In the 2015-2016 FHSAA swimming season, Stoneman Douglas succeeded in sending 8 girls and 11 boys to Regional competition, placing 3rd in the Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay and 13th for the Girls, and 5th in the Boys Overall Rankings. Trying to improve on their performances last year, the boys and girls teams both aimed to start the season strong. With two consecutive meets against strong District opponents and another out-of-district in Deerfield Beach/Coral Glades, Plantation/St. Thomas, and Dillard/Stranahan the teams faced a sizable obstacle in accomplishing this goal.

Having taken place on August 31 in Deerfield Beach against opponents Deerfield Beach and Coral Glades, the first meet saw the boys team sweep both matches in a strong showing, and the girls coming together to defeat Coral Glades before taking a loss from host team Deerfield Beach.

The second meet, which took place a week later on September 7 in Plantation, showcased a decisive victory for both our school’s boys and girls teams over Plantation High, the host team. Despite the great team performance to start off the meet, both teams fell to St. Thomas’s swimmers in a tightly contested match.

The most recent meet occurred this past Wednesday on September 14, hosted at Fort Lauderdale’s Bass Pool. An out of District meet, both of the boys and girls team came out hot in their first match against the contesting Dillard, defeating them handily. In the following match, the boys and girls rode off the momentum of their first victory, and managed a strong defeat of the second opponent, Stranahan High.

“I was happy to see such great performances all around,” senior swimmer Tristan Celestin. “All of us feel good about our performances, and I’m looking forward to another great season.”

Next Wednesday, the Eagles teams will compete in a single-opponent, District meet against rival school Monarch in Deerfield Beach, and are hoping to continue to build on their previous showings as the season passes its half-way point.