Planet Swim, located in Ponte Vedra Beach, recently sent a team of 15 swimmers ages 9-14 to Orlando for the Florida Age Group Swimming (FLAGS) Spring Championship, and ultimately brought home three top finishes, including the team’s first ever state champion.
Mary Agnes Smith placed first in the 50-yard butterfly and second in the 100-yard butterfly. Ann Wohlgemuth placed third in the 50-yard backstroke.
Only five swimmers from Planet Swim had qualifying times to compete at the FLAGS Spring Championship last year. This year, the team, which is ranked 20th in Florida and third in Northeast Florida, brought home a total of seven top eight finishes and eight top 16 finishes. With 14 girls making up the championship team, Planet Swim ranks 14th in the state for female swimmers. Swimmers on the team attend PVPV-Rawlings Elementary, Ocean Palms Elementary, Landrum Middle, Fletcher High, Beaches Chapel, Bolles and Palmer Catholic Academy schools.
“During FLAGS, our team accomplished many goals that we have been dreaming about for the past nine years,” said Gus Chagas, director of the swim team at Planet Swim. “Planet Swim was once a swim school of only 40 swimmers but has now become a program of more than 400 swimmers between the swim school and the swim team programs. We could not be prouder of what our swimmers have accomplished thus far.”
Planet Swim serves a wide range of Northeast Florida’s aquatic community by providing programs including swim school, swim team, masters team and open swim.
Next up for Planet Swim is the Area 1 & 4 championships at Bolles and Florida Sectionals in Plantation for qualifying team members.
