Seven swimmers from the City of Gulf Shores Swim Team took part in the Greater Pensacola Aquatic Club (GPAC) Winter Invitational on January 11th through the 13th. The meet was held in the University of West Florida’s aquatic center. On the first day of the meet Margaret Lloyd, age 10, and Savannah Kichler, age 11, set personal bests in the 500 yard freestyle race. Both girls exceeded their previous best times by over 10 seconds.

Friday evening foreshadowed the successes of Saturday and Sunday. Margaret Lloyd ended the meet as the 5th place high point scorer for the 9-10 year old female age group. Coach Brook Monroe named her swimmer of the meet for the Gulf Shores Team. Margaret swam 11 races and scored points for the team in 10 of them to finish with 45 points.

28 best times were established by the Gulf Shores Swim Team in 55 races at this winter meet. Taylor Shannon, age 14, has rejoined the Gulf Shores Team after a successful fall season for the Gulf Shores High School swim team. Taylor qualified for the state championship meet in several events.

Coach Brook Monroe, recently returning to the pool following the birth of her son Cooper, said the following about the team’s performance:

“All the young swimmers swam well, but I saw room for improvements prior to the District Meet in mid-February. Jordan Bouldin, Tiffany Hughes and Lane Baker all continued to show improvements in race times and stroke technique. Some of our experienced swimmers missed the meet due to illnesses. But I am sure all will be ready to swim fast next month.”

The Gulf Shores Swim Team will split up and compete in two meets on the weekend of February 2-3rd. Several swimmers will venture to Auburn for the prestigious Ralph Crocker Classic Meet to be held at the Auburn University Aquatic Facility. The balance of the team will enter the Pensacola Navy Youth (PNY) Polar Bear meet to be held at the David L. Bodenhamer Recreation Center in Gulf Shores. Holly Blair of Orange Beach will be swimming her first 500 yard Freestyle at this meet.

The team will be hosting a youth triathlon on May 17th. This event will be held on the grounds of the Recreation Center in Gulf Shores. The triathlon will be a fund raiser for the Gulf Shores Summer League Swim Team. The summer league team competes in the Gulf Coast Aquatic League, a group of 10 teams primarily in Baldwin County.

The Gulf Shores Swim Team is composed of swimmers living in Foley, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. If you have a swimmer that would like to join the team, call 968-1427 for additional information.