Two local seniors celebrated the conclusion of their high school swimming careers this weekend with gold.
Competing in the FHSAA Class 2A state championships on Friday at Ocala’s Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training facility, Eastside’s Eric Gong took first place in the boys 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 41.03 seconds.
On Saturday at the 1A meet, Union County’s Eva Whitehead repeated as the girls 200 Individual Medley (IM) state champ, finishing in 2:00.11, more than a second-and-a-half faster than runner-up Ella Gotham of Bolles (Jacksonville).
But they weren’t done.
A Tufts University commit, Gong added a third-place finish in the 100 butterfly (49.70) and top-eight finishes in a pair of relays, as the EHS boys finished fifth in the team standings with 154 points, with Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) coming in first with 244.5.
“I am so incredibly proud of Eric,” Eastside coach Jon Allen said. “He had a few narrow misses the last few years and did not give up his chase for a state title. He has meant so much to our program. He was a critical part of three consecutive city championships, led the team to its 10th straight district title last year, and the boys finished in the top 10 at state three of his four years.”
And Whitehead, an Alabama commitment, also placed second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.09, just behind winner Naiyla DiSarno of Fort Lauderdale NSU School (1:02.68), to lead UCHS (37 points) to a 16th-place team finish (Bolles won with 480).
Leading the way for Eastside’s girls was Elise Panna.
The junior swam a 2:08.09 in the 200 IM, touching the wall third. She was seventh in the 100 freestyle (53.07), as the Rams’ girls team, battling illness, earned a seventh-place overall finish with 125 points, with Mater Lakes Academy (Hialeah) winning the event with 240.5.
“Elise has been a leader and catalyst for us all season,” Allen said. “Her performance is one of the main reasons why the girls were so successful this year. Her role as the anchor in the relays gave the girls ahead of her so much confidence. She had her sights on the state title in the 200 IM and it didn’t quite work out. She is so talented and such a hard worker, I have a huge amount of confidence in her and I know she will be ready to make a run at a title next year.”
Panna teamed with Juliette Bruijnzeel, Sofia Chubina and Grace Panna to claim both a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay (1:39.12) and a fourth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay (3:37.72). Bruijnzeel also placed eighth in the 500 freestyle (5:15.56).
Gong had multiple fellow Rams join him in earning points for the boys team.
Christopher Jeong swam a 4:39.12 to finish second in the 500 freestyle. Teammate Alexander Han took sixth (4:44.52), the same place he finished in the 100 butterfly (51.03).
Jeong and Han joined up with Gong and Anton Burangulov to place fourth in the 400 freestyle relay (3:12.68), while Jeong, Han, Gong and Lian Rheimy finished seventh in the 200 medley relay (1:38.74).
“The boys had a really tough draw through districts and regionals, but they battled to a top-five finish,” Allen said. “They ended up in the top 10 for the fourth time in five years. We are losing a few top seniors, but we have a lot of talented kids returning next year.”
