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Palm Harbor boys going for another regional title

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BY ERIC HORCHY

THE SUNCOAST NEWS

Published: November 7, 2009

PALM HARBOR - Despite the absence of a couple notable teammates from last year's state champion Palm Harbor University boys swim team, the Hurricanes proved last weekend that they are a force to be reckoned with yet again.

Led by senior and Harvard commit Wes Stearns, Palm Harbor torpedoed the Class 3A, District 5 field last weekend at The Long Center in Clearwater for its second straight district championship. The Hurricanes boys' closest competition, Countryside High, was outpaced by 99 team points.

Not to be outdone, the Palm Harbor girls swam equally impressive, winning their district title by 32 points.

Now it's onto the always ultracompetitive Region 3A-2 meet that takes place all day today, hosted this year in St. Petersburg by Northeast High.

"We're doing way better than I thought we would be at the beginning of the season," said Stearns, who won both the 200-yard freestyle (1:43.62) and the 500-yard free (4:35.21). "We're having a lot of young guys step up which is surprising."

Swim coach Lisa Bitting said that it's the top-to-bottom effort from both rosters that is powering this year's success.

"I'm very proud of the depth of both teams, especially on the girls' side. We didn't have any event winners at all, but were still able to win the district meet. That was really outstanding."

The Lady Hurricanes managed to come out on top because of consistent Top 5 finishes in nearly every event.

As for the boys, Zachery Perrotti (So.), Ryan McRae (Fr.) and David Morgan (So.) are some of those up-and-comers Stearns referred to that have combined to make up for the absence of Christopher Mertens and Tyler Reed from last year.
Perrotti (100-yard butterfly) and McRae (100-yard free) both had first-place finishes, and Morgan touched the wall in second during the 100-yard breaststroke.

Given both rosters' past successes in district and regional meets, Stearns said the boys and the girls can play off each other for a little extra drive.

"We all train together and we all motivate each other," he said. "It's definitely a joint effort. We're always pulling for one another."

That extra motivation will come in handy today in St. Pete as the boys are looking to defend last year's regional championship and the girls will try to top last year's third-place finish.

"I would say we're certainly thinking positively about it," Bitting said about regionals and potentially beyond. "It's going to take hard work and we're not taking any of the steps for granted along the way."

Eric Horchy can be reached at 727-815-1071 or ehorchy@suncoastnews.com.

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