PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — The Arnold swim and dive teams had multiple athletes place at state, including one gold medal.
Senior swimmer, Ben Parsons won gold in the boys 100-yard freestyle. His performance set an Arnold High School and Bay County record with a time of 45:38. Parsons also placed third in the boys 50-yard freestyle.
Parsons said it’s great to know he closed out his swim career as a Marlin in the best way possible.
“It’s just nice being able to think back about my time here and just knowing that I put it out as hard as I could on the last one,” Parsons said. “It’s just a good way to go out.”
On the dive team, Junior, Preston Tomasiewicz placed fourth at state.
It was Tomasiewicz’s third appearance at state competition. As a freshman, he placed tenth and jumped up to fifth place in his sophomore season.
During the season, Tomasiewicz broke a number of Arnold school records. At regional competition, he had one of his best performances which qualified him for all-American consideration.
“At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t expecting to break multiple records and go all the way to state,” Tomasiewicz said. “Then to place fourth at state is a big accomplishment.”
Parsons has plans to swim at the collegiate level but has not determined where he will go. Tomasiewicz wants to win gold at state in his senior season.
