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LAKELAND — If not for her closest companion, Bryce Palmer could very well be part of the McKeel girls basketball squad. That might be somewhat exaggerated. Who knows the impact of starting basketball in third grade?
Palmer, however, did not pursue basketball as she intended. Alternatively, a friend invited her to join swimming.
“So I thought, why not? I’ll take up swimming,” Palmer mentioned. “I’ll try it for a week, and if I enjoy it, I’ll just continue. As it turned out, she quit within the first year, but I remained.”
Palmer not merely stayed, she excelled. Seven years later, she stands out as the leading girls swimmer in Polk County after finishing ninth in the 100 breaststroke at the state competition.
Palmer is recognized by The Ledger as the 2024 Girls Swimmer of the Year. Lake Wales’ Mary Leigh Hardman held the title of swimmer of the year for the previous four years as the leading competitor in the county and is currently attending Florida State. Palmer, a sophomore, has the capacity to achieve numerous victories before concluding her high school journey.
Even though she continued with the sport, swimming didn’t instantly ignite a passion within her.
“Initially, I would describe it as somewhat tedious because I longed for immediate results, which don’t come easily in swimming or any sport,” she shared. “It took about six months before I truly fell in love with it, and from that moment on, my enthusiasm grew.”
Palmer, a two-time first-team all-county selection prior to this season, experimented with all strokes in the beginning, but her specialties now encompass breaststroke and butterfly, particularly breaststroke.
This past season in the 100-yard breaststroke, Palmer established a school record, a feat that has become a yearly custom. She has decreased the school record in this event every year since her seventh-grade term. She narrowly missed the county-meet mark in the 100 breast, and claimed titles at the city, county, and district level. She subsequently finished fourth at districts. Additionally, she secured city and county titles in the 100 butterfly, followed by a third-place finish at districts and 13th at regionals.
Palmer has qualified for the state meet on three occasions in the 100-yard breaststroke. As an eighth-grader, she recorded a time of 1:12, placing 21st out of 24 swimmers in the preliminaries.
Last year, she improved her time by nearly six seconds to achieve seventh place and was aiming to surpass that performance this year.
Palmer finished ninth at the state meet this past season, but her time was faster than the previous year. As a freshman, she clocked 1:06.88 in the preliminaries and 1:07.33 in the finals. This year, she achieved 1:06.67 in the preliminaries and 1:06.40 in the finals.
As a fierce competitor who sets ambitious targets, she has mixed feelings about her season, yet maintains an encouraging perspective.
“I truly believe I performed my best,” she remarked. “I did break the school record again, but I felt somewhat let down that I didn’t place in the state’s top eight. I finished ninth, and I wished I could have reached the finals. Additionally, I didn’t fulfill my main objective of surpassing the boys school (100 breaststroke) record, which stands at 1:04. I concluded the season with a time of 1:06.4. But there’s always next year, so I’m optimistic about the future.”
Palmer has two more seasons of high school remaining, with a long-term aim of exceeding a time of 1:04.
“My goal by graduation is to achieve a time of 1:03, and I consider that achievable,” she asserted. “It’s just three seconds, and I believe that could qualify me. I aim to swim at the collegiate level.”
Swimmer of the Year
Bryce Palmer
McKeel, Sophomore
100 Breast, 100 Butterfly
Palmer has risen as the premier girls swimmer in the county, taking over from four-time swimmer of the year Mary Leigh Hardman, who is currently competing for Florida State. Palmer clinched titles in both the 100 butterfly and 100 breast.at the city and county meets. She secured the district championship in the 100 treat and attained third place in the 100 fly. At regionals, she placed fourth in the 100 breast and 13th in the fly, later finishing ninth in the 100 breast at the state competition.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Jenn Gosline
George Jenkins
Gosline guided the Jenkins girls to second-place finishes at the City and County meets. During the City meet, Jenkins clinched victory in eight of the 12 events, and at the county meet, the Eagles triumphed in seven out of the 12 events. Jenkins ended up in fourth place at the district meet.
FIRST TEAM
Claire Scarborough
Lakeland Christian, Freshman
50 Freestyle
Achieved first place at the city and county.
Vanessa Calva
George Jenkins, Junior
100 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle
Triumphed in the 100 free and 200 free at the city and county meets. Claimed victory in the 200 free at districts and was second in the 100 free. Qualified for the state competition in the 200 free as the first alternate.
Isabella VanGundy
Lake Wales, Senior
500 Freestyle
Secured first place at county, second at districts, and 11th at regionals.
Bella Arrazcaeta
George Jenkins, Senior
100 Backstroke, 500 Freestyle.
Claimed city and county championships in the 100 back and finished fifth at districts. Achieved second place at county and second at districts in the 500 free.
Madeline Dolan
George Jenkins, Sophomore
200 Individual Medley
Secured city and county championships, finishing seventh at districts.
McKenzie Hilton
George Jenkins, Senior
Diving
Achieved county and district championships, finishing fourth at regionals and 17th at state.
Leah Parker
George Jenkins, Senior
Diving
Captured city and regional championships. Was the runner-up at county and ended up sixth at state.
Kayla Shuff
McKeel, Senior
200 Freestyle
Finished second at county and secured the district championship.
Sophie Sliveria Lima
McKeel, Sophomore
100 Backstroke
Achieved second place at county and won the district championship.
HONORABLE MENTION
All Saints: Aubrie Nichols, Callie Ruyle, Mallie O’Connor.
George Jenkins: Cori Parker.
Kathleen: Emma Keetchum.
Lakeland: Milani Lee.
Lakeland Christian: Caroline McKeel.
Lake Wales: Emi Wilson, Emilie Coulombe, Ady Warrick.
McKeel: Addison Farmer, Joelle Borglund, Delaney Peterson, Gracie Williamson, Caroline Rowe.
Santa Fe Catholic: Gabriela Lacen Morales.
Winter Haven: Nora VanGundy, Lucy Broyles.
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