Newsome takes boys, girls titles at City Relays

By JONATHAN MILTON
Published September 9, 2007

TAMPA - Saturday was all about pride and skill as 24 Hillsborough County swim teams gathered for the 34th annual City Relays, held at Bobby Hicks pool.

It was evident from the first few events that the big battle was going to be between Newsome and Sickles. After the waters calmed at the end of the relays, the Wolves walked away with a victory: Newsome girls 250 over Sickles 210, Newsome boys 254 over Sickles 238.

"I think the kids swam great, and the most important thing is that they had fun," Newsome coach Joanne Grogan said. "We came here to win."

Grogan said her team came to the pool with a little extra fuel leftover from its win over Plant on Thursday night.

Despite a disqualification during the first event, Sickles showed resilience by putting up a good fight.

During the girls 400-meter freestyle relay, Plant and Sickles were neck-and-neck until Sickles turned up the heat to win with a time of 3 minutes, 43.31 seconds, over Plant's 3:44.66.

"It kind of took a little momentum off when we got disqualified on the first event," Sickles coach Scott Parlett said. "But the boys and girls stepped up and did what they had to do."

The day also marked end of Jesuit's domination at the relays.

During last year's relays, Jesuit's boys controlled a majority of the events with a number of impressive times. Despite the loss of some of its top swimmers, the team still managed to pull in a strong third-place win.

As the relays came to an end, it was down to the last event: the girls and boys 200-meter freestyle relay. Sickles proved it was not leaving without a fight, as its teams managed to win both events with a significant lead over Newsome.

Yet, even with a great lead during the event, Newsome swimmers were the ones who walked away with the bragging rights.

"I think we underestimated Newsome," Parlett said. "I think our boys did great and our girls did awesome."

Jonathan Milton can be reached at 813226-3374 or milton@sptimes.com.

[Last modified September 9, 2007, 01:39:37]