The Buchholz High swim teams ended their seasons in impressive fashion. The Bobcats girls team took second place at the Class 3A State Championships and picked up state titles in three individual and relay events.

Junior Jami Bohunicky won gold medals in both the 200-yard freestyle, with an impressive time of 1:46.99, and the 100 freestyle by more than a second, posting an incredible time of 50.10 seconds. Bohunicky also anchored the state title-winning 400 freestyle relay team, which also included sophomores Riley Flanagan and Hillary Peterson and senior Angelina Ballatore, who recently signed a letter of intent to swim for the University of Florida. The foursome posted a time of 3:30.96 to top Lake Brantley’s runner-up team by nearly two seconds.

In addition to the state title winners, other Bobcats fared well at the State Championships. The relay team of Flanagan, junior Ali Daly and Hollie Harrison and senior Lauren Branin finished fourth in the 200 medley. The 200 free relay team of Peterson, Ballatore, Branin and Bohunicky came in third place. Ballatore earned a bronze in the 200 IM (2:04.92) and came in sixth place in the 100 breaststroke. Daly took eighth in the 100 breaststroke. Flanagan came in 7th in the 100 back and 11th in the 100 fly.

For the boys, Buchholz senior Zak Clare-Salzer finished sixth at States in the 100 breaststroke (59.88) and came in seventh in the 200 IM with a time of 1:58.46. Buchholz senior Stan Chvetsov earned 16th place in the 100 breaststroke. Buchholz junior Bobby Horodyski took eighth place in the 1-meter diving championship.

The Buchholz girls team also captured the Region 3A-1 and the District 3A-1 championships in impressive fashion on their way to the State meet.

Buchholz Runner Eighth At States

The Buchholz High cross country teams did not advance beyond the Regional round of postseason meets. However, senior Bobcat runner Phillip Wise qualified for and competed at the Class 4A State Championships, which were held at the Little Everglades Steeplechase Ranch in Dade City.

Wise posted his first-ever top-10 finish at States, as he crossed the finish line eighth in 16:08. There were 190 runners who finished the 5K (3.1-mile) race.

Prior to States, Wise took fifth place at the Region 4A-1 Championships at Santa Fe Community College. The senior posted his previous best time in the 5K at 16:24.73. Buchholz junior Carter Robertson (16:55.10) was the only other Bobcat to finish in the top-25 in the Region.

The ‘Cats finished tenth as a team at the meet.

The Bobcats boys team took second in the District 4A-1 Championships. Wise was only a second behind the winner of the boys race. He finished second in 16:07.64 at Bartram Trail. Sean Foster finished 13th overall at Districts in 16:44.24. Robertson also posted a top-25 finish, as he took 20th in 17:09.29. Buchholz senior Jordan Maren finished 29th in 17:19.66. The Buchholz girls finished eighth at Districts. Sophomore Mary Barnes led the Bobcats with a time of 20:58.55, which was good for 24th place out of 109 runners.