ROGER LALONDE

Lely's Vinnie Ippolito tightens his tuck position in a dive at the Class 2A-Dsitrict 14 competition on Saturday. Ippolito qualified for regional competition.

ROGER LALONDE

What do parents do between events at a swim meet? Sally Knox reads a magazine and husband Don does a crossword puzzle as they wait for their son Doug in diving competition at the Class 2A-District 14 competition. Doug Knox placed second to move onto regional competition this week.

ROGER LALONDE

Marco ladies made up Lely's relay teams for Class 2A-District competition on Saturday. They qualified for regional competition. From left, are Wesley Blassneck, Louisa Farhat, Mariah Lundin and Emily Hine

ROGER LALONDE

Lely's Harry Stephenson, second from left, takes off from starting block in teh 500 freestyle, which he won in the Class 2A-District 14 meet on Saturday.

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The Lely mighty mites, short in numbers, but strong in heart, advanced a number of competitors to Class 2A-Region 3 competition at Florida Gulf Coast University on Saturday.

Lely girls and boys teams both finished fifth among 12 teams in Class 2A-District 10 competition on Saturday at the YMCA Norris Pool in Naples .

The Barron Collier boys and Charlotte girls teams won the district titles.

“Our swimmers did well, with many having their personal bests,” said Lely Coach Adam Peterson.

Harry Stephenson topped the Lely boys charge with first-place wins in the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle.

Diver Doug Knox of Marco, placed second with 345.8 points, breaking the school record for most points accumulated in an 11-dive competition. He replaces Justin Eaton who scored 343 points in a championship event in 1996.

Vinnie Ippolito finished eighth and also qualified for regional diving competition.

Stephenson teamed with other Marco swimmers to place fourth in the 200 and 500 freestyle relay team events. In the 200, William Baumler, Eric Costello and Alex Roman teamed with Stephenson. In the 500 it was Bryan Murphy, Costello, Baumler and Stephenson.

Baumler also qualified in the 200 freestyle, while Roman qualified in the 100 butterfly, both finishing seventh in their races. The top eight in each event moved on to regional action.

Marco’s Wesley Blassneck led the girls team, winning the 200 individual medley and racing to third in the 500 freestyle.

“Wesley placed third in a race where the two swimmers beating her out raced in All-American Consideration times,” Peterson said.

Chelsea Franklin of Cypress Lake, out-touched Estero’s Molly Dubrasky for the win in the 500.

Blassneck teamed with Marco’s Louisa Farhat, Mariah Lundin and Emily Hine to qualify for the region in the 200 individual medley and 200 freestyle relays, finishing second in both.

“I would have liked to see Louisa win the 100 butterfly, but she got edged out at the end,” Peterson said of Farhat who moves on in the event to the region.

Lundin, a freshman, also advances in 100 and 200 freestyle events.

“It was a long day, but I couldn’t be happier,” Peterson said. “My goal is to see our swimmers improve and many of them had better results.”