Once again, Fletcher High School Swim and Dive is celebrating domination, this time at the 2024 FHSAA 3A District 2 Championship. Fleming Island, Orange Park, Clay (Green Cove Springs), Columbia, Middleburg, Ridgeview and Gainesville High Schools were all tough competitors for both Girls and Boys teams, but the local “Beach Rats” won by significant margins.
In diving, Fletcher secured a stunning 1st and 2nd place for boys. As expected, 2023 FHSAA 3A State Champion diver Maxwell Shaver came in 1st, with sophomore Mason Putnal taking 2nd. Freshman Jasper Jackson placed 9th. The depth of the girls’ dive team was obvious with 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th place victories earning more points total than first and second place combined. Leah cox, Maizey Cox, Leila Jones, and Miyah Grey all received very close final scores showcasing the talent on this team.
Fletcher Boys swimming racked up FIVE 1st place victories:
● 200 Yard Medley Relay (Mason Baldwin, Freshman; Seth Ayers, Junior; Merrick Vanscoy, Sophomore; Bradley O'Toole, Junior; 1:41.71)
● 200 Yard Free Relay (Noah Rogers, Sophomore; Mo Metcalf, Junior; Michael Rafferty, Senior; Bradley O’Toole, Junior; 1:31.34)
● 100 Yard Back (Mason Baldwin, Freshman, 53.80)
● 100 Yard Breast (Seth Ayers, Junior, 1:01.44)
● 400 Yard Freestyle Relay (Noah Rogers, Sophomore; Mason Baldwin, Freshman; Seth Ayers, Junior; Merrick Vanscoy, Sophomore; 3:19.53)
Each of those swimmers will automatically advance to the FHSAA Region 1 championship meet. Second place victories also automatically move to the Regional meet. These are the three events where FHS is also secured to advance:
- 50 Yard Free (Merrick Vanscoy, Sophomore, 21.81)
- 100 yard Free (Noah Rogers, Sophomore, 49.97)
- 100 Yard Breast (Mo Metcalf, Junior, 1:06.04)
Their final score was 587, while Orange Park earned 358, Fleming Island earned 285, and Clay (Green Cove Springs) earned 222.
The FHS Girls’ 1st place finish with a score of 563 was a true team effort because no swimmer placed 1st in any event, but according to new FHS head coach Monique Van Gils, "The depth of the girls’ team really helped us drive our win." For example, in the 100 Yard Free, Fletcher finished 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th (Alice Reiss, Freshman, 1:01.22; Marley Mailloux, Sophomore, 1:02.16; Olivia Andry, Freshman, 1:02.45; Alexandra Rafferty, Freshman, 1:03.30).
Freshman Sage Kruse is the only FHS girl’s swimmer to automatically advance to Regionals with a 2nd place finish in the 200 Yard IM with a time of 2:35.41.
FHS secured 31 entries in the Regional Swim and Dive meet for 15 individual events and 6 relay events.
Written by: Ashley Greer