Florida
Florida swim improves at Florida Invitational – The Independent Florida Alligator
From Thursday-to-Saturday, the Florida men’s and women’s swimming team hosted NOVA Southeastern University in the O’Connell Center Natatorium for the Florida Invitational.
Thursday, 11 Gators participated in three events and 10 of those swimmers recorded improved times from their morning preliminary trials.
Florida claimed the top three spots in the men’s 500-yard freestyle, with junior Aryan Nehra placing first. Nehra dropped two and forty-one hundredths of a second from his preliminary time with a finish time of 4 minutes, 19.37 seconds.
Freshman Bobby Dinunzio III followed in second place, dropping 4.25 seconds from his preliminary trial with a final time of 4:21.23. Freshman Amadeusz Knop completed the event in 4:23.01, placing third and finishing .63 seconds faster than his preliminary time.
In the women’s 200 IM, sophomore Grace Gardner placed first for NOVA Southeastern, finishing with a time of 2:08.29. Florida junior Molly Golding followed behind in second with a time of 2:11.71, .55 seconds faster than her preliminary trial.
For the men’s 200 IM, freshman Caleb Maldari secured first place for the Gators with a time of 1:44.99, crushing his preliminary time of 1:48.06. Sophomore Cam Abaqueta followed in second place, dropping .85 seconds after his race in the preliminaries.
Friday, the Gators dominated in the women’s 100 back with freshman Bella Sims placing first with a 50.44 NCAA A-cut time, beating her preliminary time by 1.44 seconds. Freshman Carly Meeting placed second with a time of 54.21.
In the NCAA championships, A-cut times allow swimmers to participate in all events they have B-cut times in.
Thirty-seven of Florida’s swimmers improved their final times following the preliminaries that Friday morning. Senior Adam Chaney, junior Julian Smith, sophomore Joshua Liendo and junior Macguire McDuff swam a 1:22.95 NCAA A-cut time in the men’s 200 relay.
Saturday, the final day of the invitational, freshman Bella Sims set a new program record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 50.44. Senior Isabel Ivey also set a new program record in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:43:03. Nehra, junior Benjamin Cote, and Dinunzio III all achieved NCAA B-cut times in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
The Gators will next compete in Auburn, Alabama, for the SEC Championships from Feb. 20- 24. The men’s team seeks a 12th consecutive championship while the women’s team aims for back-to-back conference titles.
Contact Shaine Davison at sdavison@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @shainedavison.
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The body of Alejandro Jacomino Gonzalez, 41 was discovered in coastal Georgia, according to FBI officials.
The body of a truck driver was discovered in Georgia nearly two weeks after he went missing from a Florida rest stop, officials said.
Alejandro Jacomino González, 41, of Miami, picked up vehicles in Georgia on April 16 and was transporting them to Miami. He stopped at a rest stop in Brevard County, Florida on April 17 about 1:21 a.m. and rested for several hours.
The truck’s GPS showed shortly before 8 a.m., the truck “traveled one exit south and then turned north toward Jacksonville, Florida,” according to the FBI.
“Shortly after, González stopped responding and the truck was reported missing,” the FBI said.
The truck, without some of the vehicles González was transporting, was located in Port Wentworth, Georgia. Three vehicles were recovered in Florida, FBI officials said.
González’s body was located in coastal Georgia. Details on how he died, when and how his remains were located were not provided.
FBI seeking help from public in case of killed Florida truck driver
The FBI is seeking anyone who has photos or video from the Brevard County rest area in Grant-Valkaria, Florida between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. April 17.
Officials are especially interested in the southern portion of the rest stop, near the ramp reconnecting to Interstate-95. Images can shared through an online form.
Michelle Spitzer is a journalist for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. As the network’s Rapid Response reporter, she covers Florida’s breaking news. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.
Isa Torres, Lonni Alameda talk about beating UF in playoff-like atmosphere
Isa Torres led FSU softball with a two-home run performance. She embraced the playoff-like atmosphere in 3-1 win over Florida. Lonni Alameda talks about the victory.
No. 8 Florida handed No. 10 Florida State a narrow midweek loss, edging the Seminoles 4-3 Tuesday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
It was FSU’s first loss at Gainesville in five years.
FSU (43-8, 18-3 ACC) matched UF hit for hit for much of the game but could not overcome a pair of early deficit swings, falling to the Gators (46-8, 16-5 SEC) for the second time this season.
The Seminoles scored three runs on seven hits and drew three walks. Ashtyn Danley and Kennedy Harp each went 2-for-3, and five different FSU players recorded hits.
FSU struck first in the second inning. Singles by Bella Ruggiero and Harp, along with a walk to Shelby McKenzie, loaded the bases. Hayley Griggs followed with a soft single to left to plate Ruggiero, and Isa Torres added a sacrifice fly to score McKenzie and give the Seminoles a 2-0 lead.
Florida answered with two runs on two hits in the bottom of the third to tie the game, then pushed ahead 3-2 in the fourth on an RBI single.
The Seminoles responded in the fifth, again loading the bases. Anna Hinde lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right, allowing Torres to tag and score to tie the game at 3.
Florida regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning with a solo run and held the Seminoles scoreless the rest of the way to secure the 4-3 victory.
Bella Dimitrijevic started for FSU and worked three innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with one strikeout in her 13th start of the season. Marlee Gaskell (2-1) relieved in the fourth, pitching 2 1/3 innings and striking out three while surrendering five hits. Makenna Reid entered in the sixth and recorded two flyouts to keep the Seminoles within a run.
Florida State will resume ACC play with a road series at Boston College beginning Friday, May 1, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
How to watch FSU softball vs. Boston College
- Date: Friday, May 1
- Time: 4 p.m. EST
- Where: Harrington Athletics Village, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
- TV/Stream: ACC extra
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics and Big Bend Preps for the Tallahassee Democrat. If you like to pitch a story on a high school athlete, don’t hesitate to get in touch with him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
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