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Nelson's speed anchors Chamberlain
By TERRY JONES NORTH TAMPA -- Chamberlain speedster Grant Nelson stood poised to attack the water and the clock for the 400-meters title at the Florida Swimming Championships in July. The Chiefs junior had finished second in the 800-meters freestyle race for boys 15-16 a couple hours earlier and he wanted a gold medal in the big meet. At the gun, he sailed into the water and set a pace to win the gold in 4 minutes, 08.92 seconds. Now Nelson, one of Chamberlain's best swimmers, has his sights set on a state high school championship. He will help keep the Chiefs competitive. However, it may be a tougher road for Nelson's teammates, many of which are freshmen and sophomores. All seven of north Tampa's public high school swim teams will have one or more competitive swimmers. Wharton and Sickles have experience, balance and depth. Leto has experience and could record its best season. Gaither, with its normal depth and talent, should write another successful season into its traditional winning program. Even second-year Alonso and startup Freedom could be competitive in some events. ALONSO: With state finalist Jeremy Oversier and pointmaker Kyle Britt returning, Alonso coach Debbie Stevens feels she has strength to build on for a good season. "Our kids have been recruiting friends in the off-season, so we could have depth this year," Stevens said. "Of course we are still building our program, but numbers can add up to points, while we develop and build standout swimmers." CHAMBERLAIN: Coach Genny Murphy did not return calls to discuss her team, but with Nelson's speed and leadership, Chamberlain could make big waves all the way to state. FREEDOM: Since receiving her appointment as swim coach for both the boys and girls teams at Freedom High, Tye Severino has been visiting club teams in the community to size up potential talent. She won't know what she has to work with until she has her swimmers in the pool, but she's optimistic. "First year and new program, you know how that goes. But we will hopefully be building a quality program from the beginning," Severino said. "This is a great community and there are some talented swimmers with the Team New Tampa and the New Tampa YMCA. If some of them are in our district, we could get a good start." GAITHER: Jean Tinnen has built winning teams for more than a decade. She always puts as many swimmers as allowed in each event, then motivates each and every racer. Standouts for the Cowboys this year include Myles O'Keefe and Cesar Crovo. This could be a banner season for Gaither. LETO: Leto has not been known as a swimming and diving powerhouse, but last year the team had some strong relays that were competitive all the way to districts. The four members of the 200-yard medley, plus the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay teams are all back and Falcon coach Jim Lavallee believes they will go far this season. Versatile senior Daniel Lopez leads the quartet, which includes Kareem Kirby, Greg Guerrero and Juan Escobar. Carlos Malpica also helps on the relays. Lopez is also competitive in the individual medley, which includes the backstroke, freestyle, breaststroke and butterfly. "We have all been looking forward to this season," Lavallee said. "We are expecting exciting things from this team this year." SICKLES: The Gryphons are coached by successful veteran Don Zentmeyer, who has been working to build a team with depth. At the end of last season, the team elected new captains and have been working hard to prepare for this season. Captain Brad Moore is supported by co-captain Tyler Bursey and captain-elect Tyler Epperson. "The captains are all seniors and all are ready to have a great season," Zentmeyer said. "They have been recruiting friends to the team all year and we should have depth and skill to be competitive. I am really looking forward to working with the guys on this team. Sickles graded out 'A' academically and this team will grade out 'A' in sportsmanship this season." WHARTON: Nick Mason, MVP for the Wildcats last year, is one of the team's 14 veterans. David Bellizian, Andrew Garove, Jeff Spiker, Derek Mays and Scott Desrosers are some of the stand-out swimmers who could help Wharton become a district contender this season. "Our team has a lot of spirit and many of the guys have been working hard over the summer with club teams and on their own to get ready for a big season," Wharton boys coach Marcia Scholl said. "We are in a very tough district, but we should be competitive. Arbor Greene has offered their pool for us to practice and that will help."
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