- December 26, 2024
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Kaitlyn Gennaro walks through the senior send off. Photos by Jake Montgomery.
Serena Rhoades sings the national anthem at the start of the dual.
FPC's Alexandra Pitts swims the butterfly in the medley relay.
Madelyn Derringe, 16 and Mia Nilsen, 15, swam neck and neck throughout the entire 500-yard freestyle.
Matanzas swimmer Madelyn Derringe
FPC's Hannah Bando-Sanchez and Julia Kurdziel cheer on their teammates.
Rylan Newman of Matanzas finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke.
FPC's Frankie Mazza reaches for the wall.
Loris Eolyan swims the 100-yard breaststroke.
Matanzas senior George Vanderbilt won the 100-yard breaststroke race.
Betty Struble collects her son Caleb's senior award.
Many Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast seniors participated in their final home swim meet Oct. 14 at the Palm Coast Aquatics Center. The underclassmen on both teams lined up and splashed the seniors a farewell.
Matanzas coach Carrie Purdy read the seniors' memories, goals and and parting words to the underclassmen as emotions and energy ran high.
Both teams had members who could not swim due to injuries. Flagler Palm Coast's seniors carried a cardboard cutout of Jeffrey Serle, putting a face to the missing senior at the meet.
Matanzas senior Caleb Struble's mother, Betty Struble, along with younger bother Byron, accepted the gifts on Caleb's behalf. Caleb Struble suffered a spinal injury when he hit a sandbar diving into the ocean at Flagler Beach during a lifeguard drill on July 19. He has been undergoing treatment in Atlanta and is regaining strength. Caleb is still on track to graduate on time.
Many of the races were close. Madelyn Derringe of Matanzas and Mia Nilsen of FPC swam almost stroke for stroke the entire race in the 500-yard freestyle with Nilsen coming out on top.
Flagler Palm Coast won the meet, keeping the Bulldogs in high spirits heading into the postseason.
