Dylan Cardosi of Jenkins Shines as Captain of The Ledger’s 2024 All-County Boys Swim Squad!

LAKELAND — Dylan Cardosi aimed to finish the 100-yard butterfly in under 50 seconds. His inability to meet that target merely indicates it will take him a bit longer to achieve this objective. The George Jenkins senior continues to push his limits, establishing ambitious goals with the assurance that he will ultimately meet them.

However, it will be in college that he really needs to meet this ambition as the George Jenkins swimmer concludes a thriving high school swimming career. He remained unbeaten in the county throughout the season and ended his career with an 11th-place finish in the 100 butterfly and a 12th-place in the 50 free.

Cardosi has been named The Ledger’s 2024 Boys Swimmer of the Year.

Girl Cross Country: Lakeland Christian’s Emma Wilkinson leads Ledger’s 2024 All-County Girls Cross Country Team

Boys Cross Country: George Jenkins’ Caden Baker tops Ledger’s 2024 All-County Boys Cross Country Team

Overall, Cardosi feels positive about his senior season.

“My senior year has been rather hectic, so I’m certainly not dissatisfied with it,” Cardosi stated. “I was aiming for a slightly better outcome (at state), as usual, so I’m content with how it turned out. In summary, I decided to try the 50 free towards the end of the year for a state lineup, which was a significant shift for me since I typically swim mid-distance events like the 100 and 200. Testing out the 50 was just for fun in my senior year, and it turned out exceptionally well. So I have no complaints. I was genuinely surprised at my performance in that. In the 100 fly, I ideally wanted to dip below 50.”

Cardosi came very close, missing the target by just two-hundredths of a second with a personal best of 50:02.

“I’m often recognized for setting what you might call, not unrealistic, but more ambitious goals because I understand my potential,” he remarked. “So when everything aligns perfectly, I am aware that I can achieve those in the long term. I know it’s possible to break 50 in the fly with a perfect swim.”

George Jenkins coach Jenn Gosline, who has mentored Cardosi since he was seven, is confident that Cardosi can accomplish everything he aspires to achieve.

“He’s very tactical in everything he undertakes, whether it’s organizing the relay lineup or planning his individual events,” she mentioned. “He will analyze and strategize based on everyone at districts. He examines previous district data, considers who has graduated, assesses the regionals, studies the state and builds plans accordingly. He and his sister share this meticulous approach.”

Cardosi, who set school benchmarks in the 100 fly and 50 free, did not participate in the 100 fly during the first month of the season. Throughout the season, he triumphed in both the 100 fly and 50 free at county and districts. He finished as the runner-up in both events at the regional meet. At the state competition, he secured 11th in the 100 fly and 12th in the 50 free.

Cardosi’s result in the 100 fly at the state meet wasn’t as high as his previous two seasons, where he registered a time of 50:38 to finish 10th as a sophomore and sixth as a junior. This year, he clocked 50:10 in the preliminaries and 50:09 in the final.

Despite his achievements in individual events, Cardosi takes the most pride in his splits during the relay. The thrill and energy heighten his performance.

“My top splits ever happened in those relays,” he said. “I’m not sure why. The excitement of the moment, competing against the other teams, pursuing others.”

The next chapter of his journey lies in college, although he remains undecided about his destination.

“I’ll sort it out soon,” he noted. “We’ll see.”

SWIMMER OF THE YEAR

Dylan Cardosi

George Jenkins, Senior

50 Free, 100 Butterfly, 200 Free

Cardosi remained undefeated throughout the districts in the 100 fly. At the County meet, he clinched the 200 free win by eight seconds and then concentrated on the 50 free and 100 fly during the postseason. He established school records in both the 50 free and 100 fly. He placed second in the 100 fly and 50 free at regionals, ultimately finishing 11th and 12th respectively at the state meet.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Roy Wilshire

McKeel

Guided McKeel to county championships in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions and led the boys to a third-place overall at districts while clinching the county title for the girls.

FIRST TEAM

Marcos Cabrera

Lake Wales, Sophomore

100 Breaststroke, 100 Freestyle, 200 Individual Medley

Cabrera was the county champion in the 200 IM and 100 breast events. He wasdistrict titleholder in the 100 breast and 100 free and secured second and fifth places, respectively, at regionals. At the state competition, he attained 11th place in the 100 breast.

Jaxon Penick

Bartow, Freshman

500 Freestyle

Claimed county championship and finished third at districts.

Kyle Hoerl

George Jenkins, Junior

100 Backstroke

Secured the county championship then took third place in the backstroke.

Ryan Fallaw

McKeel, Junior

200 Individual Medley, 100 Backstroke

Triumphed in both events at the city and district meets. Finished second in the 200 IM at county and third in the backstroke.

Cal O’Connor

All Saints, Freshman

Diving

Achieved first place at county and districts, third at regionals, and 10th at state.

Ethan Ketchum

Kathleen, Senior

Diving

Secured second at county, first at districts, second at regionals, and seventh at state.

Dominic Nguyen

Lake Wales, Sophomore

50 Freestyle, 100 Backstroke

Claimed victory in the 50 free and finished as runner-up in the 100 back at districts.

Chance Swinburne

McKeel, Sophomore

100 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle

Won the county title in the 100 free and took second in the 200 free. At districts, he was the runner-up in both events. Finished fifth in the 200 free and seventh in the 100 free at regionals.

Nico Lee

Lakeland, Sophomore

100 Breaststroke, 200 Individual Medley

Achieved second and third places, respectively, in the 100 breast and 200 IM at both county and district competitions.

Keegan Long

Auburndale, Junior

50 Freestyle

Long was crowned county champion in the 50 free.

HONORABLE MENTION

All Saints: Avery Simmers.

Auburndale: Andy White.

Bartow: Nic Miller.

George Jenkins: Gabriel Bourque, Danny Walker.

Kathleen: Joshua Johnson.

Lake Region: Hezekiah Villanueva.

Lake Wales: Ethan Behr, Robert Coulombe.

Lakeland: Jo Jo Howell.

Lakeland Christian: Sam Houghton, Easton Durden, Brian Bohorquez, Luke Haldane.

McKeel: Cole Dunsford, Gunnar Conrad, Bryson Jones, Derek Dunning.

Winter Haven: Oscar Munoz, Hayes Hallack, Alejandro Hurtado, Kolbey Cheston.