Awesome At Auburn

Sunkist swims awesome at Auburn! Over 1,000 swimmers competed at the Ralph Crocker Classic in a very fast prelim/final meet held on the campus of Auburn University. Sunkist swimmers broke 2 state records, 7 team records and achieved many time standard cuts.

Swimmers were treated to see some super fast swims by a few Auburn college and post-grad swimmers, and especially priviledged to watch one brave swimmer who gave everything she had every time in the water, racing full speed to each wall—despite being blind. With the help of her coach and her mother, dutifully standing at each end of her lane with a long stick that had a tennis ball duct-taped to the end to tap her on the head just before each flip turn and the finish so she knew that the wall was coming, this gutsy young lady deserves Swimmer-of-the-Meet honors for not letting her disability get in the way of her desire to achieve. You may think you have it bad when your goggles fill up with water during a race or when they unexpectedly fly off altogether, try swimming completely blind lap after lap at full speed with complete faith and trust in your team to be there for you at the walls—that is what SWIMYAH is all about: swimming with intensity, mastery, yearning and heart. That is what TEAM work is all about: together everyone achieves more. She was simply amazing.

RESULTS

Congrats to new state times achieved by Mary Presley Harrington, Wilkie Gonwa, Mayrant Gonwa, Emily Herrington, Autumn DeHuff, Emma Orr, Chandler Carter, Rachel Berry, Stroud Tolleson and James Rodriguez!

Super Congrats to our gold medal winners Paige Kessler (50 free), Ashton William Heath (50 breast), Natalie Cox (50 breast) and Jack Smithson (100 fly, 200 fly, 100 back, 200 back, 200 IM)!

New state records:

13-14 200 free – Eien McGee

13-14 200 fly– Jack Smithson

New Sunkist team records:

Eien McGee – 50 free, 100 back, 200 free

Jack Smithson – 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM, 200 back

New Sectionals/National cuts achieved:

Khameron Glass – 100 back (AG Sectionals)

Paige Kessler – 50 free (SR Sectionals)

Eien McGee – 200 free, 200 IM (SR Sectionals)

Kate Murphy – 100 free (Orlando Grand Prix), 100 breast (SR Sectionals)

Jack Smithson – 200 free, 100 back, 500 free, 200 back, 200 IM (SR Sectionals)