Smith's state title leads historic day for Bayshore swimming

STUART -- T.C. Smith got just the push he needed to capture a state swimming title.

Smith, a Bayshore High School junior, entered Saturday's Class 2A FHSAA Championships at the Sailfish Splashpark Aquatic Center as the top seed in the boys 500 freestyle. Then, in the preliminaries, he was practically unchallenged and coasted through to the finals.

But things got a little too interesting for Smith's taste when the big race came and Gulliver Prep's Miguel Cancel sailed out to an early lead and held it for almost the entire race.

"You usually try to control the first half of the race a little bit more than I did," Smith said. "(Cancel) definitely made me push to another level to keep myself in striking distance going to the end of the race."

Smith chipped away at Cancel's lead, finally passed him on the homestretch, then used everything he had trying to hold on.

"I got a little gassed, but the adrenaline took over until it was over and done," Smith said. "I knew he would be coming and I wasn't sure how much he was catching up,"

The two swimmers finished just .44 seconds apart, and Smith said he didn't even know he had won until he saw it on the scoreboard.

"It was very exciting," Smith said. "All that motivation after all the hard training I've put in, it finally pulled through and worked out."

As a sophomore, it was Smith who led for most of the race but got caught at the end and finished third. That experience, Bayshore coach Aaron Bokelmann said, was a key factor in his race strategy this year at state.

"He was confident going in and I think that really helped him," Bokelmann said.

Bokelmann, the first-year Bruins coach, has guided a resurgence for Bayshore this season fueled by four underclassmen -- each of whom competed in Stuart on Saturday.

Smith grabbed the spotlight with his championship in the 500 free -- as well as a time of 4:23.91 that shattered his personal best by a full five seconds -- and a seventh-place run in the 100 backstroke.

Andrew Kalaman also took 14th place to score for Bayshore in the 500 free.

Not to be outdone, the Bayshore girls also made their presence felt led by Ryley Ober, just a freshman, who finished runner-up in the 200 freestyle and third in the 100 backstroke. Teammate Alexandra Graham came in ninth in the 500 free and 16th in the 200 free.

Bayshore's girls finished 19th out of 44 teams that scored, with 43 points. The Boys scored 35 and were 21st of 44.

For Smith, who has been contacted by colleges such as Harvard, Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan and Florida State, its an indicator of a very bright future for the Bruins program.

"Bayshore swimming is definitely starting to make a name for itself," Smith said. "We're picking up a lot of good swimmers and as a team we're really starting to get ourselves out there like we haven't done before."

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Smith's state title leads historic day for Bayshore swimming ."