- April 19, 2024
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One thousand, two hundred feet; 0.2273 miles; 365 meters. For the Flagler Palm Coast girls swimming team, it was 400 yards. And for at least one member of the relay team, Julie Concannon, she spends her four lengths of the swimming pool thinking about what she’s going to eat after the meet.
The relay team of Carolyne Vasconcellos, Margaret Cruz, Nomari Marrero and Concannon set the FPC school record in the 400-yard freestyle relay Thursday, Nov. 3, at the Region 1-3A meet, in Jacksonville.
The four finished in 3:46.82, beating the previous record of 3 minutes, 47 seconds, which the same group set last season.
Though they finished in ninth place in the region and missed qualifying for states by one place, the four were still humbled by their experience.
Cruz and Vasconcellos are both seniors; Concannon and Marrero are juniors. All four have been on the relay together for the past two seasons.
Vasconcellos said the group is supportive and fun to be around.
“I can’t find many feelings that are better than reaching a goal,” Vasconcellos said. “When I was a freshman, I looked at the record book and promised myself I would make it up there.”
Six records later, Vasconcellos will likely have her name in the record books far into the future.
Cruz, who also is a senior and swims several individual events, said she gets more pumped up for the relay than any other race.
“You’re counting on each other,” Cruz said, adding that her times are typically faster on relays than individual events. Concannon and Marrero agree.
And just because each leg of the relay swims four lengths of the pool, there’s no saving anything in the tank. It’s a full-out sprint for each 100-yard split, they said.
Prior to the same group of four setting the school record last season, the record was previously set in 1991.
Vasconcellos breaks 100 backstroke record that stood since 1992
Vasconcellos also engraved her name in the record books on the individual level. She finished the 100-yard backstroke in 1:02.86, finishing 14th in the region. The time was fast enough to take down the previous record of 1:03.90, set in 1992 by Carla Cline. Vasconcellos also finished 11th in the 100-yard freestyle.
This was the first season Vasconcellos swam the 100-yard backstroke. In her first race, she finished in 1:06.
However, just because the high school swimming season is over doesn’t mean Vasconcellos will take a break. She is currently in Greensboro, N.C., to tryout for the U.S. Synchronized Swimming National Team. Tryouts go from Thursday until Sunday. If Vasconcellos makes the team, she’ll compete in the world championships next summer, in Athens, Greece.
Vasconcellos is a member of the Flagler County Synchro Belles. In June, she won a national championship with two teammates for the 16- to 17-year-old trio event.
Vasconcellos said she’s been training for this tryout for the past 12 years, and thanks her coaches and parents for all the support.
RECORD-BREAKERS
Carolyne Vasconcellos, Margaret Cruz, Julie Concannon and Nomari Marrero broke the Flagler Palm Coast school record in the 400-yard freestyle relay Thursday, Nov. 3, at the Region 1-3A, after finishing the race in 3:46.90, good for a ninth-place finish.
