Newsome High School in Lithia just wrapped up the best swimming and diving season in school history -- and it wasn't even close.

The Wolves' girls team finished a perfect 11-0 as Federal Division champions. The boys went 10-1, also claiming the Federal Division title. Combined, that's a 21-1 record and county championships on both sides. For a program that has steadily built itself into a powerhouse, the 2025 season was the breakthrough.

How They Got Here

Newsome High School opened in 2005 and has grown into one of the top-rated public high schools in Hillsborough County. The swim program didn't start with a state-championship pedigree -- it was built over years of consistent coaching, growing community support, and a steady pipeline of talented swimmers coming up through local club programs and middle school teams.

The Lithia and FishHawk area is home to several competitive club swim programs, and many of those swimmers feed directly into Newsome. When you combine year-round training with strong coaching at the high school level, results like this become possible.

The Numbers

Team	Record	Division Title	County Championship
Girls	11-0	Federal Division Champions	Yes
Boys	10-1	Federal Division Champions	Yes
Combined	21-1	--	--

Both teams dominated dual meets throughout the fall season before peaking at the county championships. The depth of the roster -- not just a few standout swimmers, but consistent scoring across events -- was what set this season apart.

Bloomingdale Makes a Splash Too

Across town, Bloomingdale High School had its own standout performer. Keely Finan earned the Henry Hicks Memorial Award for Outstanding Swimmer and competed at the 4A FHSAA State Championship, where she placed sixth in diving and anchored the 200 freestyle relay. The Hicks Award is one of the most prestigious individual honors in Hillsborough County high school swimming, and Finan earned it through a dominant season.

Bloomingdale's girls cross country team also earned recognition at the fall sports awards ceremony, taking home a team GPA award with a 3.9 collective average. Brains and athletic talent -- that's the Bloomingdale way.

What This Means for the Community

High school sports are one of the things that bind neighborhoods together in places like Valrico and Lithia. On a Friday night at a Newsome football game or a Saturday morning at a swim meet, you see the same families, the same neighbors, the same community showing up.

A record-breaking season like this does a few things:

• It puts the program on the map for incoming freshmen and families considering a move to the area. Top athletes want to swim for winning programs.
• It validates the investment that families make in year-round club swimming. Seeing it pay off at the high school level matters.
• It gives the community something to celebrate. In a news cycle that can feel heavy, watching local kids dominate in the pool is a genuine bright spot.

Newsome's Other District Championships in 2025

Swimming wasn't the only sport where Newsome excelled. The Wolves also won district championships in:

• Volleyball
• Boys and Girls Cross Country
• Boys Golf
• Boys Soccer
• Boys Basketball
• Boys Track
• Boys and Girls Lacrosse
• Boys and Girls Tennis
• Baseball

That's an extraordinary run across multiple sports and seasons. Newsome is increasingly one of the most well-rounded athletic programs in Hillsborough County, and it starts with the community that supports it.

The Takeaway

If you live in the Newsome High School zone -- which covers much of Lithia, FishHawk Ranch, and parts of southern Valrico -- you're in a school community that's firing on all cylinders, both academically and athletically. The 2025 swim season was historic, but it's part of a bigger story about a school that keeps raising the bar.

Congratulations to the Newsome Wolves swim and dive teams, the coaching staff, and all the families who drove to early morning practices and cheered from the pool deck. This one's for the record books.