GAINESVILLE - Fleming Island sophomore swimmer William Shoesmith is one of two sophomores in the region 1-3A lineup to be among the top contenders for a state medal in two weeks as swimmers move from districts to regions this week.
Shoesmith, second-ranked in the 200 individual medley to Lawton Chiles High sophomore Owen Ekk by nearly five seconds; 1:50.59 to 1:55.82, will be a lead challenger to Ekk, the defending 50 and 100 freestyle champion in Class 3A with lightning-fast times of 20.53 seconds and 45.29 in the 100.
Shoesmith will double up in the 500 free where is ranked fifth in the event with a 4:41.76 split with Ethan Ekk, Owen's older brother, top region finisher at 4:24.44.
Owen Ekk is not in the 50 free region lineup, but returns in the 100 free where he will be battling with Orange Park senior Sebastian Lopez, who clocked a 47.27 in Gainesville to get the district title.
In the region lineup, Booker Washington High junior Ian Malone is the top region seed with a 45.47 with Ekk second at 45.55. Malone was third in the 50 and 100 free last year at state with 21.21 and 45.80 splits. Lopez finished 12th in the 100 free last year in 47.79.
"I had a good race here at districts," said Lopez, coached by Susan Johnson at Orange Park High. "I'm working more on my breakouts to shave some seconds."
Johnson, who saw Lopez finish in the finals last year in the 100 free and 100 breaststroke, is giving Lopez a shot at a medal at state in 2024.
"He has been working on getting into his stroke faster after his turns because he doesn't have a great butterfly kick when he pushes off," said Johnson. "It's all a matter of timing to not let your push off the wall get slower than how fast you swim above the water. He's strong enough to catch people now, but, at state, every second counts."
Lopez will also be in the 50 free where he finished second-ranked Nease senior Jack Mainville with a 21.55 to Mainville's 21.48, both for district titles. Mainville was second in 3A last year at 20.56 and second to Ekk in the 100 at 45.38.
In the region, there are four swimmers under 22 seconds out of regions.
For the girls, Fleming Island diver Ava Brinkman, a state champion two years ago and second by less than a point last year, is pushing her final season to a second state title knowing that her 482.65 total will also be challenged by defending state champion Hadley Futch of Winter Springs High. Brinkman won her district title and the region's top rank with a 475.65 score, well ahead of runner-up Savannah Petrosevich, a sophomore at Nease, who scored 421.25. Futch, in region 2-3A, scored a 493.50 for her region's top rank; well ahead of runner-up at 350.65.
For the girls swimming, Clay High's Kylie Elrod, the lone Blue Devil individual state qualifier last year in the 100 breaststroke (12th in 2A) and 200 IM (19th in 2A), jumping into the Class 3A ranks saw the Blue Devil junior finished ranked 13th in the region 1-3A list. Elrod was the district champion in the 200IM and 100 breaststroke.
"There are a lot of swimmers here from Clay County that all train together," said Elrod, noting Clay's move from Class 2A to Class 3A. "It's nice to know the swimmers around you during the meet."
Also for Clay, freshman Noah Stotler was a district champion like his University of Tennessee sister Sara Stotler, also a state champion, with wins in the 200 free (10th in region) and a second in the 100 butterfly (11th in region).
Clay diver Logan Siebold, a senior, was eighth-ranked for the region meet.
For Fleming Island, distance swimmer Elizabeth Loehr, a junior, is fifth-ranked in the 200 free; second in districts, and fifth-ranked in the 500 free. Loehr was 10th in the 500 free last year in 5:11.07 and 11th in the 200 free in 1:55.85.
In District 50 free, Fleming Island's fast trio of Summer Vanwagenen, Brooke Reynolds, and Katelyn Moore finished 1-2-3 with splits of 25.82, 25.84, and 25.89, but must contend with the likes of Ponte Vedra's district champion Penelope Zarczybnski's 23.58 and Nease's Olivia Moore's 23.99 to get a state ticket.
In the 100 free, Moore and Reynolds went 2-3 behind Gainesville's Kara Walters winning a time of 55.72 with splits of 56.41 and 56.85.
In the region, Moore is 12th and Reynolds is 14th with four swimmers under 54 seconds at the top.
Ridgeview had region tickets from freshman Jackson Strickland in the 500 free (20th in region) and junior Connor Murphy in the 100 backstroke (26th in region) plus 400 free and 200 free boys relay.
Orange Park has Luke Bronson heading to regions in the 200 free (26th ranked) and 500 free (23rd ranked), Dakota Blake in the 100 backstroke (24th ranked) and William Princeton in the 100 breaststroke (25th ranked) plus relays.

District 2-3A champions
Fleming Island: Girls 200 medley relay (Maisie Schaefer, Summer Vanwagenen, Audrey Hall, Brooke Reynolds); Summer Vanwagenen (50 free), William Shoesmith (200 IM, 500 Free), Ava Brinkman (Diving), Girls 200 free relay (Brooke Reynolds, Katelyn Moore, Summer Vanwagenen, Elizabeth Loehr)

Orange Park: Sebastian Lopez (50 free, 100 free)

Clay: Noah Stotler (200 Free); Kylie Elrod (200IM, 100 Breaststroke)

Team Scores Women
1. Fletcher 563, 2. Fleming Island 436, 5. Clay 176, 6. Middleburg 99, 7. Orange Park 97
Team Scores Men
1. Fletcher 587, 2. Orange Park 358, 3. Fleming Island 285, 4. Clay 222, 6. Ridgeview 165, 7. Middleburg 49