The Plantation Piranhas Swim team hosted the 33rd annual Winter Championships at the Plantation Aquatic Complex from Dec. 7 through Dec. 10. Swim teams from all over the country, including Wellington’s Wahoos Swim Team, sent their best swimmers to compete in this championship meet.
The Wahoos trained for this meet six days a week for many months leading up to the event and fielded a sizable team of more than 30 athletes who qualified for the four-day national event.
The standout athlete for the Wahoos was 13-year-old Veronica Metz, who competed in the women’s 13-14 age division. Metz won multiple individual events throughout the meet, including first place in the 1,650 freestyle (one mile), first place in the 200-yard individual medley and first place in the 400-yard individual medley. Metz also achieved multiple podium finishes, which included second place in the 500-yard freestyle, third place in the 200-yard fly and third place in the 100-yard individual medley. She led the team in earning the most points, achieving 64 points for the weekend. She also earned an overall high-point award in the women’s 13-14 age group division.
Other podium finishers from the team over the four-day meet included Alejandro Bahos Andrade, who finished third in the men’s 11-12 50-yard fly; Allison Connors, who finished third in the women’s 13-14 200-yard breaststroke; Andreas DaSilva, who finished third in the men’s 15-16 100-yard backstroke; Leorah Rotchin, who finished third in the women’s 15-16 500-yard freestyle; and Sage Shach, who finished third in the women’s 11-12 100-yard fly.
The Wahoos’ talented women’s relay team in the 13-14 age division, which included various combinations of Veronica Metz, Chloe Abinuman, Allison Connors, Emma Han and Athena Rilo, eared first place in the 200-yard medley relay, first place in the 200-yard freestyle relay and first place in the 400-yard individual medley relay. They also earned third place in the 400-yard freestyle relay and fourth place in the 400-yard medley relay.
The men’s Wahoo relay team also earned podium finishes in the men’s 19 and under age division, where Dillon Metz, Caleb DaSilva, Julian Granison and Andreas DaSilva finished third overall in the 200-yard freestyle relay and third in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Head coach Rich Whalen and head age group coach Becky Richey supported the team through the grueling meet with constant support and race strategy for all Wahoo athletes, which culminated with the Wahoos being ranked inside the top 10 teams overall for the entire event, out of 64 teams in total.
Congratulations to all athletes who trained hard to qualify for this championship event: Chloe Abinuman, Valentin Alvarez, Uliana Antonya, Alejandro Bahos Andrade, Allison Connors, Billy Connors, Andreas DaSilva, Caleb DaSilva, Nikolina Dengerud, Emily Eaton, Vincent Elliot, Oliver Fergus, Tanner Gilchrist, Jensen Glenn, Julian Granison, Luca Gray, Neylin Gultepe, Venice Guyett, Ciana Han, Emma Han, Miranda Han, Natalie Honzik, Dillon Metz, Veronica Metz, Gabriel Rezende, Ares Rilo, Athena Rilo, Gabrielle Rivarola, Leorah Rotchin, Sage Shach, Eric Tauskela, Levi Vilson and Cooper Wilson.
