ST. PETERSBURG — The Green Devils have knocked on the door long enough. This year, they plan to kick it down.
St. Petersburg High’s girls swim team has the talent, experience and hunger to capture the Class 3A state championship after three years of near misses. The Green Devils finished second in 2022 and 2023, then dropped to fourth last season.
“We know what it takes,” said Jay Hansen, who moved from volunteer assistant to head coach this season. “We’ve been right there.”
The roster returns nearly intact, led by Hansen’s daughters and a crew that has learned how to win under pressure.
Brinkleigh Hansen, a sophomore, stands out even in a program loaded with college-bound swimmers. She won gold in the 5-kilometer and silver in the 3-kilometer knockout sprint at the World Junior Championships in Alghero, Italy, last year. In September, she earned a nomination for the Fran Crippen Open Water Athlete of the Year at the Golden Goggles Awards.
At last year’s state meet, Hansen claimed individual titles in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle. She swam on the second-place 200 free relay and the winning 400 free relay.
Her sister, Karrington, a senior, has committed to Kentucky. Zoie Fjare has signed with UCLA. Alex Clark and Lizzy Santana return for another season.
About 10 swimmers train year-round with St. Petersburg Aquatics under Fred Lewis, who has coached Olympians Nicole Haislett, Bobby Finke and Melanie Margalis. The Hansens work with Lewis at SPA. The other 25 team members train with Hansen.
That dual structure creates depth and versatility. It showed at the Pinellas County Athletic Conference meet, where St. Petersburg won most events but finished second to Palm Harbor University in the team standings. The Green Devils had beaten the Hurricanes decisively in their dual meet.
“The pieces are in place,” Hansen said.
The gap between second place and champion is narrow. St. Petersburg has closed it before in individual races and relays. Now the challenge is doing it across an entire roster for one day in November.
The Green Devils have the swimmers. They have the coaching. They have the experience of falling short.
This time might be different.
Quick hits
Local teams win district volleyball titles
Three Pinellas County volleyball programs flexed their muscles in district tournament play this week, with Keswick Christian, St. Petersburg and Northside Christian all claiming championships as they advance to regional competition.
Keswick Christian
The Crusaders secured their fifth consecutive Class 1A, District 11 volleyball title, sweeping Sarasota Christian in the championship match.
Rilyn Anderson led with 33 assists while Madison McClung contributed 16 kills and five digs. Lacey Bingham added 12 kills, with Maya DeVega (17 digs) and Adisyn Sabiel (14 digs) anchoring the defense.
The Crusaders (14-12) benefited from a challenging regular-season schedule, winning four of their final five matches to capture the district crown.
St. Petersburg
The Green Devils took home the Class 5A, District 12 volleyball title, the program’s sixth district championship in eight seasons.
Despite same-day lineup changes due to illnesses and fielding a team dominated by underclassmen, St. Petersburg rose to the occasion.
The Green Devils enter regional play with momentum, having won five of their last six matches. Their only recent setback in that span came against Palm Harbor University in the Pinellas County Athletic Conference championship.
Northside Christian
The Mustangs captured the Class 2A, District 7 volleyball title, defeating Indian Rocks Christian in four sets after finishing as district runner-up last season.
Northside Christian was powered by Elle Smith’s impressive 59 assists and 12 digs. Anastasia Papric anchored the defense with 25 digs, while Aaliyah Cancellari delivered 19 kills and 11 digs. Brielle Nestor contributed a match-high 22 kills.
Did you know?
Northside Christian’s Elli Black set the cross country meet record at the St. Petersburg City Championships with a time of 18 minutes, 28 seconds.
This week’s games
The football season continues. Here is the schedule of games for the final week of the regular season involving St. Petersburg area teams
Thursday, Oct. 30
Osceola at Pinellas Park, 7; Largo at Northeast, 7:30
Friday, Oct. 31
Hollins at Gibbs, 7; Indian Rocks Christian at Seminole, 7; Kissimmee Osceola at Lakewood, 7; Lakeland Christian at Northside Christian, 7; St. Petersburg Catholic at Haines City, 7:30; Boca Ciega at Clearwater Central Catholic, 7:30