CONCHS SWIMMING CLOBBERS MIAMI SPRINGS IN HOME MEET

Key West hosted the Golden Hawks of MIami Springs on Oct. 2 at the College of the Florida Keys pool. The boys team enjoyed a decisive 126-32 victory and the Lady Conchs won 123-16. 

The boys 200 medley relay team of Eli Morris, Kieran Smith, Matthew Robertson and Hugo Blinckmann took first place as did the girls team of Mary Searcy, Camila Linares, Hadley Bardoni and Aly Camargo. Once the dust settled from the relay, the victorious members went on to win multiple individual events and participate in other winning relay teams throughout the afternoon. 

Sprint specialist Aly Camargo dominated the 50 and 100 freestyle races along with multiple team relay wins on Oct. 2. MARK HEDDEN/Keys Weekly

Camargo won the 50 freestyle sprint event for the girls and Blinckmann touched the wall first in the boys race. Camargo also won the 100 freestyle race. Gonzalez was first in that event for the boys and added a win in the 200 freestyle as well. 

Tessa Hughes won the girls 200 freestyle race, then went the distance in the 500 freestyle, winning that event, too. In the 200 individual medley, Bardoni was first for the Lady Conchs. Jackson Way won the 200 IM for the boys. Way also won the 200 butterfly race, with Molly Martinez winning for the girls team.

Linares and Smith won the 100 breaststroke race for the girls and boys, respectively, and Charlotte Murray and Searcy won the 100 backstroke event.

Key West’s Mary Searcy cruised her way to an individual win in the 100 backstroke on Oct. 2, along with a team win in the 200 medley relay. MARK HEDDEN/Keys Weekly

The 200 freestyle relay teams also handled the Hawks with ease. The girls team of Reeghan Davis, Karis Dryer, Martinez and Camargo finished first for the Lady Conchs and Hugo Blinckmann, Max Blinckmann, Sebastian Camargo and Gonzalez won the boys relay. 

The 400 freestyle relays repeated the pattern of Conch domination with Bardoni, Martinez, Hughes and Davis winning the girls race and Perez, Jason Frankel, Sebastian Camargo and Gonzalez winning for the boys.

The Conchs have a trio of home meets in the coming weeks. First, they face Barbara Goleman on Oct. 12 at the CFK pool on Stock Island, then host Doral on Oct. 17. They close out their regular season with an intrasquad senior showcase on Oct. 26 just prior to districts at the end of the month. Coral Shores is scheduled to host Carrollton on Oct. 11 at Founders Park for their final home meet of the regular season.

Tracy McDonald
Tracy McDonald fled to the Keys from the frozen mountains of Pennsylvania hours after graduating from college and never looked back. She is a second generation coach and educator, and has taught in the public school system for over 25 years. She and her husband met at a beginning teacher meeting in 1997 and have three children born and raised in Monroe County. In her free time, McDonald loves flea markets, historical fiction and long runs in the heat.