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Fleming Island swims to close win over Beachside

Posted 9/17/26

Clay, Ridgeview and Middleburg almost got through a tri-meet on Thursday, Sept. 10, before rain and lightning forced the schools to reschedule on Sept. 17 at Rolling Hills. Before the storms, (No. 1) …

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Fleming Island swims to close win over Beachside


Posted

Clay, Ridgeview and Middleburg almost got through a tri-meet on Thursday, Sept. 10, before rain and lightning forced the schools to reschedule on Sept. 17 at Rolling Hills. Before the storms, (No. 1) Clay's Haley Hajost blasted to a 50 free win. (No. 2) Swimmers Taylor Hildrum (CHS), Neveen Trevino (RHS) and Sawyer Hampton (MHS) held the American flag for the National Anthem. (No. 3) Middleburg's Caden Pirner took a peek at Ridgeview's Kade Johnson in the 200 individual medley. (No. 4) Ridgeview's Ben Kollasch won a close match in the 50 free with Clay's Luke Fox and (No. 5) Kaya Davis is emerging as a state force in multiple swim disciplines like the 100 butterfly.

Fleming Island swims to close win over Beachside
 
By Randy Lefko,
randy@claytodayonline.com
 
FLEMING ISLAND - In a battle of two Class 3A contenders in swimming and diving, Fleming Island High's swim teams narrowly took team wins over Beachside High in dual meet action at Eagle Harbor Aquatic Complex on Thursday, Sept. 10.
 
Both Fleming Island and Beachside were top 20 finishers at the Class 3A championships in 2025.
 
At the dual meet, Fleming Island's combined scores notched a 188-158 win while in girls scoring, the Golden Eagles eked out an 86-84 win. The boys from Fleming Island won more decisively with a 102-74 score.
 
In some of the closest races for the girls, the Fleming Island 200 medley relay team — Natalie Kendall, Summer Van Wagenen, Ellie Strombeck and Kinsey Yarbrough — won with a two minute, 6.08 second split to Beachside's 2:06.26.
 
In the 50 free, Kendall narrowly edge Beachside's Lillie Dera with 27.59 second split to 27.91. Kendall was second in the 100 free.
 
Fleming Island picked up team points with a 1-2 finish in the 500 free from Strombeck and Yarbrough. Beachside answered with a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 breaststroke to close the gap in team points in the second half of the meet. In the girls' final event, Fleming Island again sported the top 400 free relay squad in a close 4:03.35 to 4:03.84 win.
 
For the boys, state champions William Shoesmith and Noah Stotler dominated the 200 free — Stotler's title last year for Clay, and the 100 butterfly where Stotler was fifth last year.
 
Stotler won the 100 butterfly by an astounding 12 seconds while taking his specialty, the 200 free, by 14 seconds.
 
Shoesmith, the 500 free state champion, led a 1-2-3 Fleming Island finish in his specialty with a 4:44.73 split with teammates Jake Hall and Nicco Torres behind him. Shoesmith also won the 100 breaststroke by two seconds.
 
In the 400 free relay, Fleming Island won by an impressive 33 seconds with Stotler, Shoesmith and Hall combining with Ridgeview transfer Jackson Strickland for the win. Strickland also won the 200 individual medley by nearly 11 seconds.
 
Next up is Saturday's Frank Hollerman Invitational in Ponte Vedra's Planet Swim facility.

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