- December 13, 2025
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Something was missing from the Sailors entering the 2025 season. Not on their roster, but in their leadership.
Former coach Andrew Eckhart left in August to become an assistant for North Carolina swimming and diving. He was the architect behind a program-record four straight state titles.
But the Sarasota swimmers didn’t hit the panic button. There was no exodus to a neighboring program or lack of faith put in Eckhart’s successor.
They stayed for this.
Sarasota boys’ swimming won the FHSAA Class 4A state championship on Nov. 14 at Florida Aquatics Swimming and Training in Ocala, marking its seventh title all-time. The Sailors reached the pinnacle once more after settling for fourth at the state meet in 2024, snapping their streak of trophies from 2020 through 2023.
They've brought home the ultimate hardware in their first year under coach Andrew Antonetz.
“Last year, we kind of fumbled with that fourth, but now to win again — I could have never expected it,” said senior Bogdan Zverev. “It’s just so overwhelming.”
It wasn’t an easy victory by any means. Riverview was within striking distance most of the way, keeping the pressure firmly on Sarasota to execute.
When the 400-yard freestyle relay ended the meet, though, the Sailors’ score of 231 stood alone. The group edged Riverview’s 208 and Winter Park’s 199 while tallying seven medals, the most of any team at the state championship.
Zverev was the key to it all. He was always going to be. Even entering this season, amid all the uncertainty a coaching change can bring, he never became a question mark.
“He’s definitely the valuable piece of this program,” Antonetz said.
At last year’s meet, he was the only Sailor to secure silver, and one of two alongside then-sophomore Jackson Irwin — who earned bronze — to even medal.
Nov. 14 was Zverev’s coronation. The senior set two new personal bests with golden efforts in the 200-yard individual medley (1:45.23) and 100-yard butterfly (46.99). That former time was just 0.21 seconds shy of tying a state record set by Carter Lancaster of Jacksonville Bolles back in 2022.
In addition to winning Sarasota its only two golds, Zverev contributed to a pair of second-place tandems. His splits of 44.40 in the 400-yard freestyle relay and 21.63 in the 200-yard medley relay each proved crucial.
But neither of those events featured his most thrilling finish. That would be the 100-yard butterfly, where one hundredth of a second separated him from Jupiter’s Charles Howard.
“In the last 25 (yards) of the race, I just shut my brain off. It was just my arms. And then whatever happens, happens,” Zverev said. “It just turned out that I beat him by 0.01.”
Currently ranked No. 41 in the Class of 2026, per Swimcloud, he concludes his high school career as a four-time 2025 state medalist and three-time team state champion. He’ll compete at Alabama next fall for his following act.
Irwin may see him again one day at the collegiate level. In their final high school meet together, he earned three medals of his own to help usher the Sailors to victory.
The junior clocked a personal-best 4:25.14 in the 500-yard freestyle and submitted a 46.65 as anchor for the 400-yard freestyle relay, claiming second place in both regards. Irwin also won bronze via a 1:49.72 in the 200-yard individual medley.
Rounding out the major contributors, juniors Andrew Malaj — an Indiana commit — and Daniil Siutsou earned two medals apiece. Malaj posted a 1:37.43 for third in the 200-yard freestyle while Siutsou featured on both silver-medal relay teams.
Nine different Sailors had qualified for states. Six of them earned medals individually, as part of a relay team or both. They didn’t need a huge roster to take back the throne.
“More quality than quantity,” Antonetz said. “We don’t have a lot of guys, but the quality is there, no doubt.”
Plenty of quality, indeed. Championship quality.
Sarasota’s triumph was a testament to the power of swimming as one. The group didn’t allow itself to be divided when a new face entered the fold.
Instead, the Sailors maintained belief in what they knew was possible. Several of them, after all, carried memories of becoming a state champion when they first embarked on the 2025 season.
Eckhart's departure did not cause the loss of a winning legacy. The Sailors extended it, trusting Antonetz to help them along the way.
Their golden age rolls on.
