PALM HARBOR FL – The PHU swim and dive team had their first meet this past Wednesday, Sept. 6, going up against Clearwater High School. It was a home meet at the Greater Palm Harbor YMCA. The team’s first 2 meets were canceled due to weather issues, which were supposed to be against
Seminole and St Pete. This makes the first meet of the 2023 season a win for the Hurricanes.
PHU junior varsity girls won 89-2, varsity girls won 137-38, and varsity boys won 127-31 against
the Clearwater team, blowing them out of the water. There were no divers available to compete
for the Clearwater team. It’s clear, coaches Tim Mcann and John Scalidini taught their JV and
varsity, high school and club swimmers well!
The theme was navy out, which was displayed by supporters arriving in their best blue attire,
matching the swimmers’ navy blue suits. Tickets for the meet at the YMCA were only $4.
Massive support was also displayed from the swimmers, cheering each other on throughout
their events such as relays and the 500 yard freestyle swim. I spoke to Sophie James (‘27), who is on the JV plus team. She was at the meet on 9/6/23 and
told me about her experience. “It was my first high school meet so I didn’t know what exactly to
expect. I swam 3 events; 50 free in a relay, 50 fly in a relay, and 500 freestyle. The 500 was
super tiring. Coach always tries to have every person swim the 500 at least once through all the
meets” said James.
