BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Union County High School senior Eva Whitehead was named the Gainesville Sun’s Girls Swimmer of the Year after winning her second straight state championship in the 200-yard individual medley.
It was also the second straight year that Whitehead earned the Sun’s top honor.
Whitehead, who’s going to swim at the University of Alabama, started her quest to repeat as a state champ in earnest at the District 2-1A meet. She placed third in the 200 IM with a time of 2:06.98 and also swam a fifth-place time of 1:05.93 in the 100 breaststroke.
At the Region 1 meet, she won the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.53. She had a third-place time of 1:04.58 in the 100 breaststroke, earning the right to compete at state in that event as well.
Whithead swam a winning time of 2:00.01 in the 200 IM at state, placing her ahead of Bolles’ Ella Gotham, who had a time of 2:01.63.
“I came in confident, knowing I had done it before and that I could do it again,” Whitehead said after winning the title.
Whitehead not only had the top 200 IM time in Class 1A. She swam faster than the champions in two other classes. Tampa Academy of the Holy Names’ Catherine Dieffenthaller had a time of 2:05.73 to win the 2A title, while Ponte Vedra’s Juli Cavalcanti had a time of 2:02.03 to win the 3A title.
Only Class 4A state champ Brynn Lavigueur of Windermere Prep — a University of Texas commit — swam a faster state time at 1:58.23.
It was almost a two-championship performance for Whitehead. She finished as the runner-up in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:03.09. That left her trailing Fort Lauderdale NSU University School’s Niyla Di Sarno, who won with a time of 1:02.68.
“I was coming in (seeded) fourth,” Whitehead said. “I was just kind of hoping for the best, so I’m happy with it.”
Whitehead became the sixth UCHS student-athlete to successfully defend a state title and the first to do so since boys weightlifter Christian Simmons in 2023.
