellent efforts against Bartram Trail and Buchholz. The guys are truly rebuilding with several rookies on the squad.”

Heinton, the lone returner from the Fleming Island boys 4 x 50 free relay triple gold medal foursome the past three years, topped the individual effort by the Golden Eagle boys team with a second in the 50 free and a second in the 100 free to Bartram Trail’s Luke Williams.

In the 50, Williams won in 21.79 with Heinton second at 22.18.

In third was Orange Park High’s Keenan Restall who gave up football this fall to swim, who grabbed third ahead of Bartram Trail’s Mason Campbell with a 23.52 effort.

In the 100, Williams won in 48.56 with Heinton second at 49.21. Behind the pair, Fleming Island got two swimmers; Josh Conomea and Charles Johnson both tied for eighth at 53.05.

Heinton was the region 1-4A 100 free champion in 47.13 last year and second in the 50 free in 21.69 to graduated teammate Jack Neeley. In region 1-3A last year, Williams was seventh in the 50 free in 22.50.

In the much-ballyhooed 200 free relay, Bartram Trail won in 1:29.60 with the Fleming Island quartet of Heinton, Conomea, Johnson and Robbie Jones fending off Nease for second in 1:33.59. Fleming Island won the 4A gold medal in 1:24.82. Fleming Island’s boys 200 medley team was also second to Bartram Trail.

For Orange Park, senior Jacob Coutant, 11th in the 200 free in 2A last year in 1:44.83, won his specialty in 1:48.25 then came back to win the 100 butterfly in 53.64. Coutant was ninth in 2A in the 100 fly in 52.12.

Also for Orange Park, Daniel Hinkle finished third in the 500 free in 5:08.24.

For the girls, Fleming Island’s Sara Grimm won the 100 backstroke as the lone individual champion. Ellie Brinkman finished second in the 100 butterfly in 1:02.55 to Bartram Trails Summer Stanfield who won in 56.63. Emma Grimm took second in the 100 breaststroke. Stanfield was second in the 3A 200 IM and 100 backstroke last year.

The Fleming Island girls relays; 200 free, 200 medley both finished second while the 400 free relay took third.