Lakeland City Swim Meet: Jenkins Runs Streak to 10
Thu. October 06, 2011 at 11:50 p.m. | By Polk Preps Staff
Alejandro Contreras swims the breat stroke in the 200 individual medley during the Lakeland City Swim Meet. (Rick Runion | The Ledger)
By BLAKE HASENZAHL
LEDGER CORRESPONDENT
LAKELAND | The George Jenkins swimming team hasn't lost a Lakeland City Swim Meet in nine years.
Make it 10.
The Eagles finished second place in the boys meet with 107 points and tore through the girls meet finishing with 127 points — 60 more than the second place Lakeland Christian.
Jenkins boys and girls finished with 234 points combined. No other team had more than 200.
Lakeland was the only team close to giving the Eagles a scare, finishing with 186 total points combined.
The Dreadnaughts took first in the boys meet with 121 points but third in the girls meet (65 points) being edged out by Lakeland Christian (67 points).
Jenkins sisters Ashlyn and Kyleigh Firman stole the show for the Eagles.
The Firman sisters competed in eight events — and won seven of them.
Kyleigh, who set a personal record in the 100-yard fly, won for three events, and Ashlyn won four.
"We had a lot of motivation from the team," Kyleigh Firman said. "We just have to keep doing what we're doing."
Motivation is a big deal to the duo, but they don't use each other for it.
"I actually don't like it when I'm racing against my sister," Ashlyn Firman said. "But, I really do like to beat her times."
Added Kyleigh, a sophomore, "We like to try to see whose the fastest."
The Eagles girls finished in first place in eight of 12 total events, second place in two events and third in one. They finished out of the top three in just one event, the 200 relay.
The Lakeland boys were just as dominant.
The Dreadnaughts took home first place in nine of 12 events and didn't finish out of the top three in any of them. Alejandro Contreras and Alex Sparbel accounted for four of the first place finishes.
Sparbel had the closest race of the meet in the 100-yard backstroke. Edging out Alex Carson, of Jenkins, by a split second — 57.68 to 57.69.
"I started off that heat really bad," Sparbel said. "Then I picked it up by kicking under water and doing my strokes like I usually do. I knew I wasn't in the lead so if I wanted to win I was going to have to push harder."
Lakeland Christian finished third in the event, held Thursday evening at Gandy Pool in Lakeland, with 100 points. Placing third in boys with 33 points and second in girls.
Santa Fe Catholic placed fourth overall (41), Tenoroc fifth (37), Kathleen sixth (28), Mulberry (21) seventh and Lake Gibson (4) in eight place.
