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NAPLES — Seacrest was one of the smallest teams Saturday at the Shark Relays at the YMCA Norris Pool. The Stingrays definitely represented the smallest school at the meet that kicks off the high school swimming season in earnest.

With just 21 swimmers, Seacrest couldn’t hope to compete with the area’s biggest schools Saturday. The Stingrays finished near the bottom of both the boys and girls point standings.

Still, Stingrays coach Debbie Richardson stood poolside Saturday afternoon cheering her squad and jotting down times with a grin on her face.

“I love this meet,” said Richardson, the only coach in the two-year history of Seacrest’s program. “It’s a great learning meet for these kids. They get a chance to work together as a team and build camaraderie.”

As the first big meet of the year, the Shark Relays allow teams to shake off the rust from a nine-month offseason. Many area teams are inundated with new swimmers thanks to the sport’s post-Olympic popularity, and Saturday’s meet let the rookies get some pool time they might not otherwise see.

Fourteen schools swam in the 11th annual Shark Relays, a meet started in Gulf Coast’s inaugural year by Harry Lawson, who still guides the Sharks. Fort Myers swept the boys and girls meets, beating out the Gulf Coast boys and the Community School girls for the team titles.

But coaches say Saturday’s meet wasn’t about placings or team scores.

“It’s a chance for everyone to get a chance to swim,” Barron Collier coach Jackie Tiberio said. “A lot of the beginner kids, it’s a great chance for them to get started and learn what a swim meet is like. It’s just a fun day.”

The Cougars might be the largest team in the area with 82 swimmers between the boys and girls squads. Tiberio estimated she had 70 swimmers at the Shark Relays and said all of them swam in at least two events.

The all-relay format of the meet gave teams a chance to practice working together, as well as put swimmers in events they might not otherwise swim. Boys and girls teams competed in 14 relays each, including a dive relay.

Some unusual events are the 250- and 500-yard freestyle crescendo relays, as well as the 400 individual medley relay. In the crescendo events, each of a team’s four competitors swims a longer distance than the previous one.

“It’s the most fun meet of the year because it’s events you’d never swim in a regular meet,” Gulf Coast senior Molly Lawson said. “It’s all relays, so you get to work together. The focus isn’t all on one person.”

None of the results at the Shark Relays list the schools’ individual team members. Coaches aren’t even required to turn in the names of their swimmers in the events, and each person is limited to four races.

It’s all part of promoting the team concept that these schools hope will bode well for them later in the year.

“The kids have to rely on each other to complete the race,” said Richardson, who is a veteran of the Shark Relays after coaching Barron Collier for 10 years before moving to Seacrest. “It’s not an individual thing. It’s four people working together to make their team better.”

* * *

Shark Relays

Saturday

At YMCA Norris Pool

Boys

Team results — Fort Myers 426, Gulf Coast 420, North Port 352, Community School 347, Lely 340, Barron Collier 309, Cape Coral 289, South Fort Myers 270, Port Charlotte 260, Riverdale 228, St. John Neumann 110, Dunbar 82, Seacrest 82.

• 200 medley: 1. Gulf Coast 1:47.84, 2. Barron Collier 1:52.33, 3. Fort Myers 1:53.98.

• 500 freestyle crescendo: 1. Community School 4:32.88, 2. Fort Myers 4:38.99, 3. Gulf Coast 4:49.18.

• 200 butterfly: 1. Riverdale 1:54.72, 2. North Port 1:55.08, 3. Gulf Coast 1:57.32.

• 400 individual medley: 1. Community School 4:19.46, 2. North Port 4:22.07, 3. Lely 4:24.40.

• 200 backstroke: 1. Cape Coral 1:56.61, 2. Fort Myers 2:01.18, 3. Gulf Coast 2:03.51.

• 200 freestyle: 1. Gulf Coast 1:38.54, 2. Riverdale 1:40.90, 3. Fort Myers 1:41.19.

• 200 breaststroke: 1. South Fort Myers 2:15.07, 2. Port Charlotte 2:16.21, 3. Riverdale 2:26.79.

• 250 freestyle crescendo: 1. Fort Myers 2:28.76, 2. Barron Collier 2:35.65, 3. Community School 2:36.17.

• 100 butterfly: 1. North Port 50.85, 2. Cape Coral 51.30, 3. Port Charlotte 52.53.

• 100 backstroke: 1. Fort Myers 1:00.70, 2. Riverdale 1:01.67, 3. Gulf Coast 1:04.02.

• 100 freestyle: 1. Port Charlotte 48.77, 2. Gulf Coast 51.33, 3. St. John Neumann 53.08.

• 100 breaststroke: 1. Cape Coral 59.52, 2. Port Charlotte 1:00.32, 3. Gulf Coast 1:04.51.

• 400 freestyle: 1. Fort Myers 3:23.19, 2. Gulf Coast 3:31.96, 3. Community School 3:36.85.

• Diving: 1. Gulf Coast 158.63, 2. Barron Collier 122.81, 3. Lely 120.70.

Girls

• Team results — Fort Myers 491, Community School 421, Cape Coral 384, Gulf Coast 381, Barron Collier 340, Riverdale 336, Port Charlotte 274, Lely 270, South Fort Myers 238, North Port 214, Seacrest 190, Dunbar 74.

• 200 medley: 1. Fort Myers 1:59.41, 2. Barron Collier 2:02.32, 3. Community School 2:05.10.

• 500 freestyle crescendo: 1. Fort Myers 4:49.45, 2. Cape Coral 4:59.77, 3. Community School 5:02.37.

• 200 butterfly: 1. Fort Myers 2:05.84, 2. Community School 2:15.35, 3. Lely 2:17.63.

• 400 individual medley: 1. Community School 4:31.65, 2. Fort Myers 4:34.57, 3. Riverdale 5:02.51.

• 200 backstroke: 1. Fort Myers 2:09.41, 2. Gulf Coast 2:13.96, 3. Community School 2:17.08.

• 200 freestyle: 1. Gulf Coast 1:48.10, 2. Fort Myers 1:51.78, 3. Riverdale 1:56.23.

• 200 breaststroke: 1. Cape Coral 2:29.35, 2. Fort Myers 2:30.62, 3. Riverdale 2:37.60.

• 250 freestyle crescendo: 1. Fort Myers 2:28.76, 2. Barron Collier 2:35.65, 3. Community School 2:36.17.

• 100 butterfly: 1. Cape Coral 54.45, 2. Fort Myers 59.32, 3. Community School 59.39.

• 100 backstroke: 1. Cape Coral 58.47, 2. Fort Myers 1:00.62, 3. Gulf Coast 1:01.18.

• 100 freestyle: 1. Gulf Coast 50.12, 2. Fort Myers 58.98, 3. Community School 59.93.

• 100 breaststroke: 1. Cape Coral 1:11.15, 2. Fort Myers 1:18.00, 3. Gulf Coast 1:18.79.

• 400 freestyle: 1. Fort Myers 3:48.94, 2. Barron Collier 3:50.24, 3. Gulf Coast 3:53.00.

• Diving: 1. Barron Collier 156.33, 2. Gulf Coast 113.89, 3. Cape Coral 107.33.