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Blue Jacket crashes party

By JOHN SCHWARB

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 25, 2000

It was an honest mistake. Sort of.

For most of the first half at the St. Petersburg City Championships, the chatty announcer practically switched to autopilot at the end of races, announcing some form of " ... and touching the wall first is Northeast ... " after almost every event.

It was understandable as Northeast won 11 of the meet's first 12 races Saturday on the way to convincing wins on the boys and girls sides.

But there was one other impressive, if not slightly overshadowed, story line at the meet. In the day's 13th event, the girls 500 freestyle, a competitor again pulled away from the pack, winning the event in meet-record time. And again, the announcer hailed another Vikings victory.

Only this swimmer was no Viking, but a quiet freshman, Nicole Margaritondo of Admiral Farragut, merely blowing away the competition for the second time on the afternoon. (She also won the 200 free, accounting for the one event in the meet's first dozen not won by a Northeast swimmer.)

"I'm sorry. I thought all the good swimmers were from Northeast," the announcer said, drawing more than a few murmurs. The announcer quickly covered his tail by citing momentary confusion with the Margaritondo who did attend Northeast, Nicole's brother John, the 1999 Times county boys swimmer of the year, and the gaffe was forgotten.

Nicole, however, is not likely to be forgotten for quite a while, especially if she continues with efforts like Saturday's.

Her 1:54.00 in the 200 and 5:00.60 in the 500 were meet and AFA records, and the 200 mark was a personal best.

"It's something I probably take for granted," said Margaritondo of another record-setting day. "But one PR, two school records, that's pretty good for me."

Pretty good for any swimmer, but phenomenal for a freshman. And it could get better this season at the state meet, where Margaritondo finished ninth as an eighth-grader in last year's 500.

Margaritondo missed the final by 35 hundredths of a second but won the consolation. Given that Saturday's record time came after 12 hours at the pool (she arrived at 6 a.m. to practice) and the fact that the top four from last year all graduated, a much higher state finish looks all but guaranteed.

"Her goal is to get top three," AFA coach Allison Beebe said. "She definitely has the mental capability and the physical capability. She has to put together the little things like turns."

If that all comes together for Margaritondo next month, do not expect to see her forgotten again -- by announcers or anyone else.

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