Medley of gold

The Tampa Palms Golf and Country Club swim team had its best showing ever at last month's Private Club League meet.

By TERRY JONES

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 14, 2000

TAMPA PALMS -- It's been a record summer for the Tampa Palms Golf and Country Club swim team.

Eight members won 13 gold medals and helped the team place third overall in last month's Private Club League meet.

The club also won three gold medals in the relays, the team its best performance ever in the meet.

Many of these Tampa Palms and Hunter's Green swimmers are also on Team New Tampa, a year-round team that competes statewide and nationally. Team New Tampa member Kris Wiebeck, a senior at Jesuit High School, has qualified for the Olympic trials in early August.

"We were very proud of the club team and its performance in the PCL championships," Mitzi Kremer, a former Olympian who is a coach for both the club team and for Team New Tampa. Kremer won a bronze medal as part of the 1988 U.S. women's Olympic team and swam for Clemson University in college.

Tampa Palms gold medalists included Ellen Heise, Macey Bronson, Marji Chamberlin , Sidney Osterbout , Alex Carr, Michael Silva, Geoff Irby and Adam Szabunio. All events were competed in short-course yards.

Silva, 12, set two Private Club League and three country club records in winning three gold medals in the meet. He set league and club time marks in the 50 freestyle and 200 individual medley and a club record in the 50 breaststroke.

He also was high-point swimmer for boys in age group 11-12.

Szabunio won high-point honors for boys 15-18. He won the 100 backstroke (set club record) and 200 individual medley and placed fifth in the 100 freestyle.

Carr won the 50 freestyle and breaststroke for 10-and-under boys.

With a first in the 100 breaststroke, second in the 100 butterfly and fourth in the 200 I.M., Irby placed third in the high-point race for boys 15-18.

Chamberlin won the 50 freestyle and butterfly, setting club records in both. She also was fourth in the 200 I.M. and scored the most points for girls 11-12.

Bronson won the 50 breaststroke, was second in the 200 I.M. for 11-12 girls and was fourth in the 50 backstroke. She was third in the high point race for her age group.

Osterbout was third in the individual point race for girls 10 and under. She won the 50 backstroke, placed fourth in the 50 freestyle and sixth in the 50 breaststroke.

Heise was third overall for girls 15-18. She won the 100 breaststroke, placed second in the 100 backstroke and was fourth in the 200 I.M.

Lindsey Hall and Paige Greenberg joined Chamberlin and Bronson to win gold in both the 200 freestyle and medley relays for girls 11-12.

Philip Szabunio joined his brother Adam plus Brian Wilcher and Irby to win the boys 15-18 200 medley relay. The four-member team also placed second in the 200 freestyle relay.

Other Tampa Palms Golf and Country Club members scoring one point or more included Nick Adams, Trevor Costello, Zach Dyer, Cory Gassaway, Morgan Bean, Evelyn Costello, Ella Greenberg, T.J. Chamberlin, Shaun Dickinson, Garrett Dyer, Tyler Hall, Alex Szabunio, Molly Ennis, Christine McClelland, Kristyn O'Hara, Sara Stocks, Josh Gassaway, Chris Meyering, Matthew Dickinson, Jeffrey Magol, Greg Stevens, Jimmy Stocks, Matthew Szabunio and Jamie Herzig.

Also helping score points were Shaelyn O'Hara, Kristine Silva, Kyle Bronson, Heather Anderson, DeAnne Cutler, Courtney Meyering, Carly Shaddix, Derek O'Hara and Lauren McClelland.

"Much of our focus for the next few weeks will be on the swimmers on TNT (Team New Tampa), because we have Junior Olympics coming up the first week of August," Kremer said. "But we still have competition remaining for the club team, too. They have all done exceptionally well so far this summer."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.