Prosper High School Swim and Dive Teams Sweep

Prosper High School Swim and Dive Teams Sweep District Meet
The Prosper High School Swim and Dive teams won the District 10-5A Championship in both the boys and girls divisions
for the sixth time in as many years on Saturday. The boy’s team finished first among six district rivals and the girl’s
finished first among seven at the meet held at the Hannah Natatorium on the campus of Austin College in Sherman.
Records Set, Honors Achieved
Several PHS team members took top honors at the district meet. For her outstanding performances at the meet,
Gabrielle Kopenski was named Swimmer of the Meet for the girls.
The PHS Dive team collected all four achievement awards when Gabe Johnson was named Diver of the Meet for boys
and Miranda Dymond was named Diver of the Meet for the girls. Coach Scott Serio was named Diving Coach of the Meet
for both the boys and girls.
Mark Keffer raced to a first place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke to set a new school record in the event. Keffer’s
time of 1:07.09 is 1.21 seconds off of his previous personal best time. In all, the team set 21 personal best times at the
meet.
Athletes Perform from Start to Finish
The team of Spencer Smith, Madison Mannka, Gabrielle Kopenski and Hope Jestes set the tone for the meet with their
first place finish in the meet’s first event, the 200-yard medley relay. Matching the girl’s fast start, the team of Nicholas
Sandt, Mark Keffer, Zachary Wachter and Caden Vandygriff swam to a first place finish in the boys 200-yard medley
relay.
Gabrielle Kopenski continued the fast start with her first place finish in the 200-yard freestyle ahead of teammates
Jordan Wendt in third, Paityn Snyder in fourth and Audrey Cate in fifth place. Austin Keith set the first personal best time
for PHS swimmers by taking 0.99 seconds off his 200-yard freestyle time to take third place. Kevin Reid Duran reduced
his personal best time by 11.84 seconds to take fourth place while Dawson LeBlanc swam to a fifth place finish. Daniel
Trautmann turned in the most improved time of the meet by taking 18.04 seconds off of his previous best time in the
event.
The boys swept the top four spots in the 200-yard individual medley (IM) led by Zachary Wachter in first place with Mark
Keffer in second, Krezian Frey in third and Jon Brewster in fourth place. Frey set a personal best time shaving 0.81
seconds off his previous mark. Hope Jestes led the girls with her second place finish ahead of Madison Mannka in fifth
and Braiden Velletta in ninth place in the IM.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Brittany Maynard took second place, Sage Garcia took fourth and Alicia Camelleri took fifth.
Jacob Kopenski took second place for the boys in the event while teammates Jack Smith took sixth, Caden Vandygriff
took seventh and Blake Whitley took eighth place. Sage Garcia and Blake Whitley both set improved their personal best
times in the 50-yard freestyle, Garcia by 0.73 second and Whitley by 0.56 seconds.
Zachary Wachter won his second individual event with his first place finish in the 100-yard freestyle and Nicholas Sandt
finished in fourth place. Blake Whitley bested his personal best mark by 0.73 seconds to take fifth place while Keaton
Spilker finished in sixth. For the girls, Spencer Smith placed second, Alexis Robles fourth, Braiden Velletta fifth and Sara
Spiker finished sixth in the event.
All four boys and three of the four girls set personal best times in the 100-yard freestyle event. For the boys, Jacob
Kopenski improved his time by 0.57 seconds to take first place, Austin Keith improved by 1.49 for fourth, Jack Smith by
1.50 seconds in fifth and Caden Vandygriff improved by 1.17 seconds to finish in sixth place. Paityn Snyder led the girls
with her second place finish, 1.74 second faster than her previous best time and Elizabeth Kirsch swam to a fifth place
finish. Teammates Blanche Mezo finished sixth and Alicia Camelleri finished eighth with Mezo taking 0.77 seconds off
her best time and Camelleri taking 2.20 seconds off hers.
Gabrielle Kopenski won the 500-yard freestyle event, her second individual win of the meet. Hope Jestes placed second
in the event, Audrey Cate third and Alexis Robles placed fourth to sweep the top spots for the girls. Dawson LeBlanc
placed second for the boys ahead of Kevin Reid Duran placing third and Skyler Eaton placing sixth in the meet’s longest
event.
Both the boys and girls teams took first place in the 200-yard freestyle event with the team of Spencer Smith, Jordan
Wendt, Hope Jestes and Gabrielle Kopenski swimming for the girls and Kevin Reid Duran, Nicholas Sandt, Austin Keith
and Zachary Wachter swimming for the boys.
Nicholas Sandt finished first in the 100-yard backstroke ahead of Krezian Frey improving his personal best time by 2.02
seconds in second place. Daniel Trautmann took fourth place and Jon Brewster took fifth and improved his best time by
0.59 seconds. Spencer Smith and Jordan Wendt led the PHS girls with their second and third place finishes, respectively,
with Elizabeth Kirsch in ninth place and Sara Spiker in tenth.
Finishing in third place, Nick Mollison shaved 3.35 seconds off his personal best time in the 100-yard breaststroke while
Keaton Spilker reduced his time by 13.31 seconds to take sixth place and Skyler Eaton took ninth. For the girls, Madison
Mannka swam to a fourth place finish in the breaststroke. Brittany Maynard swam 4.04 seconds faster than her previous
best to take eighth place and Blanche Mezos swam 1.26 second faster than her previous best to take ninth place. Sage
Garcia places tenth in the event.
To solidify their impressive team victories, both the boys and girls 400-yard freestyle relays swam to first place finishes.
The team of Paityn Snyder, Audrey Cate, Madison Mannka and Jordan Wendt swam for the girls and Caden Vandygriff,
Austin Keith, Dawson LeBlanc and Kevin Reid Duran swam for the boys.
Regional Meet is Next for Teams
There will be little rest for the teams this week. Every PHS swimmer and two divers advanced to the regional meet in at
least one event based on their top six finish. The regional meet gets underway Thursday when the divers square off
against their regional rivals. The swimmers hit the pool for the preliminary events on Friday with the regional finals set
for Saturday. All events will be held at the Frisco ISD Natatorium.
The Prosper High School Girls Swim and Dive team pose with their District 10-5A trophy.
Back Left: Blanche Mezo, Alicia Camelleri, Hope Jestes, Jordan Wendt
Middle Left: Paityn Snyder, Sage Garcia, Braiden Velletta, Gabrielle Kopenski, Madison Mannka, Brittany Maynard,
Coach Serio
Front Left: Coach Dillon, Alexis Robles, Audrey Cate, Spencer Smith, Elizabeth Kirsch, Sara Spiker, Samantha Willett
The boys 200-yard Medley Relay team receive their first place medals.
From left: Nicholas Sandt, Zachary Wachter, Mark Keffer and Caden Vandygriff
The Prosper High School Boys Swim and Dive team pose with their District 10-5A trophy.
Back Left: Austin Keith, Nick Mollison, Krezian Frey, Jack Smith, Dawson LeBlanc, Nicholas Sandt, Blake Whitley, Jon
Brewster, Keaton Spilker, Caden Vandygriff, Coach Serio
Front Left: Coach Dillon, Daniel Trautmann, Mark Keffer, Jacob Kopenski, Zachary Wachter, Gabe Johnson, Kevin Reid D
Gabrielle Kopenski displays her Swimmer of the Meet award.
Gabe Johnson somersaults during one of his first place winning dives.
The girls first place winning 200-yard medley relay team poses with their medals.
From Left: Spencer Smith, Gabrielle Kopenski, Hope Jestes and Madison Mannka
Mark Keffer is all smiles as he receives his first place medal for his school record setting 100-yard breaststroke
performance.
Amanda Dymond performs one of her dives on her way to a first place finish.
Zachary Wachter swims to a first place finish in the 100-yard butterfly.