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OPHS Coutant, CHS Stotler highlight swim districts

By Randy Lefko
Posted 10/26/17

JACKSONVILLE – Orange Park swimmer Jacob Coutant stormed to the lead of the 200 freestyle and held on for his first district title of the day before returning the pool less than an hour later to …

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OPHS Coutant, CHS Stotler highlight swim districts


Posted

JACKSONVILLE – Orange Park swimmer Jacob Coutant stormed to the lead of the 200 freestyle and held on for his first district title of the day before returning the pool less than an hour later to win the 100 butterfly as the Raider mens swim team took second behind district 3-2A champion Ponte Vedra at Cecil Field Aquatics Center at Tues., Oct. 17 district championship meet.

“I just went for it in the 200 and held on,” said Coutant, a Class 2A state meet athlete in 2016 in the butterfly and now ranked third in region 1-2A. Coutant is sixth ranked in the region for the 100 butterfly. Orange Park’s mens team scored 213 points to finish behind Ponte Vedra’s 575, but just ahead of Ridgeview at 196 and Clay at 191 in one of the closest meets for county teams in years.

Coutant won the 200 in 1:49.26 to out touch Ponte Vedra’s Andrew Relihan who touched at 1:49.71. Orange Park’s Daniel Hinkle was fourth at 1:58.73 with Ridgeview pair Michael Linton and Craig Zacker eighth and ninth in the event. Hinkle later took second in the 500 freestyle. Linton combined with teammate Michael Johnson for second and third in the 100 breaststroke behind Jesse Hagy of Ponte Vedra.

Johnson was third in the 200 individual medley. In the 100 butterfly, Coutant won by nearly a minute with a 53.99 split ahead of runnerup Igo Kazhuro of Ponte Vedra, who clocked in at 54.60. Ridgeview’s Eric Kowal was 10th.

For the girls, Clay freshman Sara Stotler also dominated the 200 free for the region 1-2A top seed by nearly six seconds and returned to finish second in the 100 butterfly behind Wolfson junior Hannah Sykes by less than half a second; 57.35-57.60. The Sykes-Stotler finish is the region seeding lineup as well.

Clay teammate Kinsey Williamson was fifth in the 100 butterfly in 1:06.47.

Clay got a district title to a second freshman in Elysia Addison who won the 100 breaststroke in 1:10.14. Addison’s time is third-ranked in region 1-2A with the top three times just a second apart.

Stotler’s sister Anna, a junior, took second in the 100 free in 55.99.

Ponte Vedra won the womens team title with 481.5 points ahead of Bishop Kenny’s 355. Clay finished fourth with Ridgeview seventh and Orange Park 10th.