Mustangs win opening meet

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Returning with nearly all of its starters from last year, Lakewood Ranch High School’s swim team got its season off to a fast start, cruising to victory at the third annual Lakewood Ranch Tri-Meet Sept. 14 at Lakewood Ranch YMCA.

Lakewood scored 215 points to win the meet, while Braden River and Manatee each finished tied for second with 90 points.

With the exception of All-American Ashley Reid, who now swims for North Carolina State University, the Mustang squad is full of familiar faces. However, although the team remains relatively the same, the Mustangs have spent the offseason adjusting to a new head coach.

Peter Hegwein was named Lakewood’s new coach after former coach Maureen Reid announced she was moving to North Carolina. Hegwein, who also coaches the Sarasota Tsunami and knew Maureen Reid for years, decided to apply for the position as a way to work with high school swimmers.

“I’m (excited) about the opportunity to grow the team,” Hegwein said. “High school swimming is entirely different than club swimming. The (high school) season is about 18 weeks, and it’s all about fast swimming and getting results quickly.”

So far, it seems the Mustang swim team is happy with its new leader.

“He really knows what he’s talking about,” said junior Shannon McCarthy, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury. “He’s motivational, and he really works with people individually.”

This season, McCarthy, Danielle Valley, Raegan Sauer and Jimmy Cascone will once again lead Lakewood along with newcomers Luke Hanner, Sang Cho and Hannah Grant.

Rebekah Baker, Sydney Panzarino and Kevin Berkenbusch each won two events to lead the way for Lakewood. Baker won the 100 freestyle (59.68) and the 100 breaststroke (1:16.03). Panzarino won the 500 freestyle (5:53.39) and the 200 individual medley (2:27.57), and Berkenbusch won the 100 freestyle (54.44) and 200 IM (2:14.91).

Nine other swimmers also recorded first-place finishes for the Mustangs.

“I think the boys will challenge for the 2A state title and definitely improve on last year’s ninth-place finish,” Hegwein said. “For the girls, it’s going to be difficult. Little by little, though, all of the things come together.
“You can only do so much with what you have,” Hegwein said. “I’m going to polish my little gems and set them loose. We have a very balanced team.”

Across the pool, the Pirates squad is chock full of newcomers, including senior Marc Medina, who won his heat of the 500 freestroke.

“I’ve never been so nervous in my life,” Medina said. “I’ve played in varsity football games, but swimming is totally different. There was a lot of anticipation, (because) this was my first time swimming. I didn’t know what to expect, so I just gave 100%.”

Braden River returns only a handful of swimmers, including junior Shelby Graves, who provides motivational inspiration for the Pirates. In addition to Graves, Braden River also will rely on freshman distance swimmer Luke Morris, who also swims for the Lakewood Ranch Lightning.

Braden River coach Abby Williams said although the Pirates didn’t win the meet, she was impressed with her swimmers’ performances.

“Being a very inexperienced team, I was extremely pleased with their performance today,” Williams said. “They all rose to the challenge, and there’s nothing they can do but improve from here on out.”

Last season, Braden River sent a pair of relays and one individual to the regional meet. This year, Williams is focused on improving on last year’s performance while growing the program.

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].