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Highlands Today

Hurricanes Impress At Sunshine Games

Wolfe, Ananthan Make Big Splashes

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Highlands Today Staff Report

Published: June 18, 2008

WINTER HAVEN — Megan Wolfe brushed aside the sort of nagging ailments that would sideline most swimmers to post eight top-five finishes, as the Highlands Hurricanes had an impressive showing at the Sunshine State Games at Rowdy Gaines Pool last weekend.

The Blue Streak swim team member and state qualifier finished in the top six and earned team points in each of her 10 events, highlighted by first-place finishes in the 50-free (25.32) and 200-back (2:21.97). Wolfe also took second place in the 100-free with a 54.06 and third in the 100-back with a 1:05.75. She also grabbed fourth in the 400 IM (5:12.22) and 100 fly (1:02.97).

Sean Spiegel won his only event of the day, taking first in the 50-free in 21.42 seconds.

Hurricane head coach Marvin Wolfe wasn't even aware of all the injuries daughter Megan was suffering from during the event.

"Megan had a shoulder injury that she suffered during the hard training we've been doing in preparation for the Sunshine Games," Wolfe said. "She didn't even tell me about that injury until after the event so I wouldn't worry.

"She's been hobbled by an injured knee for months, and that's going to take a while to heal, but Megan isn't going to ease up her training schedule."

Five-year-old Pranav Ananthan took third place in the boys six-and-under 25-free in 38.86, while Bryan Kirsch finished fourth in the 100-breast with a 1:07.74.

"That was [Pranav's] first big swim meet, and I am so proud of him," Wolfe said. "You would think that being five years old he'd be nervous, but he didn't know what to be nervous about.

"The amazing thing is that he couldn't even swim to the end of the pool when he started in May, and now he took third place."

Former SHS state champion Quinlan Wolfe, meanwhile, took second place in the 50 free in 22.19, joining Kirsch, Spiegel and Brian Miller for a first-place finish in the 200-medley with a 1:48.84.

Spiegel & Quinlan Wolfe also competed at the 2008 Gulf Coast Swim Team Summer Invitational swim meet at the Florida Gulf Coast University on Sunday. Spiegel set a new pool record in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 23.82 seconds in the morning's preliminary races. But he could only hold onto the record for a few hours: In the evening's finals, he was out-touched for first place and settled for second with a time of 23.86 seconds.

Quinlan Wolfe finished fifth with a time of 25.49 seconds.

The Hurricanes will be competing this weekend at the Lake Placid Aquatics Invitational, and the following Saturday will be hosting the Swim-A-Thon fund-raiser at Avon Park High School.

This is an event where each swimmer asks for pledges for each length they swim or a lump sum donation. The swimmers attempt to swim 200 lengths of the pool (5000 yards or almost 3 miles) or as many as they can within a 2 hour period.

Last year, six of the 12 swimmers were able to complete the task.

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