OCALA- The King’s Academy swim team continued their history of success at the FHSAA state finals this weekend, with the boys finishing sixth overall and the girls checking in at seventh overall.  Eleven different Lions made it to the podium as medalists.

The Lions opened the finals with an impressive third place finish in the girls 200 IM medley relay.  Tessa Broedell, Selah Austin, Leala Reese and Bella Petrie posted their best time of the season to make the podium.  The boys relay team composed of Othniel Foster, Drew McQueeney, Asher Smith and Yasser Raad-Franchesi posted a great time of their own and captured a medal with a fourth place finish.

Austin was the first Lion to medal as an individual, grabbing fourth place with a PR in the 50 free.  Drew McQueeney made the podium with a solid eighth place finish in the 100 breast.  Smith returned to the medalist’s stand with a sixth place finish in the 100 backstroke.  Broedell became a double medalist with a fifth place showing in the 100 breaststroke.

The boys relay teams made the podium two more times to close out the night.  The squad of Foster, Aaron McQueeney, Raad-Franchesi, and Chase Faw earned a medal for sixth in 200 free relay.  The Lions closed the night with an 8^th place finish in the 400 free relay with a team made up of both McQueeneys, Faw, and Sam Strohecker.

Drew McQueeney, Petrie, and Faw close out their careers with impressive finishes at the state finals.  The other medalists return next year to write the next chapter in the championship history of TKA swimming.