Marjory Stoneman Douglas Swim and Dive Team Members Compete in States

by Matt Rothman December 2, 2019

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas Swim and Dive Team [courtesy]

By: Matt Rothman

Under Head Coach Julian Wynter-Anderson, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas swim and dive team had one of its best seasons ever with three players competing in states.

Although the boys or girls teams won districts, they were still able to send two divers from the girls’ squad and one swimmer from the boys’ team.

Penelope Jacobson performed the best in states on Nov. 23 in Stuart, Florida, as she finished in 15th place. Olivia Rosen finished two spots back on 17th. The lone swimmer was Kenan Kocoglu, who finished in 23rd in the preliminaries Saturday morning in the 100-meter breaststroke. He also was able to set a personal best at 1:00.08.

Throughout the season, the Parkland school had dual meets with other teams and picked up numerous wins. Each score helped the swimmers and divers compete for a state championship

“It was good to have people make it to states,” said Wynter-Anderson. “Overall, the girls worked hard and were a bit more focused. They were driven and extremely self-motivated. “

This was also one of the fastest races ever according to times, which makes what these swimmers and divers did even more impressive.

Kocuglu is considering continuing his swimming career into college, though he has not yet decided where he would like to go. Wynter-Anderson is hoping that success this year can help inspire some of the other players on the team to reach levels these three seniors went to.

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Matt Rothman

Matt Rothman is a 2018 graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University receiving his bachelor’s degree in journalism and then graduated from the University of Florida as a graduate student. He also works for the Mohave Valley Daily News in Bullhead City, Arizona covering high school sports.