Team News Archive

 

2009 News

GOOD LUCK AT STATE: Gator swimmers Kyleigh Troxel, Allison Hobbs, Lizzie Schmidt, Anna Esswein, Sydney Stein and Laura Castleman are competing this weekend at the MSHSAA 2010 Girls State Swimming and Diving Championships. Good luck, girls!  
Meet Website  Photos @ Southeast Missourian

GATOR SWIMMERS BREAK CONFERENCE RECORDS AT SHOW ME MEET: Another fine display of Gator talent at a high school competition: Meet MVP : Kyleigh Troxel, for winning her two individual events (200 IM and 500 free) and helping JHS win two relays. New Show-Me Conference Records: Allison Hobbs broke the conference record in the 200 freestyle with a new time of 2:00.30. Anna Esswein broke the conference record in the 100 breaststroke with a new time of 1:13.30. Kyleigh Troxel set new conference records in the 200 IM (2:17.56) and 500 freestyle (5:13:44). New State Cuts: Lauren Castleman (50 free and 100 free) Anna Esswein (100 breast and 200 IM) Allison Hobbs (100 free and 200 free) Lizzie Schmidt (100 breast) Kyleigh Troxel (200 IM and 500 free) The JHS 400 freestyle relay of Sydney Stein, Allison Hobbs, Kyleigh Troxel and Shelby McCord.

Southeast Missourian: Gator Kyleigh Troxel swims the breaststroke leg during the 200 medley relay Thursday during the Show-Me Conference championships at Central Pool (click on picture to enlarge) Click here for the full Southeast Missourian article

GATOR GREAT TIMES MEET: A huge THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered to help before, during and after the meet. As a parent-owned team, we rely heavily on the help of all our members to keep the team moving forward and we sincerely appreciate all the work each and all of you did to make this event a success. Every ad sold, every race timed, every visitor question answered, every hour worked--all of these count towards our ultimate goal of making the Gators a stronger team and creating the best environment for our kids to practice, compete and have fun. Thank you!

• New Ozark Records:
  • Gabriela Vieira set a new LSC record in the Girls 11-12 400-yard IM with a time of 4:38.78 and also lowered two of her own records: 1000 freestyle (10:37.94) and 1650 freestyle (17:51.08). All three swims are currently USA Swimming Top 10 times.
  • Ozark Records
• New Team Records:
  • Gabby Vieira also broke the team's long-standing 200 IM record (from 1992) with a new time of 2:15.45.
  • Kristian Troxel set a new team record for the Boys 13-14 400-Yard IM with a new time of 4:21.22, nearly 3 seconds faster than the previous record from 1996.
  • Gator SCY Records
• High Point Winners:
  • Caitlyn Palmer (11-12 Girls)
  • Kyleigh Troxel (13-14 Girls)
  • Kristian Troxel (13-14 Boys)
  • Caleb Coots (15 & Over Boys)
• Other Top Scorers (2nd - 8th):
  • 8 & Under Girls: Phoebe Law (2nd place); Carly Pujol (4th)
  • 8 & Under Boys: Tysen Miller (2nd) tied with Tanner Ray (2th); Jacob Bening (6th)
  • 9-10 Boys: John Kiefner (2nd); Brogan Davis (5th)
  • 11-12 Girls: Gabby Vieira (2nd); Helen Wojdylo (6th)
  • 11-12 Boys: Austin Hobbs (5th)
  • 13-14 Girls: Morgan Maguire (8th)
  • 15 & Over Girls: Allison Hobbs (2nd)
• Best Finishes (Individual Events):
  • 1st Places: Caleb Coots, Brogan Davis, Allison Hobbs, Austin Hobbs, Caitlyn Palmer, Stephen Sugarbaker, Kristian Troxel, Kyleigh Troxel, Gabby Vieira and Helen Wojdylo.
  • 2nd Places: Payton Beck, Elizabeth Kiefner, John-John Kiefner, Phoebe Law, Tysen Miller and Madeline Siefert.
  • 3rd Places: Jacob Bening, Morgan Maguire and Carly Pujol.
  • 4th - 8th Places:.Landon Beck, Jordan Buterbaugh, Mathew Chandler, Anna Esswein, Samuel Hahs, Amanda Mabry, Allison McDonald, Noah Mejean, Madison Rau, Tanner Ray, Lizzie Schmidt, Matthew Snyder, Thomas Taylor and Jackson Voss.
  • 8th - 16th Places:.Tyler Alsdorf, Lydia Cameron, Alyssa Coots, Lucas Hurley, William KappIV, Nicholas Landewe, Anna Priest, Allie Pujol, Jacie Pujol, Ryleigh Ray, Trevor Smith, Alex Snyder, Sara Williams and Sophia Wojdylo
• New Time Standard Achievements:
  • Landon Beck achieved his first BB times in the Boys 15-16 age group (500 free, 5:51.07; and 1000 free, 12:04.61).
  • Jordan Buterbaugh also got his first BB time in the Boys 15-16 age group (50 free, 26.52).
  • Jericka Helton achieved her first B time in the Girls 13-14 age group (50 free, 32.56).
  • Olivia Priest got her first B times in the Girls 10 & Under age group (50 free, 37.62; 100 free, 1:29.64; 50 back, 48.15; 50 fly, 47.99; and 100 IM, 1:44.80).
  • Jackson Voss achieved his first BB times in the Boys 13-14 age group (50 free, 28.05; and 100 free, 1:01.57).
  • Gator Achievements
• Meet Results:
  • Full Results
  • Gator Results
  • Meet Website
• The Gator Times page has been updated with top times, time standard achievements, records and more.
• Congratulations, swimmers!

INTERESTING ARTICLE: Check out the Ten Ways for the Swim Parent to Sabotage Their Child's Swimming Career, a must-read for all swim parents by John Leonard from the American Swimming Coaches Association.

ALLISON HOBBS NAMED SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gator swimmer Allison Hobbs won the 500 Freestyle event at the City of Roses swim meet this past weekend, beating top-seeded Megan Popp from Rockwood Summit. The exciting race was featured in a Southeast Missourian article on Sunday. Allison, competing for Jackson High School, finished the race with a state-qualifying time of 5:19.87. Allison was also named Player of the Week by the Southeast Missourian, which mentions that she "collected multiple individual medals and relay medals during a couple of impressive performances on back-to-back days." Congratulations, Allison! (Click here to read the article on the Southeast Missourian website.) Click on the picture to read the article on the Southeast Missourian website. Other Gators named in the article: Lizzie Schmidt and Kyleigh Troxel.

Southeast Missourian: Hobbs wins 500 freestyle at City of Roses swim meet

GATORS IN THE NEWS: One of the great American distance swimmers of the past decade, Chris Thompson was recently interviewed by USA Swimming/Swim Network where he paid tribute to the most influential people in his swimming career. Among the few people named in the interview is our very own Head Coach Steve Franklin. Chris remembered his developmental years under Coach Steve as one of his greatest swimming memories, alongside his successes at NCAA and the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
Click here for the complete interview.

FAST WINTER INVITATIONAL RESULTS: Another fine display of talent and dedication by our swimmers! The Gators finished 4th overall with 1,375 points, behind only Parkway, FAST and Columbia. Once again, our team had the highest number of points scored per athlete in a meet, with an average of 45.83 points per swimmer (Columbia was second with 37.30 and and Parkway third with 34.26). Our swimmers improved 54% over their seed times, not counting NT entries. We now have 24 Gators qualified to swim at the Ozark Short Course championships.

• New Team Records:
  • Gabby Vieira lowered two of her own team records: 200 freestyle (1:59.21) and 500 freestyle (5:17.72).
  • Visit the Gator Short Course Yards Records page.
• New Time Standard Achievements:
  • Matthew Chandler achieved his first BB times in the Boys 10 & Under age group, in the following events: 100 free, 1:17.53; 50 back, 40.96; 100 back, 1:30.38; 100 breast, 1:42.41; 100 fly, 1:36.46; 100 IM, 1:29.76; and 200 IM, 3:14.02.
  • Brogan Davis achieved his first triple-A time in the Boys 10 & Under age group, swimming the 50 back in 33.81 seconds.
  • Phoebe Law got her first BB time in the Girls 10 & Under age group, swimming the 200 free in 2:58.24.
  • Helen Wojdylo achieved her first double-A times in the Girls 11-12 age group, swimming the 50 breaststroke in 35.75 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:18.02.
  • Visit the Gator Achievements page.
• Best Finishes (Events):
  • 1st Places: Brogan Davis, Caitlyn Palmer and Gabby Vieira.
  • 2nd Place: Kristian Troxel.
  • 3rd Places: Caleb Coots, Austin Hobbs, John-John Kiefner, Kyleigh Troxel and Helen Wojdylo.
  • 4th - 10th Places: Allison Hobbs, Elizabeth Kiefner, Morgan Maguire, Allison McDonald, Elizabeth Rorick, Lizzie Schmidt, Madeline Siefert, Matthew Snyder and Stephen Sugarbaker.
• Meet Results:
  • Full Results
  • Gator Results
• The Gator Times page has been updated with top times, time standard achievements, records and more.
• Congratulations, swimmers!

GATOR ATHLETE EARNS NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Gator swimmer Gabby Vieira was recently named by USA Swimming in its National Age Group Recognition Program -Top 10 list. She received certificates for finishing the 2009 Long Course season ranked Top 10 in the country in 5 events: 5th place in the 200 and 400 freestyle; 6th in the 50 butterfly; and 10th in the 100 butterfly and 800 freestyle. Gabby was one of only 66 swimmers in the nation who ranked Top 10 in 5 or more events. Click here for the final rankings. Congratulations, Gabby!

 

GOLD AND WORLD RECORDS: Gator swimmer Susan Beth Scott ended her stellar participation at the IPC Swimming World Championships with another world record, this time in the 100-meter freestyle (1:02.48). This was her second world record in the competition, following Wednesday's gold in the 400 freestyle with a time of 4:38.10. Click on the links below for more information and results.

• RIO2009 website
• Susan Beth's profile on the US Paralympics website
• SE Missourian: 12/1/2009 12/3/2009 12/4/2009 12/6/2009
• Paralympic.org: 12/7/2009

CONGRATULATIONS, SUSAN BETH!
WE'RE ALL PROUD OF YOU!

 

 

TRI-STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MEET RESULTS:

• New Time Standard Achievement:
  • Christopher Raymer achieved his first B time in the Boys 15 & Over age group (50-yard freestyle, 28.26).
• Top Finishes:
  • Ian Cameron (10): 1st in 50 breast; 2nd in 50 free, 200 free and 50 back.
  • Lydia Cameron (12): 1st in 200 free, 50 breast and 100 IM; 2nd in 50 fly.
  • Mathew Chandler (9): 2nd in 100 free and 50 fly; 4th in 100 IM; 5th in 50 back.
  • Brogan Davis (10): 1st in 100 free, 50 fly, 50 back and 100 IM.
  • Samuel Hahs (9): 3rd in 50 breast; 4th in 100 free and 50 fly; 6th in 100 IM.
  • Jericka Helton (12): 3rd in 50 back; 5th in 50 free, 50 fly and 50 breast.
  • Nicholas Landewe (6): 4th in 25 fly; 5th in 25 free.
  • Phoebe Law (8): 2nd in 100 free, 25 fly and 25 breast; 4th in 100 IM.
  • Amanda Mabry (10): 3rd in 100 free and 50 fly; 4th in 50 breast; 5th in 100 IM.
  • Tysen Miller (7): 1st in 25 fly; 2nd in 25 free and 25 back.
  • Christopher Raymer (15): 5th in 100 back; 7th in 100 breast; 8th in 200 free; 12th in 50 free.
  • Alex Snyder (12): 3rd in 50 breast; 4th in 100 free, 50 fly and 100 IM.
  • Matthew Snyder (10): 3rd in 100 free, 50 back and 100 IM; 6th in 50 fly.
  • Sophia Wojdylo (9): 3rd in 200 free; 4th in 50 fly and 50 back; 5th in 50 breast.
    
• Meet Results:
  • Full Results
  • Gator Results

MEGA MILE MEET RESULTS:

• Full Results
• Gator Results
  
  
• The Gator Times page has been updated.
• CONGRATULATIONS, GATORS!

XCEL MEET OF CHAMPS RESULTS: The results for last weekend's meet in Nashville are finally in. The Gators had a very good weekend overall, with 63% of seed times improved upon.

• New Ozark Records:
  • Gabby Vieira broke two LSC records that had been standing for almost 10 years: the 1000 freestyle with a new time of 10:45.56, and the 1650 freestyle with a new time of 18:08.12.
• New Team Records:
  • Gabby Vieira also set new team records in all 9 events she swam: 100 free (55.41), 200 free (1:59.33), 500 free (5:18.51), 1000 free (10:45.56), 1650 free (18:08.12), 100 back (1:00.87), 50 fly (27.27), 100 fly (1:01.24) and 100 IM (1:03.08).
• Individual High Point Awards:
  • Gabby Vieira: 1st place in the Girls 11-12 age group.
  • Caleb Coots: 2nd place (Boys Open).
  • John-John Kiefner: 4th place (Boys 10 & Under).
  • Allison Hobbs: 7th place (Girls Open).
  • Caitlyn Palmer: 7th place (Girls 11-12).
• Team High Point Awards:
  • Gator Swim Team: The Gator girls got a 1st place trophy for scoring the highest number of points in the competition.
• New Time Standard Achievements:
  • Morgan Rorick achieved her first AAA time in the Girls 13-14 age group (200 free, 2:02.51).
• Top Finishes:
  • Caleb Coots (17): 1st in 400 IM, 500 free and 200 fly; 2nd in 1650 free, 3rd in 200 free and 200 IM; 5th in 100 fly; 9th in 100 free; 12th in 50 free.
  • Anna Esswein (17): 7th in 100 breast.
  • Bridget Hale (15): 11th in 200 back; 14th in 100 back.
  • Allison Hobbs (16): 2nd in 1650 free; 3rd in 500 free; 4th in 200 back; 7th in 200 fly; 9th in 100 back; 14th in 100 free.
  • Austin Hobbs (12): 2nd in 1650 free; 4th in 100 IM; 5th in 100 breast; 6th in 200 free and 500 free; 9th in 50 free.
  • Elizabeth Kiefner (12): 5th in 1650 free; 6th in 1000 free; 7th in 200 free; 8th in 500 free; 10th in 100 fly; 11th in 100 IM; 13th in 50 fly and 100 back; 14th in 100 free.
  • John-John Kiefner (10): 1st in 200 free; 2nd in 200 IM; 3rd in 100 free, 500 free and 100 breast; 4th in 100 IM and 100 back; 5th in 50 breast; 6th in 50 back.
  • Morgan Maguire (14): 3rd in 1650 free; 6th in 500 free; 13th in 200 free; 14th in 400 IM.
  • Caitlyn Palmer (12): 2nd in 50 fly; 3rd in 100 fly and 1650 free; 4th in 200 IM; 5th in 500 free and 50 back; 6th in 50 free and 100 back; 12th in 100 free.
  • Allie Pujol (10): 20th in 50 breast; 28th in 200 free; 30th in 100 breast.
  • Jacie Pujol (10): 26th in 200 free; 29th in 100 back; 31 in 50 breast.
  • Morgan Rorick (13): 2nd in 1650 free; 5th in 500 free; 7th in 200 free and 400 IM; 8th in 100 free and 50 free; 11th in 200 back; 16th in 100 fly.
  • Lizzie Schmidt (15): 6th in 1650 free; 12th in 200 breast.
  • Madeline Siefert (13): 6th in 1650 free; 11th in 100 breast; 12th in 200 breast.
  • Gabby Vieira (12): 1st in 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 1000 free, 1650 free, 100 back, 50 fly, 100 fly and 100 IM.
  • Helen Wojdylo (12): 4th in 1650 free; 6th in 50 breast; 7th in 500 free and 100 breast; 12th in 50 free and 200 IM.
  • Sophia Wojdylo (9): 45th in 50 fly; 46th in 100 breast; 47th in 100 back.
    
• Meet Results:
  • Full Results
  • Gator Results
    
    
• The Gator Times page has been updated.
• CONGRATULATIONS, SWIMMERS!

SALUKI 500 MEET RESULTS:    

• New Time Standard Achievements:
  • Ian Cameron achieved his first A time in the Boys 10 & Under age group (50-Yard Breaststroke, 42.10).
  • Samuel Hahs got his first B time in the Boys 10 & Under age group (100 Butterfly, 1:54.53).
  • Allie Pujol got her first BB time in the Girls 10 & Under age group (100 Breaststroke, 1:44.85)
• New Team Records:
  • Kristian Troxel lowered his own record in the Boys 13-14 200 IM with a new time of 2:04.38.
  • Gabby Vieira lowered her own record in the Girls 11-12 400 IM with a new time of 4:49.40.
• Meet Results:
  • Full Results
  • Gator Results
    
  • The Gator Times page has been updated.

MSHSAA STATE CHAMPS RESULTS:  

• Caleb Coots (Jr, Cape Central): 11th Place in the 500 Freestyle (4:49.99); 13th Place in the 200 IM (2:01.05).
• Ramsey Scott (Fr, Cape Central): 13th Place in the 500 Freestyle (4:54.10).
• Caleb and Ramsey also helped the Central High School relay team get 12th Place in the 400 Free and 15th Place in the 200 Freestyle.
• Full results, scores and more can be found at the MSHSAA website.
• CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL SWIMMERS WHO MADE IT TO THE STATE CHAMPS.

HEAT FALL CLASSIC MEET RESULTS:  

• New Time Standard Achievements:
  • Amanda Mabry got her first BB time in the Girls 9-10 100-Yard Freestyle with a time of 1:21.25.
• New Team Records:
  • Gabby Vieira set these new team records in the Girls 11-12 age group: 200-Yard Freestyle (2:01.47), 200 Backstroke (2:14.47), 200 Butterfly (2:19.75) and 100 IM (1:04.89).
• Meet Results:
  • Full Results
  • Gator Results
    
  • The Gator Times page has been updated.

SWIM YOUR OWN AGE MEET RESULTS:  Great job by a Gator line-up dominated by our Age Group 2 and 3 swimmers at the Saluki Meet on Saturday:

• Full Results
• Gator Results

THT HALLOWEEN SPLASH MEET RESULTS:

• High Point Awards (Top-3):
  • Boys 9-10: John-John Kiefner (3rd Place)
  • Girls 11-12: Gabby Vieira (1st)
  • Girls 13-14: Kyleigh Troxel (1st), Morgan Rorick (2nd) and Morgan Maguire (3rd)
  • Girls 15 & Over: Bridget Hale (2nd)
• New Team Records:
  • Gabby Vieira set a new team record in the Girls 11-12 1650-Yard Freestyle with a time of 18:26.36. She also lowered her own record times in the following events: 500 Free (5:18.95), 200 Back (2:17.12) and 200 Fly (2:22.67).
• Meet Results:
  • Gator Results
• The Gator Times page has been updated.

NUTRITION TALK: A representative from USA Swimming will be talking to our swimmers Tuesday, November 17 at 6:00pm at the pool. Parents are welcome to attend too.  

GATOR HOODED SWEATSHIRTS: Jenna Mabry will be taking orders for new black sweatshirts (with hot pink and bright green on the front) until Friday, October 16. The cost is $20 each.

DRAG SUITS: To help us in our training, all swimmers Age Group 1 and above will be required to to wear a drag suit during practices starting next week. They may either order the suit Coach Steve has picked out or buy one of equal quality and design on their own. To keep it simple for everyone, Ellen Schmidt will be taking orders until this Wednesday. If you have not been sized for the suit, Please see Coach Steve. The cost of each suit is $30 (payment is expected when the order is placed).

SWIMSUITS FOR SALE: We have girls' swimsuits in sizes 28 (black with Gator logo), 26 (plain black) and Youth 22 (plain black) for $47. For more information, please contact Jena Mabry (573-576-9593 mobile or 651-9081 home).

FAST IMX RESULTS:

• New Records:
  • Gabby Vieira set new team records in the following Girls 11-12 age group events: 500-Yard Free (5:22.02), 50 Back (29.49), 100 Back (1:03.70) and 400 IM (4:51.76).
• New Time Standard Achievement:
  • Stephen Sugarbaker achieved his first BB times in the Boys 11-12 age group (100-Yard Breaststroke, 1:27.61; 50 Breaststroke, 40.02; and 500 Freestyle, 6:27.17).
• Meet Results:
  • Full Results
  • Gator Results
• The Gator Times page has been updated.
• Well done, Gators!

PADUCAH FALL FRENZY RESULTS:

• New Record:
  • Gabby Vieira set a new team record in the Girls 11-12 100-Yard Backstroke with a time of 1:04.86.
• New Time Standard Achievements:
  • Caitlyn Palmer achieved her first AAA time in the Girls 11-12 age group (50-Yard Butterfly, 29.66).
  • Jordan Buterbaugh got his first B time in the Boys 15-16 age group (50-Yard Freestyle, 27.55).
  • Jackson Voss got his first B times in the Boys 13-14 age group (100-Yard Freestyle, 1:06.20; and 50-Yard Freestyle, 30.09).
• Meet Results:
  • Full Results
  • Gator Results
• Congratulations, swimmers!!!!

GATORS IN THE NEWS: Gator swimmers Susan Beth Scott and Jackie Roth were interviewed recently by KFVS12. Here's the video:

If you can't see the video above, click here to visit the KFVS12 website.

SCOTT SETS NEW AMERICAN RECORD, MAKES US TEAM: Gator swimmer Susan Beth Scott's 800m Freestyle time of 9:35.65, obtained at Central Zones this past weekend, is a new Paralympic American Record (pending verification by USA Swimming). She also recently competed at the Speedo CAN/AM Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada where she made the US Paralympic World Championship Team that will travel to Rio de Janeiro later this year to compete at the IPC Swimming World Championship.

• Meet Results:
  • Results (All)
  • Results (Gators)
• Congratulations, Susan Beth! We are all proud of you!

CENTRAL ZONES HIGHLIGHTS AND RESULTS: Two strong finishes by Gator swimmers in the Open Water competition:

• Best Individual Finishes :
  • Ramsey Scott finished second in the Boys 13-14 2.414k Open Water event with a time of 29:48.31.
  • Susan Beth Scott finished second in the Girls 15 & Over 2-Mile Open Water event with a time of 41:22.66, and set a new Paralympic American Record (pending verification) in the 800m Freestyle with a time of 9:35.65.
• Meet Results:
  • Open Water Results (All)
  • Pool Results (All)
  • Pool Results (Gators)
• Congratulations, swimmers!!!!

JUNIOR OLYMPICS HIGHLIGHTS AND RESULTS: Many best times and medals were achieved at the JO meet this year:

• New Team Records:
  • Kristian Troxel lowered two of his own team records in the 13-14 Boys category: 100m Fly (1:06.17) and 200m IM (2:24.16).
  • Kyleigh Troxel broke a 12-year-old 100m Butterfly team record in the Girls 13-14 age group with a new time of 1:13.29.
• New Time Standard Achievements:
  • Madeleine McDonald achieved her first A time in the Girls 11-12 50m Freestyle with a time of 33.33.
  • Raleigh Davis achieved his first B time in the Boys 11-12 50m Freestyle with a time of 35.75.
  • Phoebe Law achieved her first B time in the Girls 10 & Under 50m Freestyle with a time of 44.21.
• Best Individual Finishes:
  • 1st Places: Brogan Davis (9), Anna Esswein (16), Bridget Hale (14), Dustin Parsons (14), Kristian Troxel (14), Kyleigh Troxel (14) and Gabriela Vieira (11).
  • 2nd Places: Thomas Janisse (18), Morgan Maguire (13), Caitlyn Palmer (11), Elizabeth Rorick (12) and Madeline Siefert (13).
  • 3rd Places: Allen Garms (14) and Allison McDonald (8).
  • 4th - 8th Places: Helen Wojdylo (11), Matthew Chandler (9), Noah Mejean (8) and Phoebe Law (8).
• Best Relay Finishes :
  • 1st Places: Thomas Janisse (18), Grayson Davis (7), Anna Esswein (16), Bridget Hale (14), Daniel Janisse (15), Phoebe Law (8), Morgan Maguire (13), Madeleine McDonald (12), Noah Mejean (8), Caitlyn Palmer (11), Elizabeth Rorick (12), Madeline Siefert (13), Kristian Troxel (14), Kyleigh Troxel (14), Gabriela Vieira (11) and Helen Wojdylo (11)
  • 2nd Places: Brogan Davis (9) and Allison McDonald (8)
  • 3rd Places: Matthew Chandler (9), Raleigh Davis (12), Allen Garms (14) and Dustin Parsons (14).
  • 4th Place: Stephen Sugarbaker (11)
• Meet Results:
  • Official Results at the JO Website
  • Results (All)
  • Results (Gators)
• Congratulations to all swimmers!!!!

SECTIONALS RESULTS: 5 new team records were set during the 2009 Summer Speedo Champions Series Region 8 meet in Columbia, MO:

• Caleb Coots broke the Boys 15 & Over 100-Meter Butterfly team record, standing since 1996, with a new time of 59.90.
• Kristian Troxel set a new Boys 13-14 800-Meter Freestyle team record with a time of 9:00.52 and lowered his own record time in the 200 Fly (2:22.87).
• Kyleigh Troxel lowered two of her own team record times in the Girls 13-14 age group: 800 Freestyle (9:26.37) and 400 IM (5:23.63).
• Gator Results   Full Results   Gator LCM Records

GATORS WIN THE SMSC CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR THE SIXTH TIME: What a day! The team scores were very close throughout the day, but in the end the Gators prevailed again. Our coaches had a well thought out plan, and our athletes had the team spirit and determination to make it happen. Here are the highlights of the meet:

• Individual High Point Trophy Winners:
  • Josey Powell (9-10 Girls)
  • John-John Kiefner (9-10 Boys)
  • Gabby Vieira (11-12 Girls)
  • Austin Hobbs (11-12 Boys)
  • Kyleigh Troxel and Bridget Hale (13-14 Girls)
  • Kristian Troxel (13-14 Boys)
  • Annie Wolpers (15 & Over Girls)
  • Thomas Janisse (15 & Over Boys)
• Individual Conference Record Breakers: Gator swimmers set 11 of the new 16 individual conference records:
  • Anna Esswein: 15 & Over Girls 100-Yard Breaststroke (1:11.42).
  • Austin Hobbs: 11-12 Boys 50 Breaststroke (35.96).
  • Kristian Troxel: 13-14 Boys 100 Free (51.68), 100 Breast (1:06.11) and 200 IM (2:06.60).
  • Kyleigh Troxel: 13-14 Girls 100 Breast (1:14.89), 100 Fly (1:05.01) and 200 IM (2:19.95).
  • Gabby Vieira: 11-12 Girls 50 Back (30.53), 50 Fly (28.44) and 100 IM (1:06.49).
• Relay Conference Record Breakers: All 8 new records were set by Gator relay teams:
  • GIRLS 8 & UNDER 100 MEDLEY RELAY: Carly Pujol 8, Allison McDonald 8, Molly Phegly 8 and Phoebe Law 7 (1:19.66).
  • BOYS 9-10 100 MEDLEY RELAY: Brogan Davis 9, Ian Cameron 10, Travis Leimer 9 and John Kiefner 9 (1:06.99).
  • GIRLS 11-12 200 MEDLEY RELAY: Caitlyn Palmer 11, Helen Wojdylo 11, Gabriela Vieira 11 and Elizabeth Rorick 12 (2:04.89).
  • GIRLS 11-12 200 FREESTYLE RELAY: Elizabeth Kiefner 11, Helen Wojdylo 11, Lydia Cameron 12 and Gabriela Vieira 11 (1:55.79).
  • BOYS 11-12 200 MEDLEY RELAY: Mason Turner 12, Austin Hobbs 11, Joseph Janisse 12 and Stephen Sugarbaker 11 (2:15.93).
  • BOYS 11-12 200 FREESTYLE RELAY: Joseph Janisse 12, Mason Turner 12, Stephen Sugarbaker 11 and Austin Hobbs 11 (2:01.02).
  • BOYS 13-14 200 MEDLEY RELAY: Landon Beck 14, Kristian Troxel 14, Dustin Parsons 14 and Corey Pech 13 (2:00.86).
  • BOYS 13-14 200 FREESTYLE RELAY: Kristian Troxel 14, Dustin Parsons 14, Landon Beck 14 and Jackson Voss 13 (1:47.31).
• Team Record:
  • Kristian Troxel set a new 13-14 Boys team record in the 200-Yard IM with a new time of 2:06.60 (the old record had been standing since 1998).
• Overall Top Scores:
  • 8 & UNDER GIRLS: Allison McDonald (2nd), Molly Phegly (3rd), Carly Pujol (7th), Phoebe Law (8th) and Lynsey Powers (10th).
  • 8 & UNDER BOYS: Jacob Bening (3rd), Noah Mejean (5th) and Samuel Hahs (6th)
  • 9-10 BOYS: Brogan Davis (2nd), Ian Cameron (3rd), Tra Leimer (5th) and Mathew Chandler (6th).
  • 11-12 GIRLS: Morgan Rorick (2nd), Lydia Cameron (5th), Caitlyn Palmer (6th), Helen Wojdylo (7th), Elizabeth Kiefner (8th) and Madeleine McDonald (10th).
  • 11-12 BOYS: Mason Turner (4th), Stephen Sugarbaker (5th) and Raleigh Davis (10th).
  • 13-14 GIRLS:Morgan Maguire and Madeline Siefert (5th).
  • 13-14 BOYS: Dustin Parsons (3rd), Landon Beck (6th) and Jackson Voss (9th).
  • 15 & OVER GIRLS: Anna Esswein (2nd), Sydney Stein and Maria Esswein (4th), and Lizzie Schmidt (6th).
  • 15 & OVER BOYS: Thomas Janisse (2nd), Daniel Neff (3rd), Collin Anderson (4th) and Ryan Aufdenberg (5th), Ben Koch (6th) and Cory Bunger (10th).
• New Time Standard Achievements :
  • Brogan Davis achieved his first AA time in the Boys 9-10 50 Backstroke with a time of 35.92.
  • Anna Esswein achieved her first AA times in the Girls 15-18 100 Breast (1:11.42) and 50 Freestyle (26.82).
  • AJ Garms achieved his first B time in the Boys 13-14 50 Freestyle (30.48).
  • John-John Kiefner achieved his first AA time in the Boys 9-10 50 Freestyle (30.26).
  • Amanda Mabry achieved her first BB time in the Girls 9-10 50 Freestyle (35.99).
  • Daniel Neff achieved his first AA time in the Boys 15-18 100 Freestyle (52.70).
  • Corey Pech achieved his first B time in the Boys 13-14 50 Freestyle (30.07).
  • Josey Powell achieved her first BB time in the Girls 11-12 50 Backstroke (35.89).
  • Sierra Smith achieved her first BB time in the Girls 11-12 50 Freestyle (31.51).
• Results:  Full Results  Gator Results  Individual Scores  Team Scores  
• More:  Achievements  Team Records
• CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL SWIMMERS!!!!
• If you have pictures of the meet to share, please send them to mvieira@gatorswimteam.org.
• Summer League swimmers: we'll miss you all. We hope you enjoyed swimming with us, and we invite you to continue being a Gator year round. Click here for more information.

YOUTH TRIATLON TOMORROW: The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department, along the Gator Swim Team, Cape Bicycle and Culver's, are sponsoring the annual Youth Triathlon and Kid's Races on Saturday, August 15, 2009 (sign-ups 7:30 - 8:15 am). Everyone is welcome to participate: sign up for the individual races if you think you can swim, run and bike fast, or invite your friends and create a team. This is a great opportunity to be part of a fun competition with your friends who practice other sports. Click here for more information.

JUNIOR OLYMPICS INFORMATION:

• Check-in: Monday, Aug. 3 (10am - 7pm) at the Veterans Auditorium/Iowa Events Center.
  Map  Directions/Parking
• Practice: Monday (4:30pm) at Birdland Swimming Pool. Gators will not have practice Wednesday afternoon—all swimmers are expected to join warmups at 7am instead so they can have the rest of the day free. 
  Map   Directions
• Celebration of Athletes: Monday (7:30pm) at Wells Fargo Arena (back at the Iowa Events Center).
  
• Competition: Warmups at 7am, competition at 8:30am (Tuesday through Friday).
• Make sure you have copies of your kids' AAU card (click here to reprint cards) and confirmation of entry payment.
• Other Meet Information: Meet Invitation  Meet Schedule  Psych Sheet  Ticket Information
• More: Junior Olympics Swimming Page  Main AAU Swimming Page  Map of JO Event Facilities   

OZARK CHAMPIONSHIPS: Many thanks to all parents who worked in Carbodale at the Ozark Championships this past weekend, especially the ones who showed up to help even though their kids were not signed up to swim. In the words of a team president who shall remain nameless: "We have truly dedicated parents!" Yes, we do, and thanks to all the meet was a success. Here are the highlights of the competition:

• The Gator Swim Team finished in 7th place overall. Among all teams with more than 30 swimmers, we had highest percentage of improved times (62%), the highest points-per-swimmer ratio (50.3), and the highest ratio of top-8 finishes per swimmer (3.5). On top of this solid performance, the prestigious Penny Taylor Memorial Award is again in Gator hands, for the second consecutive year. The trophy, awarded every year to the outstanding swimmer of the meet, was given to Gabby Vieira for winning her 7 individual events and achieving 6 National Top-10 times during the meet.
• High Points (Top-8):
  • Allison Hobbs: 3rd place (15 & Over Girls).
  • Austin Hobbs: 6th place (11-12 Boys).
  • Kristian Troxel: 2nd place (13-14 Boys).
  • Kyleigh Troxel: 3rd place (13-14 Girls).
  • Gabby Vieira: 1st place (11-12 Girls).
  • David Welker: 4th place (15 & Over Boys).
• 17 new team records were set during this meet:
  • Kristian Troxel broke 4 old team records in the 13-14 Boys division: 400-Meter Free (4:25.00), 1500 Free (17:10.82), 200 Breast (2:44.42) and 200 IM (2:24.26). He also lowered 2 of his own records: 200 Fly (2:24.74) and 400 IM (4:58.09).
  • Kyleigh Troxel set a new record in the 13-14 Girls 200-Meter Freestyle with a new time of 2:16.99 and also lowered his own records in 3 other events: 400 Free (4:41.93), 1500 Free (18:18.73) and 200 Fly (2:35.21).
  • Gabby Vieira broke the decade-old 11-12 Girls 50-Meter Butterfly record with a new time of 31.00 and also lowered her own records in 6 other events: 100 Free (1:03.99), 200 Free (2:16.01), 400 Free (4:46.88), 100 Back (1:14.06), 100 Fly (1:09.86), and 200 IM (2:37.87).
• New time standards achieved:
  • Elizabeth Kiefner got her first "AA" time in the 11-12 Girls 50-Meter Butterfly with a time of 34.58.
  • John-John Kiefner got his first "A" times in the 10 & Under Boys 200-Meter IM (3:15.33), 200 Free (2:52.25), and 100 Free (1:18.83).
  • Caitlyn Palmer got her first "AA" times in the 11-12 Girls 50-Meter Back (37.07), 100 Fly (1:17.11) and 50 Fly (33.95).
  • Dustin Parsons got his first "AA" times in the 13-14 Boys 200-Meter Fly (2:29.55), 100 Free (1:03.10) and 100 Fly (1:07.48).
  • Madeline Siefert got her first "AA" times in the 13-14 Girls 100-Meter Breast (1:23.57) and 200 Breast (2:57.03).
• Results:  Gator Results   Full Results
• Scores:  Team Scores   Individual High Point Scores
• More:  Achievements  Gator Times  Ozark Website

JACKSON MEET HIGHLIGHTS:

• 1st Place Finishes: Landon Beck (14), Emily Bruns (6), McKinzie Buenaga (5), Lauren Castleman (17), Sean Cisne (14), Matthew Cundiff (12), Kaleigh Dirden (8), Dallas Doughten (13), Cole Ellinger (7), Maria Esswein (18), Jack Gard (10), Milo Greenfield (6), Thomas Janisse (17), John Kiefner (9), Benjamin Koch (15), Aimee Lathum (13), Jessica Lier (12), Shay Loughary (18), Morgan McAtee (10), Madeleine McDonald (12), Gracie McDonald (6), Allison McDonald (8), Tysen Miller (7), Alyssa Nimmer (13), Taylor Norwood (9), Molly Phegly (8), Josey Powell (10), Carly Pujol (8), Madison Rau (16), Peyton Robertson (12), Daniel Seabaugh (7), Sierra Smith (12), Audrey Snodgrass (6), Ben Soeter (12), Lily Soeter (8), Thomas Taylor (6), Hank Traxel (7), Sam Traxel (9), Mason Turner (12), Dawson Tyler (8) and Cameron Tyler (9).
  
• 2nd Place Finishes: Peyton Bradley (11), Kelton Burgi (15), Sarah Crites (14), Sydney Franklin (15), Molly French (11), Broeden Gard (8), Tristan Gillihan (5), Reiss Groves (9), Cynthia Hoffman (16), Matthew Holman (10), Shelby Lambert (14), Raegan McAtee (7), August Phegly (6), Ethan Pobst (13), Jacie Pujol (9), Sierra Rau (11), Sydney Stein (17), Griffin Stewart (7), Kathryn Taylor (4), Beau Traxel (5), Alexis Vaughn (10), Jackson Voss (13) and Annie Wolpers (18).
• 3rd Place Finishes: Tyler Alsdorf (6), Cody Bunger (10), Emma Cundiff (10), Bailee Lathum (9), Brittany McAthur (14), Garrett McClure (8), Taylor Nolan (15), Allie Pujol (9) and Angelica Rubi (11).
• Results: Gator Results  Full Results
• More: Achievements  Swimmers Qualified for SMSC Champs  Gator Times  SMSC Website

SCOTT CITY MEET HIGHLIGHTS:

• Kristian Troxel broke the 13-14 Boys 200-meter Individual Medley conference record with a new time of 2:24.46.
• Kyleigh Troxel set 2 new conference records in the 13-14 Girls age group: 100-meter Butterfly (1:13.87) and 200-meter Individual Medley (2:39.36).
• Gabby Vieira lowered 2 of her own conference records in the 11-12 Girls age group: 50-meter Backstroke (35.20) and 100-meter Individual Medley (1:16.63).
• Jack Jeffers got his first USA Swimming "B" time in the 11-12 Boys 50-meter Breaststroke with a time of 46.89.
• Molly Phegly got her first Girls 10 & Under "B" time in the 100-meter Individual Medley with a time of 1:51.87.
• Olivia Priest got her first Girls 10 & Under "B" time in the 50-meter Backstroke with a time of 53.55.
• 1st Place Finishes: Payton Beck (11), Ian Cameron (10), Lydia Cameron (12), Ava Duncan (6), Maria Esswein (18), Sydney Franklin (15), Milo Greenfield (6), Samuel Hahs (8), Joseph Janisse (12), Thomas Janisse (17), Ben Koch (15), Tra Leimer (9), Allison McDonald (8), Noah Mejean (8), Daniel Neff (16), Dustin Parsons (14), Alec Perez (5), Carly Pujol (8), Madeline Siefert (13), Audrey Snodgrass (6), Owen Todd (8), Kristian Troxel (14), Kyleigh Troxel (14), Gabby Vieira (11), Helen Wojdylo (11), and Annie Wolpers (18).
• 2nd Place Finishes: Ryan Aufdenberg (16), Jacob Bening (7), Jack Jeffers (12), Phoebe Law (7), Shay Loughary (18), Madeleine McDonald (12), Caitlyn Palmer (11), Avery Perez (7), Molly Phegly (8), and Madison Rau (16).
• 3rd Place Finishes:Landon Beck (14), Bailey Beussink (8), Drew Beussink (9), Paige Beussink (6), Cory Bunger (15), Cynthia Hoffman (16), Daniel Janisse (15), Auggie Phegly (6), Olivia Priest (9), and Sierra Smith (12).
• Results: Gator Results  Full Results
• More: Achievements  Swimmers Qualified for SMSC Champs  Gator Times  SMSC Website

POPLAR BLUFF JO QUALIFIER MEET HIGHLIGHTS:

• These swimmers have qualified for the Junior Olympic Games by placing 1st, 2nd or 3rd in one or more events:
  • Mathew Chandler (9): 200 Free, 50 Fly, 200 IM, 100 Free, 100 Fly and 100 Back
  • Grayson Davis (7): 50 Back
  • Raleigh Davis (12): 200 Free, 100 Free, 50 Breast and 50 Free
  • Anna Esswein (16): 200 Free, 100 Fly, 200 Breast, 100 Back and 200 IM
  • AJ Garms (14): 200 Free, 100 Back, 100 Free, 200 Back and 50 Free
  • Lucas Hurley (11): 100 Breast, 50 Back, 200 IM, 100 Free and 50 Breast
  • Daniel Janisse (15): 100 Back, 100 Free and 50 Free
  • Thomas Janisse (18): 200 Free, 200 Breast, 200 IM, 200 Fly and 200 Back
  • Madeleine McDonald (12): 200 Free, 100 Breast, 200 IM, 50 Breast and 100 Back
  • Noah Mejean (8): 50 Free
  • Dustin Parsons (14): 200 Free, 200 IM, 200 Fly and 200 Back
  • Madison Rau (16): 200 Free, 200 Breast, 200 IM, 200 Fly and 200 Back
  • Sierra Rau (11): 50 Back and 50 Free
  • Madeline Siefert (13): 200 Free, 200 IM, 200 Fly, 200 Back and 50 Free
  • Steven Sugarbaker (11): 200 Free, 100 Breast, 200 IM, 100 Free, 100 Fly and 50 Free
  • Helen Wojdylo (11): 200 Free, 200 IM, 100 Free, 100 Back and 50 Free
• Families planning to attend JOs must inform coach Steve know ASAP so he can send the entries on time.
• More: Gator Results  Full Results  Junior Olympics FAQ  Gators Eligible to Attend JOs  

FAST TIME TRIAL MEET HIGHLIGHTS:

• Ramsey Scott got a sectional cut in the Boys 1000-yard Freestyle with a time of 10:14.97.
• Gabby Vieira broke one of the oldest team records from 19 years ago in the 11-12 Girls 200-yard Butterfly with a new time of 2:24.12.
• Elizabeth Rorick got her first "AAA" time in the 11-12 Girls 200-yard Freestyle with a time of 2:07.44.
• Helen Wojdylo achieved her first "A" time in the 11-12 Girls 200-yard Breaststroke with a time of 2:55.86.
• New Ozark Championship Qualifiers: Caitlyn Palmer qualified in the 11-12 Girls 100 Freestyle event with a "Q" yard time of 1:02.75; Dustin Parsons qualified in the 13-14 Boys 200 Freestyle with a "Q" yard time of 2:03.85; and Stephen Sugarbaker qualified in the 11-12 Boys 100 Breaststroke event with a "Q" yard time of 1:31.66.
• See Also:  Gator Results   Qualified Swimmers   Team Records (SCY)   Achievements

SCOTT CITY MEET RESULTS(SUMMER LEAGUE): Great job, swimmers! The Gators won the meet with 1,433 points and had very good swims. Here are the highlights of the meet:

• Austin Hobbs lowered his own conference record in the 11-12 Boys 100m Individual Medley with a new time of 1:22.09.
• Gabby Vieira broke two conference records in the 11-12 Girls age group: 100m Freestyle (new time 1:05.26) and 50m Backstroke (35.23).
• 1st Place Finishes: Ian Cameron (10), Brogan Davis (9), Bridget Hale (14), Austin Hobbs (11), Joseph Janisse (12), Thomas Janisse (17), John-John Kiefner (9), Shay Loughary (18), Alison McDonald (8), Dustin Parsons (14), Molly Phegly (8), Josey Powell (10), Elizabeth Rorick (12), Lizzie Schmidt (15), Madeline Siefert (13), Thomas Taylor (6), Owen Todd (8), Kristian Troxel (14), Kyleigh Troxel (14), Mason Turner (12), Gabby Vieira (11) and Annie Wolpers (18).
• 2nd Place Finishes: Collin Andersson (16), Jackie Bader (17), Paige Beussink (6), Mathew Chandler (9), Grayson Davis (7), Raleigh Davis (12), Reed Dickson (11), Samuel Hahs (8), Elizabeth Kiefner (11), Ben Koch (15), Tra Leimer (9), Morgan Maguire (13), Noah Mejean (8), Caitlyn Palmer (11), Lynsey Powers (8), Madison Rau (16) and Stephen Sugarbaker (11).
• 3rd Place Finishes:Ava Andersson (17), Landon Beck (14), Payton Beck (11), Lydia Cameron (12), Hyrum Dickson (8), Reiss Groves (9), Amanda Mabry (9), Madeleine McDonald (12), Carly Pujol (8), Sushil Sobti (15), Kathryn Taylor (4) and Helen Wojdylo (11).
• More:  Gator Results   Full Results   Team Scores

CAPE MEET RESULTS (SUMMER LEAGUE): Since the meet was interrupted because of weather, all swimmers who showed up will get credit for all events entered (towards Summer League Champs meet and event attendance requirements). Meet highlights:

• Kyleigh Troxel broke a conference record in the 13-14 Girls 100-yard Butterfly event with a new time of 1:05.32.
• Gabby Vieira broke two new conference records in the 11-12 Girls age group: 50-yard Backstroke (31.05) and 50-yard Butterfly (28.84)
• 1st Place Finishes: Jackie Bader (17), Jacob Bening (7), Ian Cameron (10), Brogan Davis (9), Bridget Hale (14), Austin Hobbs (11), Thomas Janisse (17), Allison McDonald (8), Josey Powell (10), Carly Pujol (8), Madison Rau (16), Sydney Stein (17), Kristian Troxel (14), Kyleigh Troxel (14) and Gabby Vieira (11).
• 2nd Place Finishes: Lydia Cameron (12), Anna Esswein (16), Joseph Janisse (12), Dustin Parsons (14), Lynsey Powers (8) and Mason Turner (12).
• 3rd Place Finishes: Collin Andersson (16), Elizabeth Kiefner (11), Ben Koch (15), Morgan Maguire (13), Caitlyn Palmer (11) and Molly Phegly (8).
• More:  Gator Results   Full Results

ELIZABETHTOWN MEET RESULTS (USA SWIMMING): Another great showing by the Gators. Our 31 athletes scored enough points in Kentucky to give the Gators a strong 2nd place among the 22 teams that competed in this meet, just 39 points behind Wildcat Aquatics from Kentucky. Some highlights of the meet:

• High Point Winners:
  • Caleb Coots (15 & Over Boys)
  • Kristian Troxel (13-14 Boys)
  • Kyleigh Troxel (13-14 Girls)
  • Gabriela Vieira (11-12 Girls)
• Other Top-8 Scorers:
  • Ian Cameron (7th, 9-10 Boys)
  • Bridget Hale (4th, 13-14 Girls)
  • Allison Hobbs (4th, 15 & Over Girls)
  • Austin Hobbs (2nd, 11-12 Boys)
  • John Kiefner (7th, 9-10 Boys)
  • Allison McDonald (3rd, 8 & Under Girls)
  • Elizabeth Rorick (8th, 11-12 Girls)
  • Ramsey Scott (6th, 13-14 Boys)
• New Team Records:
  • Kristian Troxel broke the long-standing 100m Butterfly record in the 13-14 Boys age group with a new time of 1:06.59 (the old record was from 1998). Kristian also broke two more recent records: the 200m Butterfly (2:24.76) and the 400 Individual Medley (5:12.73).
  • Kyleigh Troxel lowered her own team record in the 13-14 Girls 400m Individual Medley with a new time of 5:31.99.
  • Gabby Vieira broke a 1997 team record in the 11-12 Girls 100m Freestyle with a new time of 1:05.00. Gabby also broke the more recent 200m Individual Medley record with a new time of 2:40.09, and lowered three of her own record times: 400m Freestyle (4:50.28), 50m Back (35.63), and 100m Back (1:16.98).
• More:   Individual Scores   Team Scores   Gator Results   Full Results   Gator Records

POPLAR BLUFF MEET RESULTS (SUMMER LEAGUE): Meet highlights:

• 1st Place Finishes: Collin Andersson (16), Samuel Hahs (8), Daniel Neff (16), Corey Pech (13), Jenny Powell (14), Josey Powell (10), Sierra Rau (11) and Lizzie Schmidt (15).
• 3rd Place Finish: Shelby Powers (11).
• More: Gator Results   Full Results

SIKESTON MEET (SUMMER LEAGUE): The Gator swimmers did a great job Saturday in Sikeston (click here for meet highlights).

• Stephen Sugarbaker set a conference record in the 11-12 Boys 100-yard IM event with a time of 1:23.75.
• Gabby Vieira broke 3 conference records in the 11-12 Girls age group: 100 Free (58.28), 50 Back (31.16) and 100 IM (1:09.97).
• 1st Place Finishes : Payton Beck (11), Ian Cameron (10), Mathew Chandler (9), Milo Greenfield (6), Phoebe Law (7), Tra Leimer (9), Shay Loughary (18), Amanda Mabry (9), Morgan Maguire (13), Corey Pech (13), Josey Powell (10), Carly Pujol (8), Madison Rau (16), Elizabeth Rorick (12), Madeline Siefert (13), Steven Sugarbaker (11), Owen Todd (8), Kyleigh Troxel (14), Molly Turner (15), Gabby Vieira (11), Jackson Voss (13), and Helen Wojdylo (11).
  
• 2nd Place Finishes: Lydia Cameron (12), Hyrum Dickson (8), Reed Dickson (11), Samuel Hahs (8), Caitlyn Palmer (11), Jenny Powell (14), Lynsey Powers (8), Mason Turner (12), and Sophia Wojdylo (8).
  
• 3rd Place Finishes: Jacob Bening (7), Jordan Johns (13), Ryleigh Mejean (5), Jacie Pujol (9), Sierra Smith (12), Aubrey Todd (10), Margaret Todd (7), and Jared West (12).
• More:   Full Meet Results   Gator Results   SMSC Short-Course Yards (SCY) Records
  

PERRYVILLE MEET (SUMMER LEAGUE):  Good job, Gator swimmers! What a great start. 55 Gators attended this first summer league meet, which was the first swim meet for many new swimmers. Here are the highlights:

• The Gator relay team of Elizabeth Rorick, Caitlyn Palmer, Elizabeth Kiefner and Gabby Vieira set a new all-time conference record in the Girls 11-12 200m Freestyle Relay with a new time of 2:08.83.
• Austin Hobbs set a new individual conference record in the Boys 11-12 100m Individual Medley with a time of 1:25.57.
• Gabby Vieira set 3 new conference records in the Girls 11-12 age group: 50m Free (29.90), 50m Fly (32.74) and 100m IM (1:16.90).
• 1st place finishes: Collin Anderson, Ryan Aufdenberg, Ian Cameron, Brogan Davis, Sarah McKinley Davis, Anna Esswein, AJ Garms, Bridget Hale, Austin Hobbs, John-John Kiefner, Tra Leimer, Daniel Neff, Dustin Parsons, Molly Phegly, Lizzie Schmidt, Kristian Troxel, Kyleigh Troxel, Mason Turner, and Gabby Vieira.
• 2nd place finishes: Cory Bunger, Grayson Davis, Raleigh Davis, Maria Esswein, Elizabeth Kiefner, Phoebe Law, Noah Mejean, Ryleigh Mejean, Jacie Pujol, Madison Rau, Elizabeth Rorick, and Steven Sugarbaker
• 3rd place finishes: Jackie Bader, Reed Dickson, Audrey Glover, Caitlyn Palmer, Carly Pujol, and Molly Turner
• See the full results and the Gator results.

It seems that everyone had a lot of fun, and we're now getting ready for the Sikeston meet on June 6th. More information about that meet will be posted as soon as it becomes available. Check this web site regularly.

PARENT WORKERS NEEDED AT OZARK CHAMPS: As in the past, the Gator Swim Team is co-hosting the Ozark Championship meet this weekend in Carbondale. The welcome change this year is that each team will provide 50% of the workers for all sessions, as opposed to the previous arrangement of Gators running the meet on Saturday and Salukis on Sunday.

• All parents of swimmers attending the meet: please help the team by signing up to work. At this point, we need mostly timers for all sessions (please consider staying for the finals even if you wouldn't be there otherwise).
• Parents of swimmers who are not attending the meet are also welcome to help. Remember this is a major fundraiser that helps to keep our team from rasing dues, and any help we can get is necessary and appreciated.
• You may sign up online at the Saluki website.

TOMORROW (FRIDAY) IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER FOR THE JUNIOR OLYMPIC GAMES: Families planning on attending the JOs this year must register their swimmers online on the AAU website by Friday, July 17th. Notes and links:

• Junior Olympics - Swimming website
• Official meet invitation
• List of qualified swimmers (Note: 8 & Under swimmers are not required to qualify; all 8 & Under swimmers are eligible to attend).
• AAU registration number (AAU cards can be reprinted from this website; swimmers should bring copies of their cards to the meet).
• Event schedule
• Seed times in LCM (All seed times must be entered in Long Course Meters; use this report to get your swimmer's best times converted to LCM)
• Online registration step-by-step (A guide showing the steps necessary to complete the online registration process)
• Important note: keep in mind that the swimmer's age on the first day of competition (August 4th) determines the age group of the swimmer. Qualification times ("BB" and "A" times) must be for the appropriate age group.

JOIN THE GATORS' JUNIOR OLYMPIC TEAM: Click here to see the answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Junior Olympic Games.

OPEN WATER SWIM CAMP: Ozark Swimming is holding an open water swim camp on Wednesday, July 1st, at Southern Illinois University (SIUC), in Carbondale (SIUC). The camp will be led by Rick Walker, Head Coach of SIUC and United States Swimming Open Water Staff, Jason Cravens, Head Coach of FAST, and Coach Steve. If you'd like to attend, please let Coach Steve know ASAP. The registration fee is $10.00. We're meeting Wednesday morning at 7:30 at the Bubble to go to Carbondale. Check in is at 9:00am at the SIUC swimming pool, and then all participants will be taken to the lake for practice and a time trial meet. More information...

PRACTICE CHANGES FOR SENIORS AND AGE GROUP 1 THIS WEEK: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday morning practices will be at the University's Rec Center pool from 7:30 to 10:00am. Swimmers are asked to shower before entering the pool. Afternoon practices will be tentatively 3:30 - 5:00pm at Central. No practice on Wednesday (year-round swimmers will be at the Open Water Swim Camp in Carbondale). Friday morning practice TBA. Summer League practices unchanged.

FAST TIME TRIAL MEET UPDATE: Here are some last-minute notes from FAST Coach Jason Cravens:

• There are just over 120 swimmers entered in the time trial meet (entry to the meet is now closed).
• The morning session is scheduled to end around 11:45am which would mean that we begin the afternoon session around noon.
• The afternoon session is much shorter due to the lack of long distance events and we would end around 1:30pm if that timeline holds.
• Parents and Swimmers will need to enter the spectator area through the pool deck double doors for this meet due to the cluttered condition of the Gym 2 lobby.  That will require them to head down the long stairway to the lower level hallway.  The door to that stairway is marked by a sign and is located just to the left of the regular glass double door entrances. 
• See you in the morning!

FAST TIME TRIAL MEET LINEUP NOW ONLINE: Because of the Firecracker Frenzy cancellation, many swimmers were left without a chance to get their qualifying times this weekend for Ozark Champs. Attempting to somewhat remedy the situation, the Flyers Aquatic Swim Team (FAST) and the Gators put together a last-minute time trial meet for Sunday, June 28. This sanctioned meet will be held indoors at a short-course yard pool, and swimmers who achieve a "Q" time in an SCY event will be qualified to swim the equivalent LCM event at the Ozark Championships in Carbondale next month. Coach Steve is strongly encouraging all Senior and Age Group 1 swimmers (who were going to attend the Firecracker Frenzy) to attend this meet.

• When: Sunday, June 28, 2009
• Where: Lindbergh High School, 4900 South Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO
• How to enter: please let Coach Steve know ASAP by phone (573-986-8155), email (coach@gatorswimteam.org) or in person Saturday morning at practice.
• Warm-ups: 8:00am
• Meet Starts: 9:00am
• Lineup: Click here for the Gator lineup
• Swimmers must be prepared to provide a timer and lap counter for all distance events (500
  Free, 1000 Free, 1650 Free)
• There will be no hospitality of concession services. Make sure you bring snacks, Gatorade, etc.
• The Gym 2 staging area that FAST uses during their regular meets will not be available. Please be prepared to sit in the bleachers and (the air will likely be warm inside the pool building).
• Timers are needed from all teams. Please volunteer to work.
• Heat sheets will not be available for sale, but will be posted around the spectator area.
• For list of events and other details, please read the official Meet Invitation.

FIRECRACKER FRENZY MEET CANCELLED: Click here for details...

POPLAR BLUFF MEET CHANGES: Also due to the hot weather:

• Warm-ups will start at 7:15am for all teams. Gators, please plan to arrive by 7:00am.
• All 400m events have been cancelled.

Gator parents and swimmers going to this meet please wear your new green team t-shirt Saturday! Gator Lineup    Meet Information

RESERVE YOUR HOTEL ROOM FOR THE JUNIOR OLYMPICS SOON: If you are planning to attend the Junior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa, make sure you reserve a hotel room in advance. Here are two easy ways to make reservations online:

• Priceline.com: A parent reported that a $70 bid for a 2 1/2 star hotel in the Des Moines West area (about 10-15 minutes from the pool) was accepted by the Best Western Des Moines West.
• JOs Hotel Reservation System: Log on to this site using the password "2190" to make a reservation.
• Update: Best Western (www.bestwestern.com) has rooms for $80/day + tax.

Before you make reservations, please check the Meet Invitation and Meet Schedule for dates and addresses. Swimmers are expected to be there for practice on Aug. 3 (afternoon), but many families are planning to arrive the day before. The Celebration of Athletes will be on the evening of Aug. 3 as well.

2009 AAU JUNIOR OLYMPIC GAMES: The Gator Swim Team is once again participating in the Junior Olympic Games, to be held this year in Des Moines, Iowa (August 3-7). This is a fun event that aims to recreate the Olympic atmosphere of sportsmanship and team spirit among youth teams in many sports, and is a great experience for all athletes. Qualifying times required (see the meet web site for more information, or ask the coaches about attending the JO Qualifier meet on June 27 in Poplar Bluff). All swimmers who want to be part of the 2009 Gator Junior Olympic Team must let coach Steve know ASAP.

FIRECRACKER FRENZY MEET SETUP: The scheduled meet setup has been postponed from Thursday evening to Friday afternoon. Gator parents are needed to help assemble the tents, tables and meet equipment starting at 1pm.

FIRECRACKER FRENZY MEET:  An updated Gator lineup has been posted. For more information, please visit the meet web page.

ELIZABETHTOWN MEET (USA SWIMMING):

• Memo about parking and use of the facility
• Important note from the host team: "Due to the strong turnout of morning swimmers, we will change the warm-up time for the Saturday and Sunday PM sessions to one hour later, starting no earlier than 1:00 p.m."  
• If you haven't already reserved a hotel, most of the team will stay at the  Baymont Inn & Suites Elizabethtown (270-769-9616).
• Meet Invitation Updated Jun-8
• Gator Lineup
• Psych Sheet Updated Jun-9
• Warmup Lanes
• See the meet calendar page for pool address, map and other information.

IN THE NEWS: Just a few days ago, Gator senior Annie Wolpers accepted an athletic swimming scholarship at Stephens College in Columbia, MO. Read the Southeast Missourian article here. Congratulations, Annie!

SIKESTON MEET (SUMMER LEAGUE): The Gator swimmers did a great job Saturday in Sikeston (click here for meet highlights and results). Next meet is at Poplar Bluff on June 13.

GATORS PRACTICE OPEN-WATER SWIMMING: Last Friday the senior group traveled to Little Grassy Lake, near Carbondale, for an open water swimming orientation.

Next month the team will participate in an open water clinic, followed by a race. USA swimmers interested in open water swimming should talk to coach Steve for more information.

NEW WORLD RECORD! On May 21 Susan Beth Scott set a new Paralympic World Record in the 1500m Freestyle with a time of 18:33.86. References in the media: USA Today, Swimming World Magazine, Paralympic Swimming Magazine, Southeast Missourian CONGRATULATIONS!!!

SALUKI INTERNATIONAL MEET RESULTS AND HIGHLIGHTS: Gator Results (PDF) Another strong showing by the Gators, with 57% of all seed times improved upon.

New Records:

• Kyleigh Troxel broke the Girls 13-14 400m Free (4:47.46) and 200m Fly (2:38.68) team records.
• Gabby Vieira broke the following team records in the Girls 11-12 age group: 200m Free (2:18.90); 400m Free (4:50.99); 50m Back (35.87); 100m Back (1:17.32); and 100m Fly (1:13.58).

Congratulations, swimmers! The Gator Times page has been updated.

LONG COURSE KICKOFF MEET RESULTS AND HIGHLIGHTS

New Ozark Record and USA Swimming Top 10 Times

• Gabby Vieira broke the 800m Freestyle Ozark record in the Girls 11-12 age group with a Top 10 time of 10:02.99. She also got a USAS Top 10 time in the 1500m Freestyle (19:32.71).

Team Records

• Kyleigh Troxel lowered her own record in the Girls 13-14 400 I.M. with a new time of 5:32.74.
• Gabby Vieira broke 7 old team records in the Girls 11-12 age group: 800 Free, 1500 Free, 100 Back (1:17.54), 200 Back (2:43.67), 100 Fly (1:16.37), 200 Fly (2:56.50) and 400 I.M. (5:42.78).

New Achievements

• Jacie Pujol achieved her first B time in the Girls 10&Under 50m Backstroke with a time of 53.18.
• Gabby Vieira’s 800 and 1500 Freestyle times are her first AAAA times in the Girls 11-12 age group.

Top Scorers

High Point Winners:

• Gabby Vieira (Girls 11-12)
• Austin Hobbs (Boys 11-12)
• Kyleigh Troxel (Girls 13-14)
• Allison Hobbs (Girls 15 & Over)
• Caleb Coots (Boys 15 & Over)

2nd Places:

• Allison McDonald (Girls 8 & Under)
• Kristian Troxel (Boys 13-14).

Other Top 8:

• Phoebe Law (5th place), Carly Pujol (6th) and Hadley Beck (8th, Girls 8 & Under)
• Brogan Davis (7th, Boys 9-10)
• Morgan Rorick (12th, Girls 11-12)
• Bridget Hale (8th, Girls 13-14)
• Ramsey Scott (5th, Boys 13-14)
• Susan Beth Scott (5th, Girls 15 & Over)

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!

The Gator Times page has been updated.

SMALL CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS MEET RESULTS AND HIGHLIGHTS

Gator Results: Full Results : Individual High Points: Meet Photos

New Achievements:

• Dustin Parsons got his first “A” time in the Boys 13-14 100-Yard Butterfly with a time of 1:01.79.
• Payton Beck got his first “BB” time in the Boys 11-12 50-Yard Backstroke with a time of 36.25.

Top Scorers:

• High-Point Winners
  • Austin Hobbs, 11-12 Boys
  • Gabriela Vieira, 11-12 Girls
  • Kyleigh Troxel, 13-14 Girls
  • Allison Hobbs, 15 & Over Girls
• 2nd Places
  • Elizabeth Kiefner, 11-12 Girls
  • Bridget Hale, 13-14 Girls
  • Morgan Fraser, 15 & Over Girls
• 3rd Places
  • Phoebe Law, 8 & Under Girls
  • Brogan Davis, 9-10 Boys
  • Caitlyn Palmer, 11-12 Girls
  • Morgan Rorick, 11-12 Girls
  • Madeline Siefert, 13-14 Girls
  • Caleb Coots, 15 & Over Boys
• Other Top 8
  • Ian Cameron, 9-10 Boys (8th)
  • John Kiefner, 9-10 Boys (4th)
  • Tra Leimer, 9-10 Boys (7th)
  • Bailee Lathum, 9-10 Girls (9th)
  • Amanda Mabry, 9-10 Girls (5th)
  • Joseph Janisse, 11-12 Boys (6th)
  • Stephen Sugarbaker, 11-12 Boys (7th)
  • Lydia Cameron, 11-12 Girls (7th)
  • Helen Wojdylo, 11-12 Girls (5th)
  • Dustin Parsons, 13-14 Boys (6th)
  • Anne Wolpers, 15 & Over Girls (8th)

  CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL SWIMMERS! The Gator Times page has been updated.

ATTENTION FAMILIES ATTENDING THE ELIZABETHTOWN MEET:  Coach Steve has reserved 10 rooms at the Baymont Inn & Suites Elizabethtown for the group rate of $65/night plus tax (includes continental breakfast and 10% coupon to eat in the nearby restaurants).  Anyone interested should call the hotel by Friday to request a room: (270) 769-9616 (mention "Gator Swim Team group rate" when making the reservation).

SIKESTON MEET (SUMMER LEAGUE): The Gator Lineup (revised) is now online. Click here for more Information.

SUMMER LEAGUE FAMILIES:

• Thursday and Friday practices have been moved to 9:00am. See "Practice Changes" on the left.
• Our first swim competition of the summer is this Saturday in Perryville. If you are planning to go to this meet, please sign up at the pool. Click here for more details about this meet.

THE SALUKI LINEUP is now online!
Invitation - Gator Lineup - Warm-up Assignments - Psych Sheet

2009 GATOR AWARDS banquet photos are now online here!  Congratulations award winnersL:

• Most Valuable swimmers: Caleb Coots (15&O Boys) Susan Beth Scott (15&O Girls) Kristian Troxel (13-14 Boys) Kyleigh Troxel (13-14 Girls) Austin Hobbs (11-12 Boys) Elizabeth Kiefner (11-12 Girls) John Kiefner (9-10 Boys) Matthew Chandler (8&U Boys) Allison McDonald (8&U Girls)
• Most Improved Swimmers: Caleb Coots (15&O Boys) Anna Esswein (15&O Girls) Dustin Parsons (13-14 Boys) Bridget Hale (13-14 Girls) Steven Sugarbaker (11-12 Boys) Lydia Cameron (11-12 Girls) Ian Cameron (9-10 Boys) Amanda Mabry (9-10 Girls) Allie Pujol Jacie Pujol Owen Todd Pheobe Law
• Most Dedicated Swimmers: Caleb Coots (15&O Boys) Allison Hobbs (15&O Girls) Kristian Troxel (13-14 Boys) Morgan Maguire (13-14 Girls) Austin Hobbs (11-12 Boys) Morgan Rorick (11-12 Girls) Travis Leimer (9-10 Boys) Matthew Chandler (8&U Boys) Phobe Law (8&U Girls)
• Gator Award: Annie Wolpers

SUMMER SPONSORS NEEDED - Parents – we need your help! We are in need of summer league shirt sponsors. The cost is $100 and your logo will be displayed on the back of the t-shirts. Please email jmabry@gatorswimteam.org by May 26th if you are interested.

ATTENTION USA (YEAR ROUND) SWIMMERS / HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMERS  - Please email Michelle Hobbs if you intend to sign up for AAU meets this summer. The cost will be $14 for AAU registration and billed to your account. Please email me mhobbs@gatorswimteam.org and let me know by May 22, 2009. Swimsuit orders will be taken the week of May 26th . A sizing kit will be available to ensure the correct size needed. The suits will be all black Speedo w/ no logo. These will need to be prepaid at the time the order is placed. Female suit will be $43, male jammer $29, and male brief $25. There will also be goggles, practice suits, and Gator gear available for purchase.

LONG COURSE KICKOFF - Full Results - Gator Results - Meet Highlights - Meet Photos

BEING A GATOR IS FUN, FUN, FUN! Check out our photos from the recent Gators' Field Trip to the City Museum in St. Louis. Travel meets are fun. Sign up by May 9th to go to the Elizabethtown, KY, meet June 12-14.

DONATIONS NEEDED!! - Donations are very much needed for hospitality and/or concessions for our Long Course Kickoff Meet this week. We hardly have anyone signed up. Please contact Lizz Maguire or sign up at the pool bulletin board as soon as possible if you can help!

SUMMER LEAGUE SIGNUPS - It’s time to get the swim suit out and come by the bubble to sign up for Summer League swim team. Signups are May 2nd, 3rd, and 9th at the bubble from 10 am to 2 pm. If you are unable to sign up on those dates, please call Coach Steve at 986-8155 and let him know your intentions. Practice will begin on May 26th from 4:00 to 5:30 at Capaha park pool. We will only be there for a few days and will return to the bubble the next Monday where practice will be from 9:00 to 11:00 I hope to see all of you soon. - Coach Steve

MEET RESULTS - Smal Club Championship meet highlights are below!

SIGN UP TO WORK - The meet worker sign-up sheet for the Gator Long Course Kickoff May 1-3 is on the Gator bulletin board located near the girls' dressing area at Central Pool. You can also sign up online.

MEET CANCELLATION - Because of the low numbers for the Meet Me in St. Louis meet scheduled for May 29-31 at the RecPlex, we have cancelled our participation in it - Coach Steve

ACTIVE MEET SIGNUPS - Sign up online

• by Saturday, May 9, for the E-Town Summer Classic, Elizabethtown, KY - extended!

SUMMER LEAGUE MEETS are now listed on the Summer Calendar.

SUMMER SCHEDULE - The new 2009 USA Swimming Gator Summer Meet Schedule is now online. AAU Summer League Meet Schedule will be available shortly. See the new 2009 Summer Calendar

SECTIONAL RESULTS - Full Results - Gator Results

New Team Records

• Caleb Coots broke the Boys Open 200-Yard Butterfly record with a new time of 1:59.07.
• Kristian Troxel broke the Boys 13-14 1000 Free record with a new time of 10:03.16. ·
• Kyleigh Troxel broke two records in the Girls 13-14 group: 1000 Free (10:22.74) and 1650 Free (17:42.77).
• View the SCY Records Page

New Achievements:

• Kristian Troxel joined his sister at the top of the Gator Achievements chart with a quad-A time in the Boys 1000 Freestyle event with a time of 10:03.16.
• Susan Beth Scott achieved her first triple-A times in the Girls 1000 Free (10:45.61), 500 Free (5:15.49) and 1650 Free (18:04.52).
• View the Achievements Page

OZ CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS - Congratulations to all Gator swimmers for another fine performance at the Ozark Championships. Gator Results - Full Results - Gator Times - Achievements

• New Team Records:
  • Kyleigh Troxel broke two Gator records that had been standing for 17 years in the Girls 13-14 age group—the 500-yard Freestyle with a new time of 5:10.95 and the 1000-yard Freestyle with a new time of 10:30.70.
• New Achievements:
  • Kyleigh Troxel’s 1000-yard Freestyle record time was also her first Girls 13-14 quad-A time.
  • Landon Beck achieved his first BB time in the Boys 13-14 1000 Freestyle with a time of 12:23.90.
• Final Team Rankings:
  1st Rockwood Swim Club (4,577 points)
  2nd CSP Tideriders (4,487)
  3rd Parkway Swim Club (3,561.50)
  4th Rec-Plex Sharks (2,176.50)
  5th Flyers Aquatic Swim Team (1,982.50)
  6th Gator Swim Team (663 points)
  7th South East Aquatic League (638.50)
  8th Saluki (382.50)
  9th Boys and Girls Club Dolphins (269)
  10th Heat Swimming (216.50)
  11th Saint Louis Spirit Swimming (153)

GIRLS STATE RESULTS

Congratulations to Gator Allison Hobbs for her 16th-place finish in the 500 freestyle at the MSHSAA Girls State Swimming Championships! 2009 Finals Results - 2009 Prelims Results

GATORS IN THE NEWS (Southeast Missourian articles)

• Illness slows down Hobbs at state meet
• Hobbs is lone area swimmer to advance
• Anna Esswein enters uncharted water for St. Vincent program
• Southeast Missouri swimmers hope to outpace state competition

SEMO CONFERENCE MVP - Congratulations to Gator Allison Hobbs, who earned high school conference MVP honors winning two individual events, and swimming state cuts and meet record times in both events, the 400-meter freestyle and the 200-meter freestyle. Gator Anna Esswein won the 100-meter breaststroke in a state quaifying time, broke the meet record in that event and was 4th in the 50 free. Gator Annie Wolpers placed 2nd in the 50 and 100 freestyle, and was on 1st place relay teams in the 200 medley and 200 free. Congratulations, Gators! All three will be swimming at the high school state meet. Prelims are Friday at the Rec-Plex. Good luck, girls!

Great Times Information Central

A big THANK YOU note to all parents and officials who helped make our Great Times meet a success!

• Full Results (pdf)
• Gator Results
• Manager Backup File
• Team Manager Export File
  

GREAT TIMES MEET HIGHLIGHTS

NEW ACHIEVEMENTS

• Kristian Troxel got his first AAA times in the Boys 13-14 400-yard IM (4:34.42), 1000 Free (10:32.51) and 1650 Free (17:21.59).
• Brogan Davis got his first A time in the Boys 10 & Under 100 Back (1:21.25).
• Alyssa Coots got her first BB time in the Girls 13-14 200 Free (Relay Lead Off, 28.71). ·
• Joseph Janisse got his first BB time in the Boys 11-12 200 Free (Relay Lead Off, 30.90).
• Allison McDonald got her first BB time in the Girls 8 & Under 100 IM (1:31.18).
• Rutra Asokan got her first B times in the Girls 10 & Under 50 Breast (52.74) and 100 Breast (1:52.16).
• Raleigh Davis got his first B time in the Boys 11-12 50 Free (33.13).
• Amanda Mabry got her first B time in the Girls 10 & Under 50 Free (39.64).
• Jackson Voss got his first B times in the Boys 11-12 50 Free (32.41) and 200 Free (Relay Lead Off, 33.09).

BEST FINISHES

1st PLACES:

• Mathew Chandler in the Boys 8 & Under 25-yard Butterfly
• Allison Hobbs in the Girls 15 & Over 200 Back
• Allison McDonald in the Girls 8 & Under 25 Free and 25 Fly
• Kristian Troxel in the Boys 13-14 400 IM, 1000 Free, 200 Fly and 500 Free;
• Kyleigh Troxel in the Girls 13-14 400 IM, 1000 Free, 200 IM, 500 Free and 1650 Free. ·

2nd PLACES:

• Mathew Chandler in the Boys 8 & Under 50 Free, 25 Breast, 25 Back, 25 Free and 100 IM;
• Caleb Coots in the Boys 15 & Over 200 Fly and 1650 Free;
• Allison Hobbs in the Girls 15 & Over 500 Free and 1650 Free;
• Allison McDonald in the Girls 8 & Under 25 Breast, 25 Back and 100 IM;
• Kristian Troxel in the Boys 13-14 200 IM and 200 Breast;
• Kyleigh Troxel in the Girls 13-14 200 Free. ·

3rd PLACES:

• Caleb Coots in the Boys 15 & Over 400 IM, 1000 Free, 100 Fly and 200 Back;
• Brogan Davis in the Boys 10 & Under 100 Back and 100 IM;
• Anna Esswein in the Girls 15 & Over 100 Breast;
• Bridget Hale in the Girls 13-14 200 IM, 100 Free, 100 Back and 200 Back;
• Allison Hobbs in the Girls 15 & Over 1000 Free;
• Austin Hobbs in the Boys 11-12 400 IM, 500 Free, 100 Fly and 200 Free;
• Elizabeth Kiefner in the Girls 11-12 100 Fly;
• John-John Kiefner in the Boys 9-10 500 Free;
• Allison McDonald in the Girls 8 & Under 50 Free;
• Caitlyn Palmer in the Girls 11-12 50 Fly;
• Susan Beth Scott in the Girls 15 & Over 400 IM and 500 Free;
• Kristian Troxel in the Boys 13-14 200 Free, 100 Fly and 1650 Free;
• Kyleigh Troxel in the Girls 13-14 100 Breast, 200 Fly, 200 Breast;
• Annie Wolpers in the Girls 15 & Over 50 Free.

EARLIER MEET RESULTS

• HEAT Last Meet of the Year (13-Dec-08) Gator Results - Full Results
  
• FAST Winter Invitational (23-Jan-09) Gator Results - Full Results

NEW ACHIEVEMENTS:

• Elizabeth Kiefner achieved her first Girls 11-12 “A” time in the 50-yard Butterfly with a time of 32.07.
• Caitlyn Palmer achieved her first Girls 11-12 “A” time in the 100-yard Backstroke with a time of 1:14.09.
• Susan Beth Scott achieved her first Girls 15 & Over “AA” time in the 500-yard Freestyle with a time of 5:29.06.
• The Gator Times page has been updated.

GATOR IN BRAZIL - Gator swimmer Gabby Vieira is visiting Brazil, where she was born, for a few weeks. Read her blog here! At right below is a photo of Gabby with her some of her "new" teammates, including (in blue in back) Carlos Camargo, who used to coach Brazilian Olympian Fernando Scherer. He is the head coach of the newly formed Unisul University’s swimming program..

BREASTROKE RULE - Read the new rule interpretation from USA Swimming (pdf)

CARBONDALE RESULTS - Full Meet - Gator Results

• New Achievements:
  • Mathew Chandler: first B times in the Boys 10 & Under 50-Yard Backstroke (46.51) and 100-Yard Backstroke (1:41.12).
  • Elizabeth Rorick: first AA times in the Girls 11-12 500-Yard Freestyle (5:50.81) and 200-Yard Freestyle (2:13.38Y).
  • Helen Wojdylo: first BB times in the Girls 11-12 100-Yard Breaststroke (1:28.55) and 200-Yard Breaststroke (3:09.86)
• New Team Record:
  • Gabriela Vieira broke the Girls 11-12 200-Yard Backstroke record from 1990 with a new time of 2:22.21.

Visit the Gator Times page for more.

CONGRATULATIONS STATE SWIMMERS - The following Gators reached the 72nd MSHSAA Boys Swimming & Diving Championships held Nov. 14-15 at the RecPlex. Congratulations to all for their accomplishments. State results: Prelims - Finals

• Caleb Coots / Gator year round/ Central High School - 17th in 100 fly, 18th in 500 free
• Ben Koch / Gator year round / Central High School
• Collin Andersson / Gator summer league / Notre Dame
• Daniel Neff / Gator summer league / Notre Dame
• Ben Rocket / Gator summer league / Notre Dame
• Sean Doyle / Gator summer league / Notre Dame - 18th in medley relay

SCRIP GIFT CARD ORDERS - It is time to start gift card shopping for the holidays. The Gator Swim Team makes a % profit on the gift cards you purchase. Order Form (pdf)  Please make checks out to Gator Swim Team for the face value of the gift card orders. If you have any questions, please email mhobbs@gatorswimteam.org. Scrip Gift Card Orders are due:

• November 15th...we will have them by November 20th
• December 13th...we will have them by December  19th

PARKWAY HIGHLIGHTS - Tra Leimer got his first BB time in the 10 & Under Boys 50-Yard Backstroke with a time of 43.67. Gabby Vieira broke the 11-12 Girls 1000-Yard Freestyle team record with a new time of 11:55.60. Parkway results.

OZARK RULING ON TECH SUITS - The Ozark Swimming House of Delegates has voted to adopt the USA Swimming revision to rule 102.9 effective immediately. The rule describes allowable swimwear for competition. The most notable change is for age group swimmers, 12-years of age and younger. READ THE POLICY (pdf)

PARENT LIAISON AND REGISTRATION - Laura Brown is back as parent Liaison Position and Registration. If you have questions or news that needs to be posted or sent via email just let her know and she will send out the message. (flbrown12@sbcglobal.net)

NEW TIME STANDARDS are in effect from Ozark and USA Swimming, effective September 1st, 2008. Go to the Times and Records page for more information.

MEET SIGN UPS are now under way. It is very important for all swimmers to compete regularly to "put into action" what they have learned in terms of technique and fitness preparation. Swim meet attendance is also a fundamental part of the team-building experience and everyone is strongly encouraged to go to at least one meet a month, so please consider signing up for the upcoming meets if you haven't already done so:

NEW FAMILIES - If you are about to go to your first USA Swimming meet, please consider contacting other parents who can give you tips on what to take on the trip and how to get the best hotel rates (most families use the Priceline system to book hotels at very low rates, for example). Here's some more useful information.

FALL 2008

PARALYMPICS UPDATE - Congratulations Susan Beth! We are proud of you!!

• Scott claims bronze medal at Paralympic Games (Southeast Missourian)
• Scott places fourth in 100 freestyle (semoball.com)

GATOR GEAR - If you are interested in swim suits, drag suits, and swim goggles from Action Accents please contact Ellen Schmidt. Call 450-7634.

MANDATORY PARENT MEETING - 6 pm Thursday, September 25, 2008 at Lynwood Baptist Church A family member MUST attend the Parent Meeting. We understand that many of you work but please try to find someone to come and attend the meeting for you. We will be discussing the following:

1. Handbook
2. Parent Responsibilities at Meetings and Fundraising
3. Suggestions on Getting Everyone Involved!
4. Board Member Introductions
5. Question and Answer Session

Thank You and See You There!

ONLINE MEET SIGNUPS - Sign up online now for the first 3 meets of our new short course season. Deadline is Sept. 15 for Paducah and FAST and Oct. 1 for the Halloween Howl.

MIKE SCOTT'S BLOG - Keep up with Susan Beth and family as they bring us firsthand accounts of the Paralympic Games. Read Mike's first post here: Beijing Bound or, in his words,"The Clampetts head to the Orient."

GET READY FOR THE PARALYMPICS! - The 2008 Paralympic Games opening ceremony is this Saturday, Sept. 6, with competition starting on Sept. 7. Universal Sports is offering live coverage here! There is also a channel at YouTube as well.

Best wishes and GOOD LUCK to our own SUSAN BETH SCOTT! Find some photos of Susan Beth and read about their team on her teammate Melissa Stockwell's blog.

GATOR GEAR

• If you are needing a Gator team suit, we are starting to take orders. The cost will depend on the number of suits we order. Please contact Ellen Schmidt at 450-7634 or via email at Ellenjane51@aol.com.
• The week of September 9th Action Accents will be sending a box of goggles and practice suits.
• The new white caps are here. The price is $5 We do not have any latex caps at this time. If you want to purchase a new cap call Ellen Schmidt at 450-7634. Everyone is required to wear the new cap at the next swim meet. If you have any questions please call me. Thanks Ellen

MISSING STROKE VIDEOS - Coach Steve is missing some of his stroke videos. If you have them, please return them to him as soon as possible. Thank you!

MEET RESULTS are now online for JOs and Zones:

• Junior Olympics - Full Results - Gator Results - Photos (new!)
• Central Zones - Full Results: Pool - Open Water - Gator Results - Photos (new!)

TENTATIVE 2008-2009 SHORT COURSE SCHEDULE:

• September:
  1. 27th - 28th Paducah Fall Frenzy
• October:
  1. 4th - 5th IMX Kickoff Fast / Lindbergh High School
  2. 24th - 26th Halloween Howl RSCA Marquette High School
• November:
  1. 7th - 9th PKWY Pentathlon PKWY South High School
  2. 21st - 23rd Carbondale 500 SIU
• December:
  1. 5th - 7th H2O Invitational RECPLEX
  2. 13th Swim Own Age 14 and under Saluki
  3. ( Depends on H2O Meet ) 12th - 14th Cardinal Aquatics xmas classic Prelim & Final meet w/8 and unders ( Louisville )
• January:
  1. 2nd - 4th Aritc Blast (Prelim and Finals ) w/8 & unders Terre Haute , Ind.
  2. 10th - 11th BC Invitational PKWY
  3. 23rd - 25th Fast winter Invitational Lindbergh High School
• Feburary:
  1. 6th - 8th Great Times Meet Cape
  2. 14th - 15th Ozark Qualifers St. Louis
  3. 27th - 1st Ozark Championships
• March:
  1. 5th - 8th Sectional Oklahoma City , Oklahoma
  2. 14th - 15th Spring Fling / 8 & Under Champs Heat Lafayette High School

SUMMER 2008

GATORS EXCEL AT ZONES - Caleb Coots won 1st place in the in the 15 & Over Open Water competition at the Central Zones Championship under way Aug. 6-11 in Indianapolis. Ramsey Scott finished 13th -- so two Gator/Ozark swimmers made the top 16! Live video and real time results can be found here: http://www.allgreatracers.com ... Congratulations! Also entered in events at Zones are Gabby Vieira and Morgan Fraser. Go Gators!

GATORS BRING MEDALS AND RECORDS FROM THE 2008 JUNIOR OLYMPIC GAMES
Sixteen athletes from the Gator Swim Team competed in this year’s AAU Junior Olympics in Detroit, Michigan, at the Jones Natatorium at Eastern Michigan University. The Gators brought home a total of 26 gold, 18 silver and 30 bronze medals, along with strong finishes in all events they competed in. Gator Results Here

• Gold Medalists: Anna Esswein, Austin Hobbs, Thomas Janisse, Morgan Maguire, Kristian Troxel, Kyleigh Troxel, Gabby Vieira and Annie Wolpers.
• Silver Medalists: Allison Hobbs, Joseph Janisse, Shelby Ray and Madeline Siefert.
• Bronze Medalists: Bridget Hale, Daniel Janisse, Elizabeth Rorick and Jared West.
• Records: Gabby Vieira also broke 4 national AAU records in the Girls 9-10 age group: 200 Meter Freestyle (2:26.76), 200 Meter Individual Medley (2:49.55), 100 Meter Backstroke (1:19.00), 100 Meter Freestyle (1:08.46).

Please note NEW PRACTICE SCHEDULES at left.

GATORS at JUNIOR OLYMPICS - Members of the Gator Junior Olympic Team gather for a group photo before practice on Monday at the Michael Jones Natatorium on the campus of Eastern Michigan University.

SUMMER LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP - GATOR HIGH POINT WINNERS (from left): Brogan Davis, Payton Beck, Kristian Troxel, Elizabeth Kiefner (below), Kyleigh Troxel, Bridget Hale, Allison Hobbs, and Tommy Janisse.

SUMMER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS - Gators pose for a group shot after winning the SMSC Championship Meet in Jackson.

SUMMER LEAGUE GATORS celebrate their 5th consecutive large division victory at the SMSC Championship meet July 26 in Jackson.

GATORS DO WELL AT SECTIONALS, CHAMPIONSHIPS - Gator swimmers were in action in 3 different meets this past week. The Gators won the Southeast Missouri Swim Conference Large Team Division for the 5th consecutive time. See highlights here.

The PSYCH SHEETS for the 2008 Junior Olympics swim meet are online here.
Junior Olympics website

SUMMER LEAGUE banquet photos are available for viewing here.

GABBY VIEIRA achieved six new Top-16 (NRT) times in one meet, a new all-time mark for a Gator swimmer, at the SEAHAWK INVITATIONAL held July 10-12 in Louisville. Meet highlights and results are now online here. Gabby won high point for her Girls 9-10 age group and also broke two long-standing Ozark records. Congratulations, Gabby! Gabby, Austin Hobbs and Kyleigh Troxel achieved new Gator records at the meet, and Gators had nineTop-8 finishers.

SUSAN BETH SCOTT has claimed another world record, this time at the Can-Am Championships for Swimmers with a Disability held July 11-13 in Victoria, British Columbia. Her time in the S10 800m freestyle was 9:40.00. She smashed the old record, which had stood since 1995, by nearly two seconds. Scott's time was also good for new American and PanAmerican records. See the wrapup here: 2008 U.S. Paralympic Swimming Team Makes Strong Statement at Can-Am Championships

GATOR ASST. COACH DEBBIE FRANKLIN talks about competitive swimming as an adult on KFVS-12. Links on the KFVS sports section also feature video clips on Susan Beth Scott's ESPY nomination and Kyleigh and Kristian Troxel. Be sure to have a look! View Debbie's interview here.

VOTE FOR SUSAN BETH! - Exciting news! Susan Beth Scott has been nominated for an ESPY award for the Top Female Athlete with a Disability in the country. ESPN will fly her to LA for the red carpet program on July 16. Her teammate, Philip Scholz, was also nominated in the male category. Please show your support by going to the ESPN website and voting on the ESPYs. Voting ends July 12. Here's a PDF of the entire ballot. See also: Local swimmer earns nomination for ESPY award (Southeast Missourian, 7-3-08)

THE 2008 OLYMPIC TRIALS are June 29-July 6 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. Gator grad Steffan Troxel is swimming the 1500 free. Good luck, Steffan!! More info here. Check out the new video widget to watch the events you may have missed!

MINUTES from the Gator Parent Meeting held June 4, 2008, are available here (pdf).

SPRING 2008

SPRING GATOR AWARDS - Photos from the Spring awards banquet are available online here (password is gators.) http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/prjk95/2008GatorAwards/ MD-Most Dedicated; MI-Most Improved; MVP-Most Valuable
8 and under girls MD - Hadley Beck MI - Sophi Thurman MVP - Allison McDonald 8 and under boys MD - Tra Leimer MI - Ian Cameron MVP - John Kiefner 9 - 10 girls MD - Caitlyn Palmer MI - Elizabeth Kiefner MVP - Gabby Vieira 9-10 boys MD - Payton Beck MI - Kevin Douglas MVP - Austin Hobbs	11 - 12 girls MD - Maddie Siefert MI - Morgan Maguire MVP - Kyleigh Troxel 11-12 boys MD - Kristian Troxel MI - Mason Turner MVP - Kristian Troxel 13 -14 girls MD - Bridget Hale MI - Lizzie Schmidt MVP - Allison Hobbs 13-14 boys MD - Landon Beck MI - Ben Koch MVP - Ramsey Scott	15 over girls MD - Audrey Glover MI - Annie Wolpers MVP - Morgan Fraser 15 over boys MD - Caleb Coots MI - Nick Welker MVP - Caleb Coots 2008 Gator Award Annie Wolpers Nick Welker

 

HALL OF FAME - Congratulations to Gator Assistant Coach Alicia Scott, who was just inducted into the Glasgow-Barren County (Kentucky) Athletic Hall of Fame. From the Glasgow Daily Times:

"Alicia Polson Scott made the most of her opportunity. The 1977 graduate of Glasgow High School was on the inaugural GHS girls’ basketball team. She also reached state in doubles tennis while in high school. She was not offered a scholarship to play basketball at Western Kentucky University, but walked on to the program. By the end of her senior year, she was the first All-American in women’s basketball at WKU and she is still in the top 10 all time in several women’s basketball statistical categories at the university. She parlayed her success at WKU into a solid college coaching career before becoming an assistant athletic director. She now resides in Missouri."

BOARD MEMBERS - The following people were elected to the Gator Board of Directors at the banquet on Thursday, April 17: Laura Brown, Mark Coots, Tom Kiefner, Kyle McDonald, Mike Scott.

SUSAN BETH MAKES U.S. PARALYMPIC TEAM - It's official! Susan Beth Scott has been named to the U.S. Paralympic Swim Team, and she was also honored as female Swimmer of the Meet for her world-record-setting 400-meter swim. She will represent the U.S. at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, Sept. 6-17, 2008. More info/photos here. Congratulations to Susan Beth and her family from the Gators! Here are a couple of links to stories out on the web:

• Beijing-Bound Swimmer (Southeast Missourian, April 13, 2008)
• Lane 9 News via Swimming World Magazine: www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/17734.asp
• CBS College Sports: www.cstv.com/sports/c-swim/stories/040608aac.html.

SUSAN BETH SCOTT SETS RECORD AT TRIALS - Gator swimmer Susan Beth Scott has made the most of her opportunity this year as a resident athlete at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs as she capitalized with a world record swim in the 400 meter freestyle Thursday night (April 3) , the opening day of the U.S. Paralympic Swimming Trials held at the University of Minnesota through Saturday. Scott's time of 4:40.10 broke a 12 year standing record by nearly 8 tenths of a second that was set in 1996 at the Paralympic games in Atlanta. Scott's swim and new #1 world ranking in the event should secure her a slot on the U.S. team going to the games this September in Beijing, as the U.S. has 38 total slots, 18 for women. Competition continues through Saturday and the team will be announced Sunday. Congratulations, Susan Beth!

Above at right is a photo of Susan Beth right after her record-setting swim on Thursday.
More photos >>

• AP news via Yahoo Sports
• Minneapolis Star Tribune
• U.S. Paralympic Team website

ALUMNI NEWS - Gator Grad Hannah Kinder's Texas A&M women’s swimming & diving team won the 2008 Big 12 conference championship on March 1. More info here! (Hannah is in pic behind the sign). Hannah scored with a 13th-place finish in the 100 free in 51.26. Congratulations, Hannah!

PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Congratulations to Gator Annie Wolpers, recognized as Player of the Week by the Southeast Missourian.

2007

H2O MEET RESULTS - New achievements: Elizabeth Kiefner got her first double-A time in the Girls 9-10 50-Yard Butterfly (35.25). Kevin Douglas got his first triple-A time in the Boys 9-10 200-Yard Freestyle (2:18.64). New Record: Gabby Vieira broke a long-standing record from Erin Vogt (1991) in the Girls 9-10 200-Yard IM. The new record is 2:33.74. Congratulations swimmers! Gator Results - Full Meet Results

IN THE NEWS - Read the following article and scroll down to the third picture and see if you recognize the cute girl in the backround wearing the goggles. - The Denver Post: Still in the Swim (It's Susan Beth Scott!)

PARADE RESCHEDULED - The parade is rescheduled for This Sunday, Dec. 2. Meet at Capaha Park to make final touches on float by 3:30 pm. We are still #62. If the weather is bad it will be canceled again but listen to the radio for cancellations. Still need a lot of CANDY!

• Cape Christmas Parade Postponed - (Gators on KFVS-TV)
  

SCHOLASTIC ALL-AMERICA TEAM - Congratulations to Gator grad Hannah Kinder, named to the 2006-2007 USA Swimming Women's Scholastic All-America Team

MOTIVATIONAL MINUTE - Coach Steve shares this from his inbox: Get motivated with the Motivational Minute by Josh Davis, 5-Time Olympic Medalist, Motivational Speaker (pdf)

GIFT CARD FUNDRAISER UPDATE - Attention Parents: We are starting a scrip gift card program to raise money for the team. The gift cards are purchased at face value and the team receives a percentage of the proceeds of the gift card. This is a great way to raise money for the team without selling something. Most of you are already spending your money at these vendors anyway, why not plan ahead and purchase the cards and help raise money for team. Scrip Card Order Form (pdf) - Michelle Hobbs

RIO GATOR WATCH - Follow Gator SUSAN BETH SCOTT's progress as she competes Aug. 13-18 in the 2007 Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. See these team newsletters (pdfs) from the coach: Aug. 9 - Aug. 10 - Aug. 11 - Aug. 12 - Aug. 13 - Aug. 14 - Aug. 15 - Aug. 16 - Aug. 17 - Aug. 18 Congratulations, Susan Beth! Gold medal in 400 free (4:45.57) , silver medals in 50 free, 100 free, 100 back, 200 IM, 400 free relay and 400 medley relay. See also: Scott Wraps Up Parapan Games (Southeast Missourian)

Coach's Corner

03-05-07

Gator swimmers, parents, and friends,

We have come to the end of another very successful short course season, in which we placed 6th at Ozark Championships and sent 8 swimmers to Sectionals last weekend. We had around 45% of our team qualify for Championships and out of the 27 who competed, 70% of them scored in the top 16 !!!

First place swimmers were :

• Susan Beth Scott
• Caleb Statler
• Jordan Gramling
• Morgan Fraser

9 year old Gabby Vieira tied for third place overall in the high point scoring bringing home a nice plaque.

Four Sectional cuts were also made:

• Morgan Fraser / 50 & 100 Free
  
• Caleb Statler / 500 Free
  
• Nick Welker / 1000

Even though we did not win the spirit award at the meet, I thought our support of swimmers in finals and the heart our swimmers showed through and caught notice of the other teams.

All the hardships of training are softened greatly with the sweet feeling of success.The mental thoughness it takes for our swimmers to train day to day in a distance based program is remarkable. Other swimmers take for granted the gift(s) given them, and are not willing to put their body on the line to achieve their true potential. They might achieve a modicum of success but won't know how to maintain success when their abilites run into like abilities, who have determination, and a long history of sacrificing to achieve. When dedication, determination, and desire are a conerstone of your life the question is not if you will achieve in life but when.

Sectional swimmers do well!! Not only did we have a sectional winner, but achieved 3 new sectional cuts in the 1000 free while swimming the mile -- that's right while swimming the mile!

• Caleb Coots
• Susan Beth Scott
• Allison Hobbs

With such great times going out, all of our milers achieved best times !!

Hannah Kinder set at least one team record in prelims of the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:49.65 and possibly in the 500 with a time of 4:56.74 which was good enough for her to stand on top of the podium in first place. She also placed 3rd in the 100 free , 4th in the 50 free and 13th in the 100 back.

I would like to thank all the parents who make it possible for our swimmers to achieve because of their sacrifices, and our swimmers, who put their bodies on the line for their belief in the program.

I am thankful for all of this and proud to be the Coach of the Gator Swim team

Steve Franklin
Head Coach, Gator Swimming

 

 

GATORS WIN SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIP! - The Gators won the SMSC Championships again this year with a total score of 1,020.50 points. Kennett was second with 768.50 points and Jackson was third with 620 points. Meet Photos - Team Scores - Full Results - Gator Results By Name - By Event - Top Times & Records - Achievements

• HIGH POINT WINNERS - The following Gator swimmers won the high point award for their age group: Gabriela Vieira (Girls 9-10), Austin Hobbs and Kevin Douglas* (Boys 9-10), Bridget Hale and Kyleigh Troxel (Girls 11-12), Ramsey Scott (Boys 11-12), Jessica Zander* (Girls 13-14), Alex Anne Troxel (Girls 15-18), and Peyton Waggener (Boys 15-18). * Jessica and Kevin won high point trophies for Ste. Genevieve, but they swim year round with us and have Gator blood in their veins.
• RECORD BREAKERS - Gator swimmers were responsible for 10 of the 20 conference records broken at the SMSC Championships. New individual records were set by Austin Hobbs (Boys 9-10 100Y IM), Josey Powell (Girls 8 & Under 50Y Freestyle and 100Y IM), Gabriela Vieira (Girls 9-10 50Y Backstroke, 100Y Freestyle and 100Y IM), and Peyton Waggener (Boys 15-18 100Y Breaststroke). New relay records were set by these Gator teams: Madison Brune, Elizabeth Kiefner, Madeleine McDonald and Gabriela Vieira (Girls 9-10 100Y Medley and 100Y Freestyle Relays), and Bridget Hale, Morgan Maguire, Jenny Powell and Kyleigh Troxel (Girls 11-12 200Y Freestyle Relay).
• NEW TIME STANDARDS - Swimmers who achieved new time standards in the past two weeks were Madeleine McDonald (A time in the 50Y Freestyle at the SMSC Championships), Madeline Siefert (A time in the 50Y Breaststroke at the SMSC Championships), Eva Schafer (BB time in the 50M Freestyle at the Scott City meet), Laura Waggener (BB time in the 50Y Breaststroke at the SMSC Championships), and Raymond Woldtvedt (BB time in the 100Y Freestyle at the SMSC Championships).

PRACTICE SUIT ORDER - We will be placing an order for practice suits. Uglies will be $25, jammers $20 and briefs $17. This is a 'grab bag' order so you can only pick your size. Email (sdarevalo@hotmail.com) or call DeAnna (382-2580) with your order before Friday July 27th. Thank you!!

SWIM YEAR ROUND with the Gators. Details here! (pdf)

YEAR ROUND PRACTICE - Did your kids have a great time this summer? Are they just now "hitting their stride" and sad to see it all end? The good news is that it doesn't have to!! The Gators are in the water year round and you are invited to keep swimming with us. Practices will continue on Monday July 23rd. Please see/call DeAnna (382-2580) for the necessary form you need to fill out if you are interested in swimming with us some more. We'd love to have you!!!

SIGN UP TO WORK AT CARBONDALE - The Gators are co-hosting the Ozark Championships at Carbondale July 27-29. This is a meet that USA parents MUST WORK! Gators are responsible for timing half the lanes on Friday night and all positions for all sessions on Saturday. If families choose not to work, a fine will be assessed to your account. This policy is outlined in the handbook. Thank you for your cooperation...and please sign up with Sherrie Troxel to ensure we have enough help to keep this valuable fundraiser much continued success.

OZ CHAMP SHIRTS - Due to availability issues we cannot get the lime green tie-dye shirt. We have substituted a gold tie-dye instead to match the new Gator cap that we ordered. If you prefer not to have a gold shirt, please contact DeAnna before Monday July 23rd to cancel your order. Also, there were no Adult Medium sizes available so we had to substitute Adult Large for those sizes. Sorry for the inconvenience, we didn't realize the tie-dye shirts were in such limited quantities.

MORE PHOTOS ONLINE - order prints and/or add new albums to the room. You’ll need to create a free Walgreens account if you still don’t have one. Once you have an account, you can join the Gator Swim Team Room by using the code 42867 (GATOR on the telephone pad). Here’s the address: http://photo.walgreens.com/groups/gatorswimteam

JUNIOR OLYMPICS - The psych sheet for the JOs has been posted here!

THANK YOU - We would like to thank all of you for your prayers, gifts, phone calls, meals, visits, kindness, etc. etc. during and after Iliana's surgery. You all certainly made this easier for her to handle. She has a long road ahead of her but can't wait to get back in the water! We are truly proud to say we are Gators!!! Thank you to everybody!! - Iliana, DeAnna & Santiago

GATORS ON KFVS - Gator Swim Team made the KFVS12 sportscast preparing for the Junior Olympic Qualifier Meet to be Saturday in Poplar Bluff. View the video here. The Gator segment is at the end, about 4:18 into the sportscast.

EMAIL ADDRESSES NEEDED - Gator Parents...Please send me your email addresses for billing as soon as possible. Your bill will be emailed to you, please email me the address you would like it sent to jama20@charter.net. Thank you, Michelle Hobbs

TIMES AND ACHIEVEMENTS PAGES - Check out these new Gator pages featuring team records, top times and Gator achievements.

BOARD MEMBERS / OFFICERS - Thank you to our volunteers who have agreed to serve on our Board of Directors. Please note the new contact information.

GATORS WIN SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIP! - The Gators won the SMSC Championships again this year with a total score of 1,020.50 points. Kennett was second with 768.50 points and Jackson was third with 620 points. See also: Team Scores - Full Results

Meet higihlights:

• HIGH POINT WINNERS - The following Gator swimmers won the high point award for their age group: Gabriela Vieira (Girls 9-10), Austin Hobbs and Kevin Douglas* (Boys 9-10), Bridget Hale and Kyleigh Troxel (Girls 11-12), Ramsey Scott (Boys 11-12), Jessica Zander* (Girls 13-14), Alex Anne Troxel (Girls 15-18), and Peyton Waggener (Boys 15-18). * Jessica and Kevin won high point trophies for Ste. Genevieve, but they swim year round with us and have Gator blood in their veins.
• RECORD BREAKERS - Gator swimmers were responsible for 10 of the 20 conference records broken at the SMSC Championships. New individual records were set by Austin Hobbs (Boys 9-10 100Y IM), Josey Powell (Girls 8 & Under 50Y Freestyle and 100Y IM), Gabriela Vieira (Girls 9-10 50Y Backstroke, 100Y Freestyle and 100Y IM), and Peyton Waggener (Boys 15-18 100Y Breaststroke). New relay records were set by these Gator teams: Madison Brune, Elizabeth Kiefner, Madeleine McDonald and Gabriela Vieira (Girls 9-10 100Y Medley and 100Y Freestyle Relays), and Bridget Hale, Morgan Maguire, Jenny Powell and Kyleigh Troxel (Girls 11-12 200Y Freestyle Relay).
• NEW TIME STANDARDS - Swimmers who achieved new time standards in the past two weeks were Madeleine McDonald (A time in the 50Y Freestyle at the SMSC Championships), Eva Schafer (BB time in the 50M Freestyle at the Scott City meet), Laura Waggener (BB time in the 50Y Breaststroke at the SMSC Championships), and Raymond Woldtvedt (BB time in the 100Y Freestyle at the SMSC Championships).

SIGN UP TO WORK AT CARBONDALE - The Gators are co-hosting the Ozark Championships at Carbondale July 27-29. This is a meet that USA parents MUST WORK! Gators are responsible for timing half the lanes on Friday night and all positions for all sessions on Saturday. If families choose not to work, a fine will be assessed to your account. This policy is outlined in the handbook. Thank you for your cooperation...and please sign up with Sherrie Troxel to ensure we have enough help to keep this valuable fundraiser much continued success.

OZ CHAMP SHIRTS - Due to availability issues we cannot get the lime green tie-dye shirt. We have substituted a gold tie-dye instead to match the new Gator cap that we ordered. If you prefer not to have a gold shirt, please contact DeAnna before Monday July 23rd to cancel your order. Also, there were no Adult Medium sizes available so we had to substitute Adult Large for those sizes. Sorry for the inconvenience, we didn't realize the tie-dye shirts were in such limited quantities.

MORE PHOTOS ONLINE - order prints and/or add new albums to the room. You’ll need to create a free Walgreens account if you still don’t have one. Once you have an account, you can join the Gator Swim Team Room by using the code 42867 (GATOR on the telephone pad). Here’s the address: http://photo.walgreens.com/groups/gatorswimteam

JUNIOR OLYMPICS - The psych sheet for the JOs has been posted here!

YEAR ROUND PRACTICE - Did your kids have a great time this summer? Are they just now "hitting their stride" and sad to see it all end? The good news is that it doesn't have to!! The Gators are in the water year round and you are invited to keep swimming with us. Practices will continue on Monday July 23rd. Please see/call DeAnna (382-2580) for the necessary form you need to fill out if you are interested in swimming with us some more. We'd love to have you!!!

THANK YOU - We would like to thank all of you for your prayers, gifts, phone calls, meals, visits, kindness, etc. etc. during and after Iliana's surgery. You all certainly made this easier for her to handle. She has a long road ahead of her but can't wait to get back in the water! We are truly proud to say we are Gators!!! Thank you to everybody!! - Iliana, DeAnna & Santiago

GATORS ON KFVS - Gator Swim Team made the KFVS12 sportscast preparing for the Junior Olympic Qualifier Meet to be Saturday in Poplar Bluff. View the video here. The Gator segment is at the end, about 4:18 into the sportscast.

EMAIL ADDRESSES NEEDED - Gator Parents...Please send me your email addresses for billing as soon as possible. Your bill will be emailed to you, please email me the address you would like it sent to jama20@charter.net. Thank you, Michelle Hobbs

TIMES AND ACHIEVEMENTS PAGES - Check out these new Gator pages featuring team records, top times and Gator achievements.

BOARD MEMBERS / OFFICERS - Thank you to our volunteers who have agreed to serve on our Board of Directors. Please note the new contact information.

ANNOUNCEMENTS ARCHIVE - Find our old news here.

Coach's Corner

03-05-07

Gator swimmers, parents, and friends,

We have come to the end of another very successful short course season, in which we placed 6th at Ozark Championships and sent 8 swimmers to Sectionals last weekend. We had around 45% of our team qualify for Championships and out of the 27 who competed, 70% of them scored in the top 16 !!!

First place swimmers were :

• Susan Beth Scott
• Caleb Statler
• Jordan Gramling
• Morgan Fraser

9 year old Gabby Vieira tied for third place overall in the high point scoring bringing home a nice plaque.

Four Sectional cuts were also made:

• Morgan Fraser / 50 & 100 Free
  
• Caleb Statler / 500 Free
  
• Nick Welker / 1000

Even though we did not win the spirit award at the meet, I thought our support of swimmers in finals and the heart our swimmers showed through and caught notice of the other teams.

All the hardships of training are softened greatly with the sweet feeling of success.The mental thoughness it takes for our swimmers to train day to day in a distance based program is remarkable. Other swimmers take for granted the gift(s) given them, and are not willing to put their body on the line to achieve their true potential. They might achieve a modicum of success but won't know how to maintain success when their abilites run into like abilities, who have determination, and a long history of sacrificing to achieve. When dedication, determination, and desire are a conerstone of your life the question is not if you will achieve in life but when.

Sectional swimmers do well!! Not only did we have a sectional winner, but achieved 3 new sectional cuts in the 1000 free while swimming the mile -- that's right while swimming the mile!

• Caleb Coots
• Susan Beth Scott
• Allison Hobbs

With such great times going out, all of our milers achieved best times !!

Hannah Kinder set at least one team record in prelims of the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:49.65 and possibly in the 500 with a time of 4:56.74 which was good enough for her to stand on top of the podium in first place. She also placed 3rd in the 100 free , 4th in the 50 free and 13th in the 100 back.

I would like to thank all the parents who make it possible for our swimmers to achieve because of their sacrifices, and our swimmers, who put their bodies on the line for their belief in the program.

I am thankful for all of this and proud to be the Coach of the Gator Swim team

Steve Franklin
Head Coach, Gator Swimming

^ top of page

GATORS WIN SMALL CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP!
For the fourth year, Gator Swim Team has won the Small Club Championship Meet.
Results will be available soon. See more photos in the gallery! More Info

REMINDER: The Gator Long Course meet - We `still have families that have not signed up to work. Please take advantage of the online meet signup or call DeAnna (382-2580) to secure your work spot to avoid being billed. Thank you!!

HOSPITALITY DONATIONS NEEDED - There will be a signup board at the pool for hospitality donations for our meet May 4-6. The items we need include breakfast, dessert and snack items. Some suggestions: fresh fruit, muffins, cookies, brownies, chips, yogurt, trail mix, breakfast pizza, etc. Anything is appreciated. : ) We have two area restaurants providing the main meals. Thank you, Missy Glover

GATOR BOARD ELECTION - Four people were elected to the Gator Swim Team Board at the parents' meeting April 16. Those elected to the three-year terms are Dan Rau, re-elected, Michelle Hobbs, Rosemary Douglas, and Missy Glover. Michelle will replace Karl Larson as treasurer. Those retiring from the board are Karl, Andy Kendig, and John Wolpers. John resigned as board president and board member because of Annie's upcoming surgery and the resulting part-time status. The terms of three board members expire every year. The board has nine members. They will choose officers next month.

SIGN UP FOR SUMMER LEAGUE! Practice begins May 21. Details here!

GATOR LONG COURSE KICKOFF is May 4-6, 2007 - Sign up to work.

Gators place 19 swimmers at Ozark Championships (Southeast Missourian)

SEASON WRAPUP/LETTER from Coach Steve

NEW PHOTOS:

• Hannah Kinder's first-place finish in the 500 free at Sectionals - Full Results
• Gator Girls at the Ozark Championships

TOP TIMES and GATOR RECORDS have been updated! Thanks to Marcio Vieira.

GATOR POSTER WINS ADDY - The Gator Swim Team poster created at Red Letter Communications was among winners at the 2007 Addy Awards (Southeast Missourian article).

BIG FINISH FOR GATORS - Details from Coach on upcoming championships and sectionals.

DOUBLE STATE CHAMPION / GATORS SCORE AT STATE! Congratulations to Gator Hannah Kinder on her dual state titles and state records at the 2007 Missouri High School Girls Swimming Championships Feb. 16-17. Representing Cape Central High School, Hannah won the 200 freestyle in state record time. She also won the 100 freestyle, and she tied the state record in the 50 freestyle during a relay. Congratulations also to Gator Susan Beth Scott, who finished 12th in the 500 freestyle, and to Gator relay swimmers Hannah, Susan Beth, Jessie Baker, Annie Wolpers and Audrey Glover. Hannah, Susan Beth, Jessie and Annie swam for Central High School, which had teams finishing 12th in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays and 12th overall at state. Audrey swam on the Notre Dame 400-free relay team finishing 14th at state. Additionally, Gator Parent / Central Coach Dayna Powell was honored at the meet with the Walter H. Lundt Award, a service award given by the state swimming coaches association. Congratulations to all!

• 2007 Missouri State High School Girls Swimming Championships Results
• Southeast Missourian article: Kinder Takes Two Titles
  
  
• Equal time/oversight deparment: FYI, Gator boys captured top 16 finishes at the Boys State Swimming Championships in November: Gator Sam Gramling placed 11th in the 500 free and 15th in the 200 free; Gator Peyton Waggener placed 15th in the 100 breaststroke.
  • 2006-07 Missouri State High School Boys Swimming Championship Results
  • Southeast Missourian article: Central freshman Gramling captures two top-16 finishes

SWIMMER SPOTLIGHT- Austin Hobbs is our next featured swimmer!
See a list of others on our Swimmer Spotlight section.

GREAT TIMES RESULTS - Full Meet Results and Gator Results

GREAT TIMES WRAPUP - Even though our revenue was down from last year, it was great times for Great Times. As usual, Gator parents made the meet run smoothly where everyone could be relaxed and have fun. We give a special thanks to Michelle Hobbs, meet director, for putting all the pieces of the meet together. The meet also was a success because of the donations by parents of time, talent, and food, and the support of our sponsors, Ryan’s Restaurant and Bob Evans Restaurant. This support and Southern hospitality continues to make Great Times a favorite meet for coaches, officials, and parents. A permanent structure over our pool would go a long way in making the meet the best in the Ozark region, but that discussion will be saved for a different time. We are always looking for ways to improve the meet from year to year. We talked with several Gator parents and visitors, and came up with several ideas for next year. We decided to move immediately on one of the ideas and announce it to our swimmers and parents.The board unanimously approved to sponsor a shirt-design contest for our swimmers. The swimmers can work alone or on teams to design next year’s Great Times t-shirt. The board will judge the entries and award a prize or prizes to the winning design. This had been done in the past, and one of the parents felt the kids would have a lot of fun. We know the Gator swimmers work harder than other swimmers. Now we can discover if they are as creative as they are hard workers. - John Wolpers, Gator Board President

GATOR BAG TAGS REQUIRED - Starting next week around Wednesday (2/7) all Gator swimmers will need to show their Gator bag tag to be able to enter the pool. If they forget it they will either have to pay or not swim. Questions? See Coach Steve.

SWIMMER SPOTLIGHT New! - Gator Swim Team would like to shine a spotlight on its swimmers. First off the block is Chelsea Larson. Find out about her swimmy life!

NEW WEBSITE IN DEVELOPMENT - A new website especially for Gator Parents is in development at gatorswimteam.NET. Parents, please visit and apply for an account. The new site, which requires an account to login, will allow us to sign up for meets online, participate in discussions, buy/sell/trade Gator gear, access exclusive workouts from the coaches, and more. We hope it will help enhance team communication and unity.

COACH'S CORNER - Check out the newest announcements from Coach Steve. (01-05-07)

 

THANK YOU - Thanks to all the family members who donated their time and effort in making Camp Franklin 2006 possible for our swimmers!! Great job to all the swimmers who survived yet another year!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE GATOR ELF!
This site is busy sometimes, so be patient. :-)

NEW PHOTOS! - Gators at Indianapolis Nov. 17-19 2006 - Photos courtesy Rosemary Douglas.

GATOR ADS - It's time to sell ads for our 2007 Great Times Meet Psych Sheet. All ad orders are due Jan. 12 (please get them in earlier if you can). As before, we will reprint the same ads unchanged in the May 2007 Long Course Kickoff program. Here's the info:

Letter to Gator Parents - Ad Order Form - Ad Sizes/Examples - 2006 Ads Sold

GATOR FLOAT WINS IN PARADE! - Gator Swim Team's Parade of Lights float entry won first place in the City of Cape Girardeau's Parade of Lights Class B Appearance category. Congratulations to all who participated! Special thanks to Laura Brown, who coordinated this year's float entry. The annual parade was held Sunday night 11/26. If any Gators have photos they would like to share, please email them to the webmaster. Vie results in the Southeast Missourian.

GOOD LUCK SUSAN BETH, HANNAH AND STEFFAN! - Good luck to Gator swimmers Susan Beth Scott and Hannah Kinder, and Gator grad Steffan Troxel, who are participating in international and national meets this week. Susan Beth is swimming in the U.S. Paralympics Swimming World Championships Nov. 29-Dec. 9 in South Africa, and Hannah and Steffan are swimming in the U.S. Open meet in West Lafayette, Indiana, Nov. 30-Dec. 2. Check their progress at these websites/related articles:

• 2006 U.S. Open - Psych Sheet (pdf)
• On the Road with the U.S. Paralympics Swimming World Championships Team
• 2006 IPC World Swimming Championships
• U.S. Paralympic Team - Susan Beth's bio
• Kinder's progress results in offer from Texas A&M (Southeast Missourian 11/16/06)

TOP TIMES - Marcio Vieira has updated the Gator Top Times and SCY Records.

GATORS MAKE CUTS, CLOSE CALLS - The meet in Indianapolis last weekend had over 900 swimmers entered with teams from Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Minnisota, Illinois, Ohio to name a few.The Gator Swimmers did fantastic, getting 5 new sectional cuts and several close calls.those getting the cuts were:

• Sam Gramling / 200 Backstroke
• Caleb Coots / 1650 freestyle
• Susan Beth Scott / 1650 freestyle
• Allison Hobbs / 1650 freestyle
• Hannah Kinder / 400 IM

Close calls were:

• Morgan Fraser / 200 IM
• Allison Hobbs / 1000 free
• Susan Beth Scott / 1000 free

We had several swimmers make it into finals on Saturday and would have made it back on Sunday except we left early becaue of the long drive time back to Cape. Austin Hobbs, Morgan Fraser, Kevin Douglas , Susan Beth Scott, Allison Hobbs, Hannah Kinder, Caleb Coots , Wyatt Larson, and Sam Gramling were our finalists. Congratulations to all our swimmmers for their efforts and great swims. - COACH STEVE

MEET ATTENDANCE - Coach Steve has sent the following clarifications about upcoming meets:

• December: Rec-plex is optional ( Only if you need cuts )
  Heat meet is our Team meet ( make all attempts to attend )
• January : Paducah is optional
  Memphis is our team travel meet
• February : Our meet is the team meet
  Qualifier meet is for everyone who does not have the cut to attend the Ozark Champs
  Ozark Championshipsis for everyone who has the cuts
• March: 8 & Under Championships / Heat Meet everyone attends ( Spring break is after this meet )

MEET SIGNUPS - IMPORTANT NOTE FROM COACH - Coach Steve will not accept email or phone calls to enter swimmers into meets. You must sign up at the pool !

FALL/WINTER MEET SCHEDULE - The following meet schedule has been approved by the board. Any questions, please contact Coach Steve. (* qualifiers only):

• Sept. 30 - Gator Mini Meet 6:30-9:00 am at the Bubble
• Oct. 7-8 - Fall Frenzy - Paducah (includes 8 & unders) - Invitation
• Oct. 13-15 - NAC - Nashville (includes 8 & unders) - Invitation
• Oct. 27-29 - Halloween Howl - Rockwood (includes 8 & unders) - Invitation
• Nov. 4 - Splash-a-Thon
• Nov. 17-19 - Turkey Trot - Carbondale 500
• Nov. 17-19 - Prelims/Finals - Indy*
• Nov. 30-Dec. 2 - US Open - Lafayette, IN*
• Dec. 8-10 - Ozark Open - Rec Plex*
• Dec. 16-17 - HEAT - St. Louis
• Jan. 5-7 - Swimfest - Paducah
• Jan. 12-14 - Memphis
• Feb. 2-4 - Great Times - Cape
• Feb. 10-11 - Ozark Qualifier
• Feb. 23-25 - Ozark Championships - Rec Plex*
• Mar 1-4 - Sectionals - Rec Plex*
• Mar 10-11 - 8 & under Championships/HEAT - St. Louis
• Mar 16-18 - Para Pan Ams - Canada*
• Mar 27-31 - New York*

BOARD NEWS - Alicia has stepped down as president of Gators to accept an assistant-coaching position with Gators. She will remain on board. She and Ann Welker will be the assistant coaches. John Wolpers, vice president, has assumed the post of president. Andy Kendig has been named vice president. Board approved the revised parent handbook and new fee structure. A parent meeting is scheduled Oct. 5 to discuss changes.

SWIM ALL YEAR - with the Gators! More Info here (pdf)

REVISED HANDBOOK - The Gator Handbook has been revised. Please be sure to read it! The most significant changes are a modest and necessary fee increase, the simplification of the fee structure, some fee discount opportunities and the creation of two new training groups, Periodic Age Group Swimmers and Gator Tots.

National Wrapup

CONGRATULATIONS GATORS - Gators Hannah Kinder and Susan Beth Scott had outstanding swims at their national meets. And former Gator Steffan Troxel recently earned a U.S. Olympic Trials cut in the 1500 free. Hannah finished 7th in the 100 free, 16th in the 50 free and 22nd in the 200 free at the 2006 Speedo Junior National Championships . Susan Beth earned a trip to the US Paralympic World Championships with her first place finish in the 200 back and second place finishes in the 1500 free, 400 free and 100 back the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships. Steffan finished 23rd in the 1500 free at the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships in 15:47.77. The trials cut is 15:53.59. More info:

• Scott earns trip to world championships (Southeast Missourian, Aug. 15)
• Scott, Kinder, Troxel updates (Southeast Missourian, Aug. 11)

GATORS AT NATIONAL MEETS - Good luck to Gators Hannah Kinder and Susan Beth Scott, who are swimming in national meets this week. Hannah is in the 2006 Speedo Junior National Championships behing held Aug. 7-11 in Irvine, California, and Susan Beth is in the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships being held Aug. 10-12 in San Antonio, Texas. Both swimmers were featured in recent newspaper articles:

• Read about Hannah (Southeast Missourian, Aug. 6, 2006)
• Read about Susan Beth (Southeast Missourian, Aug. 8, 2006)

JO'S - Congratulations to Gator AAU JUNIOR OLYMPICS swimmers Caleb Coots, Alyssa Coots and Maryanne Kendig, who participated in the 40th AAU Junior Olympic Games held Aug. 1-4, 2006, at Hampton Roads, Virginia. 2006 AAU JO results

OZARK CHAMPIONSHIP meet results are online here. Gator Swim Team finished 4th of 17 teams, behind the three large St. Louis teams of Parkway, Rockwood and Rec-Plex.
Meet Results - Individual Rankings - Team Scores

Gators Swim at Sectionals

Gator swimmer Hannah Kinder on screen at the University of Missouri
following her 50M freestyle race. More photos

2nd PLACE and NATIONAL CUT at SECTIONALS - Gator Hannah Kinder swam US Open and National qualifying times in the 50M freestyle finals at the USA 2006 Central Section Region VIII Long Course Summer Championship meet held July 19-22 in Columbia, Mo. She finished 2nd with a time of 26.66. Hannah also swam a US Open-qualifying time in the 100M free with a time of 58:47. Congratulations to Hannah and all of our Gator Sectionals-qualifying swimmers:

• Hannah Kinder - 2nd in 50M free, 9th in 100M free, 5th in 200M free, 13th in 100M back, 43rd in 200 IM, 44th in 400 free
• David Welker - 27th in 800M free, 29th in 1500M free, 33rd in 200M back, 42nd in 400 IM, 45th in 400 free
• Kris Metje - 44th in 800M free, 48th in 1500M free
• Sectionals Championship Results (pdf)

PLEASE SEE A NOTE OF CONCERN about a former Gator swimmer's mother on Parent Link

Gators Win Summer League Championship!

Photos courtesy Marcio Vieira and John Waggener - More photos

Photo courtesy Marcio Vieira Click photo for larger version Even larger version (1200x900 - 287k)

SMSC photo courtesy Andy Kendig Click photo for a larger version Even larger version - (2668x1288-1.2 MB)

GATORS WIN SMSC CHAMPIONSHIPS !! - Gator Swim team won the Large Division Southeast Missouri Swim Conference Championship with 1,309 points, 8 Gators took home age group high point trophies, and numerous Gator swimmers achieved best times or were among those breaking 15 conference records at the meet. Congratulations to all of our swimmers for a great effort and a successful season!

SMSC Championship Meet Results - High Points - Summary - Gator Photos - SMSC Photos

Gator summer practice photos courtesy Angela Welker - More practice photos

GATORS BREAK MORE RECORDS - Congratulations to our record-breaking Gators!
Sikeston Record Breakers - Sikeston Relay Record Breakers - Sikeston Full Meet Results

Scott City meet photos are now online!

MEET WORKER VOLUNTEERS are needed for our SMSC Championships meet July 22, 2006. Please note our online signup form has been de-activated until further notice. Please sign up at the pool.

INDIANAPOLIS meet results are now online.

SIGNUP DEADLINES FOR CHAMPIONSHIP MEETS - The USA Division I Championship sign-up sheet is in the file box and the last day to enter is on July 14. There will be absolutely no exceptions! Once I send in the entries I will not be adding to it or subtracting from it. I also need to have all summer league swimmers who plan on swimming in the SMSC Championships sign up by July 10 ( even if you have not swum in the last meet I need to know your intentions) - Coach Steve

GATOR MEET RESULTS (in additional to full eet results) are now available on te calendar page.

CHAMPIONSHIP SHIRTS: Orders are being taken for 2006 SMSC Championship Shirts. Cost is $12. See DeAnna to put your order in. Orders due by Thursday, July 6th.

JULY 4th COOKOUT - We will be having hot dogs, chips, drinks and ice cream after practice on the 4th. (Yes, we are still having practice!! I know that's what you were thinking! And yes, we know it will be early in the morning for some of you, but we don't doubt your ability to still have a hot dog and some ice cream!) There is a signup sheet for hot dogs, buns, chips, and drinks at the pool. Ice cream and toppings will be provided. Come and celebrate all the hard work you have done all summer!

USA FALL PRACTICE SURVEY - A survey regarding convenient practice times for your swim group this fall is in the family folders. Please fill out and return to the Arevalo folder by July 15 if you want your vote to count!! These are NOT the practice times. We are just trying to get a general idea of times for each group.

FIRECRACKER FRENZY MEET CANCELED - Due to a low number of entries, the Gator Board has voted to cancel the Firecracker Frenzy meet scheduled for June 30-July 2.

MESSAGE FROM THE MEET DIRECTOR - As you have already heard the Firecracker Frenzy has been canceled by action of the Gator Swim Team Board. I want to thank those who showed their support and had already put out effort and time to try to make this meet a success. If held the meet would have required more effort on the part of our parents than the benefit we would have derived. Very little monetary expenses were realized in preparing for this meet and any that were incurred will benefit our other meets. We now need to focus our meet activites upon SMSC Championships and co-hosting Divisions in Carbondale. I will be posting sign-up information for both of these in the near future. Thank you again for your continued support. Not only do these meets offer great opportunities for our swimmers but they help keep our cost down for every swim family. - Dan Rau

STROKE CLINIC - Hap Gentry, a Total Immersion certified coach, and Coach Steve will lead a stroke clinic for Gator swimmers from 7 am-noon on Tuesday, June 20, at Central Pool. Cost is $25. To participate, and have your strokes videotaped and analyzed, be sure to sign up for a session at practice!

TEAM PHOTOS are scheduled for Tuesday, June 20, at 8:00 am. Order envelopes are in your file.

NEW PHOTOS from Jasper and from the Small Club Championship are now online in the photo gallery.

GATORS SET NEW SMSC CONFERENCE RECORDS - 3 conference records were broken on Saturday (6-3-06) in Perryville by our very own Gator swimmers!

• Girls 8 & Under 50 Free 39.12 Gabriela Vieira
• Girls 8 & Under 100 IM 1:35.42 Gabriela Vieira
• Boys 8 & Under 100 IM 1:31.59 Austin J. Hobbs

Congratulations Gabby and Austin!! What a way to start the summer!!

PARENT CALENDARS - Here are PDFs of the Gator parent calendars: June - July - August

AAU MEET SIGNUP INFORMATION: Summer league is under way and we are implementing a new meet signup policy. The black file box has a folder for each AAU meet in it. In each file is a team roster. You NEED to indicate on the sheet if you are planning to attend the meet or not by the signup deadline. (See parent calendar or website for each individual deadline). NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED. Events and relays will be put together by the coaches. IF your child(ren) are on a relay and does not show up, the relay team will have to forfeit because of it. If something comes up the day of the meet and you cannot make it, PLEASE call 382-2580 and let us know.

SUMMER CALENDARS - Parents - Be sure to pick up your summer schedule calendar that has been placed in each family folder. Important deadlines/meets/events are included!

LINEUPS for the Saluki meet and Jasper, IN, are now online,

MEET RESULTS are now online for the Long Course Kickoff:

• Full Meet - Pentathlon - Gators

GATOR AWARDS - Congratulations to the following Gators recognized at our Spring '06 banquet April 23:

OUTSTANDING GATOR AWARD - Hannah Kinder and David Welker
MOST VALUABLE GIRLS 8 and under Gabriela Vieira 9-10 Kyleigh Troxel 11-12 Mary Kendig 13-14 Morgan Fraser 15-18 Hannah Kinder	MOST VALUABLE BOYS 8 and under Christian Retter 9-10 Kristian Troxel 11-12 Wyatt Larson 13-14 Sam Gramling 15-18 Kris Metje	MOST IMPROVED GIRLS 8 and under Elizabeth Orr 9-10 Morgan Maguire 11-12 Madison Rau 13-14 Audrey Glover 15-18 Ashly Ducharme
MOST IMPROVED BOYS 8 and under Carson Retter 9-10 Luc Helwege 11-12 Jordan Gramling 13-14 Sam Gramling 15-18 Caleb Statler	MOST DEDICATED GIRLS 8 and under Sierra Goss 9-10 Iliana Arevalo 11-12 Alyssa Coots 13-14 Susan Beth Scott 15-18 Maria Esswein	MOST DEDICATED BOYS 8 and under Ian Cameron 9-10 Chase Hagerty 11-12 Ramsey Scott 13-14 Caleb Coots 15-18 David Welker

VISIT THIS OFTEN - Coach Steve's official file cabinet at Central Pool is usually out in the hallway right before the entry into the pool. Each team member has a file folder inside. Parents need to check their file often to sign up for meets and receive information. Coach will also distribute awards via your file folder.

NEW GATOR BOARD MEMBERS - Congratulations to new board members elected April 23: Mary Esswein, Andy Kendig, Marcio Vieira and Ann Welker. Returning board members are Alicia Scott, president; John Wolpers, vice president; Karl Larson, treasurer; Sherrie Troxel, secretary; and Dan Rau, meet chairman. Many thanks to our retiring board members for their service: Greg Luehman, Mark Coots, and Julie Fraser.

GATOR PARENTS - If anyone would like to receive their bill by email please send me your email address. I am in the process of getting a list together of email addresses for this purpose only. It will save the team in postage and it is very easy to do. Also, in the future I hope to have it set up where you will be able to pay your bill for direct deposit. Please email me a response if you have interest in this as well. That way I will be able to tell if this is worth setting up or not. Thank you, Karl Larson-Treasurer, Gator Swim Team

GATOR TEAM SHIRT ON DISPLAY - A framed Gator Team T-shirt signed by team members last summer is now on display in the dining area of Buffalo Wild Wings in Cape. - John Waggener

SUMMER MEETS are now online on our calendar page.

GREAT SWIMS AT HEAT MEET - Gabbie Vieira  won the high point award at he 8 and under championships this past weekend in St. Louis. winning 7 out of her 8 events and making a 9 -10  "A" Time in the 50 back. Anne Simminger, Siera Goss, Helen Wojdylo , and Josey Powell also swam in the meet helping the 100 Free and Medley Relay to 6th place finishes. All the girls broke 2:00 in the 100 IM, and also did great in their other events - Coach Steve.  

SECTIONAL RESULTS - Congratulations to our swimmers who competed at Sectionals! Results Here

SWIM LESSONS - Debbie Janisse will be in Cape March 10-13 and available for swim lessons. If interested, call her at (615) 491-1881.

OZARK CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS - Gator Swim Teamhad one of its best all-around performances of the year at the 2006 Ozark Short Course Championships. (Gator Results) Sam Gramling was one of the high point award winners and Kyleigh Troxel was only one out of the money. We had several swimmers achieve new Sectional time standards:

• Sam Gramling :  1000 Free/10:13; 500 Free/4:55.0
• Caleb Statler :    1650 Free/17:33.0
• Morgan Frasier:   100 Breast /1:11.3 ; 200 Breast/ 2:35.3
• Others going to Sectionals are: Hannah Kinder, David Welker, Kris Metje  

SIGN UP FOR HEAT MEET - Remember to signup for either the Heat meet in March (next weekend) or the Small Clubs Championships the last week of April. Instead of taking a week off this year I am going to be having a turn ,start , and stroke clinic along with filming of swimmer the week after the Heat Meet. I would suggest all swimmer plan to attend!   - Coach Steve

GREAT TIMES MEET A SUCCESS - The Final Results are in!  Thanks to everyone that helped we had a very successful Great Times Meet.  The profit from the meet was up 30% as compared to last year. The extra money will help maintain our costs for our families and possibly go toward necessary equipment replacement. The Gator Swim Team Board is looking into the replacement of the timing console (the old one we have is not even being serviced by the manufacturer) and/or purchasing new lane lines.  If you have any other ideas please feel free to contact a Gator Swim Team Board officer or member. Also, please keep in mind that our next meet will be the first weekend of May.  With your continued efforts this meet could also be a great success. Thanks Again - Dan Rau - Meet Director

SUIT SWAP? - Gator Gals who wear a size 28 -- please check the size of the suit that you took home after the meet on Sunday. We have a younger Gator swimmer who left her suit in the locker room and I think one of you who wear a 28 accidently picked up her smaller suit. Double check the suit you took home to be sure it is the right size. Call DeAnna if you have the wrong size with you.

SPRING & SUMMER SCHEDULE UPDATES - The summer schedule is done for long course/remaining short course:  

• April: 29-30 Small Club Championships U-CIty
• May: 5 -7 Gator Kickoff/Pentathlon Cape GIrardeau
• May19 -21 Saluki International Carbondale, Ill.
• June: 9-11 Jasper, Ind. / WIth 8 & Unders Jasper, Ind.
• June 30-July 2 Gator Firecraker Frenzy Cape Girardeau
• July 7-9 Clayton Shaw Park St. Louis
• July 19-22 Sectionals Columbia, Mo.
• July 28-30 DIvisions Carbondale, Ill.
• Aug: 4-10 Masters World Championship Stanford, Cal.
• August 1-5 Senior Nationals Irvine, Cal
• August 8-11 Junior Nationals Irvine, Cal
• August 8-12 Paralympic world trials San Antonio, Tx
• Summer league meets will be set after meeting on the 19th

Gators in Paducah 11/5 (photo courtesy Marcio Vieira)

NEW GATOR HANDBOOK - The Gator handbook has been updated for 2005-2006. Be sure to view or download the new edition here (170k pdf)

PRACTICE SCHEDULE: (effective 9/26/05)

• Age Group 3: 3:45 to 4:45 Monday thru Thursday / Saturday am 8:00 to 9:00
• Age Group 2: 4:30 to 6:00 pm Monday thru Thursday 5:45 to 7:15 pm Friday 7:30 to 9:00 am Saturday
• Age Group 1: 5:30 to 7:30 pm Monday thru Thursday 4:00 to 6:00 pm Friday 7:00 to 9:00 am Saturday
• Senior prep: 5:30 to 8:00 pm Monday thru Thursday 5:00 to 7:00 am Thursday 4:00 to 6:00 pm Friday 7:00 to 9:00 am Saturday
• Senior : Same As Sr Prep except 5:00 to 7:00 am Tuesday and Thursday

Because of the large influx of new swimmers ( younger ) the single lane from 4:00 to 5:30 was not going to be near enough to accommodate them.This schedule also allows each group to have the pool by themselves for the entire practice. It also allows for me to have several coaches avaliable to coach the younger ones each day. - Coach Steve

OZARK time standards (pdf) for 2005-2006

MAKE YOUR SUMMER TEAM BETTER - Swim with the Gators this winter. More Info (pdf)

SPRING & SUMMER SCHEDULE UPDATES - The summer schedule is done for long course/remaining short course:  

• April: 29-30 Small Club Championships U-CIty
• May: 5 -7 Gator Kickoff/Pentathlon Cape GIrardeau
• May19 -21 Saluki International Carbondale, Ill.
• June: 9-11 Jasper, Ind. / WIth 8 & Unders Jasper, Ind.
• June 30-July 2 Gator Firecraker Frenzy Cape Girardeau
• July 7-9 Clayton Shaw Park St. Louis
• July 19-22 Sectionals Columbia, Mo.
• July 28-30 DIvisions Carbondale, Ill.
• Aug: 4-10 Masters World Championship Stanford, Cal.
• August 4-8 Senior Nationals Irvine, Cal
• August 8-11 Junior Nationals Irvine, Cal
• August 8-12 Paralympic world trials San Antonio, Tx
• Summer league meets will be set after meeting on the 19th

FOUND - A girls Gator team suit was found in the locker room Sunday afternoon 2/5. Please contact DeAnna with the size if you lost yours.

Great Times Results

Full Meet - Gator Results

THANK YOU - I wish to thank everyone for their support and hard work that helped the team put on a great Great Times Meet.  The feed-back we have received so far from visiting teams and coaches is all very positive in all regards and this shows that all of our efforts helped.  I was especially impressed with the work done by Karen and Missy and their Gator Parent support in providing one of the best hospitality facilities at any meet I have been to in a long time.  I would also like to point out that their efforts were successful and beneficial due to alot of parents at home cooking.  I hope that you and your swimmer had a great meet and I am actually looking forward to the long-course meet in May. Thanks again to all - Dan Rau - Meet Director

Get Ready for Great Times Feb. 3-5, 2006!

We are just about set for the Great Times Meet.  We still need a few timers and it is a necessity that we have 16 timers per session.  Simply put, we cannot have a meet without timers.  If you have not signed up, please do so as soon as possible (Online Signup Form). Here is the schedule for workers:

• Thursday - Meet set-up at the pool - begins at 6:30pm
• Friday - Session 1 - be at the pool no later than 5:00pm to work (your swimmer may have to be there sooner for warm-up)
• Saturday AM - Session 2 - be at the pool no later than 7:30am to work (your swimmer may have to be there sooner for warm-up)
• Saturday PM - Session 3 - be at the pool no later than 1:00pm to work (your swimmer may have to be there sooner for warm-up)
• Sunday AM - Session 4 - be at the pool no later than 7:30am to work (your swimmer may have to be there sooner for warm-up)
• Sunday PM - Session 5 - be at the pool no later than 1:00pm to work (your swimmer may have to be there sooner for warm-up)  We will take down the equipment at the pool and clean-up after this session.  Parents are requested to stay and help.  The more we have the quicker this is done and the sooner we all get home.

Dan Rau - Meet Director (334-4448)

GREAT TIMES UPDATE (1/25/06) - The Great Times Meet is a week and a half away.  Things are coming along swimmingly and I appreciate everyone's efforts.  I have placed a sign-up sheet on the Gator Swim Team Bulletin Board outside of the girl's locker room exit.  Many areas are already covered but we need timers.  Timing is one of the easiest tasks and there is no better seat in the house to watch your swimmer during his or her events then while timing.  If you have not signed up to work please sign up as soon as possible.  This can be done on-line, at the pool, or, you can contact me directly at 334-4448.  Also, if you have already signed up please check to make sure your name appears on the sign-up sheet. - Dan Rau - Meet Director
Online Signup Form

MINI MEET SATURDAY MORNING 1/28/06 - Please be at the pool by 6:30 a.m. on Saturday for the mini meet scheduled to begin at 7 am.

GREAT TIMES AD PROOFS - Thanks to everyone who sold ads for our Great Times Psych Sheet. HERE IS A LIST (pdf) of the 60 ads scheduled to appear in our book. Beginning this afternoon (Friday 1/20) there will be a blue notebook with ad proofs at the pool file box if you would like to check your ad. Please let me know ASAP (by Wednesday 1/25 at the latest) by phone or email if your ad is somehow missing, if a major change is needed or an error has been made. Thanks! Julie - 334-7867.

GREAT TIMES SHIRTS - Deadline to order Great Times Shirts is Monday, January 16th. We are not ordering extra shirts this year. Cost is $10. Order form is on the bulletin board. Also, a Gator hoodie was turned in to me that was found at the Carbondale meet. If you lost yours please let me know. Thanks, DeAnna

MESSAGE FROM THE MEET DIRECTOR - MONDAY, JAN. 9, 2006

I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season.  Everyone should be back into the swing of things with school and swim practice.  The Great Times Meet is comming up soon and we will be having a Parent Meeting on Thursday, January 19, 2006, at 6 pm.  The meeting will be held at Grace Bible Church.  The church is located on Old Cape Road by The I-55 - Kingshighway intersection.  This meeting will provide you with an opportunity to ask questions and sign-up for meet activities.  The Great Times Meet is one of the Gator Swim Team's major fund-raisers so your help is needed.  Also, the Gator Swim Team Handbook contains the following information under the heading Home Meet Policy at page 9.

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

1. Every family is expected to provide one worker each session of the meet.

2. If a family cannot attend any one of the above sessions, it is the family's responsibility to make arrangements ahead of time with the Meet Director to help with a job prior to or after the conclusion of the actual meet.

3. It shall be the responsibility of each worker to "sign in" properly at the registration table each session of the swim meet.

4. Failure to satisfy the requirements spelled out above will result in a $25 assessment for each session not worked.

If you have any question please feel free to send me an e-mail at DavisandRau@charterinternet.com or you can call me during the day at my office (573) 334-4448.

Dan Rau - Meet Director

GREAT TIMES MEET T-SHIRT - Here's a look at the Great Times T-shirt, available in purple or black. Shirts are $10 and must be ordered by the team. See our meet invitation for more info,

GREAT TIMES ADS DUE TODAY 1/9 - Families who raised $100 or more for the Splashathon are not required to do Great Times ads (unless you want to!). Questions? Read the info below.

2006 Ad Campaign Info - Ad Order Form - Ad Example Sheet (sizes) - Last Year's Ad List

SPLASHATHON UPDATE - Thanks for all the hard work and effort by our swimmers and parents in the Splash-A-Thon. Early indications are that it was a huge success. Please try and turn in all your $$ by Friday, January 6, at the latest. If your swimmer qualifies for a prize see DeAnna to make the order. Again thanks for all your efforts. As you know we try and minimize fund raisers, but they do help us keep our team fees low. Great Job Gators!!! - Alicia Scott

GREAT TIMES ADS - It's time to sell/prepare ads for our 2006 Great Times Meet Program/Psych Sheet. This is one of our team's MOST IMPORTANT and PRODUCTIVE fundraisers so please give it your best effort! All ad orders are due JAN. 9. Ad forms and other info will be available shortly in the pool file cabinet, but you can download the info below (pdf files). A business contact sign-up booklet will be available at the pool shortly as well.

2006 Ad Campaign Info - Ad Order Form - Ad Example Sheet (sizes) - Last Year's Ad List

MEET SIGNUP - Be sure to sign up at the pool for the January 20-22 Winter Warmup meet by FRIDAY, 12/23. Only 7 swimmers are signed up, but we need 16 to enter the meet.

CAMP FRANKLIN - There is a signup on the board for Camp Franklin attendees. Please sign up before Wednesday 12/21 so we know how much food we will need. Thank you.

MESSAGE FROM THE MEET DIRECTOR

During this holiday season we as the Gator Swim Team have many things for which to give thanks.  As we head into Christmas (after Camp Franklin),  I hope that you all have an opportunity to share yours and our blessings with others this holiday season.

As many of you are aware the GREAT TIMES MEET is right around the corner after the holidays. Also, we have begun to provide Gator Parents with the opportunity to give me input (online signup form) as to the things that each of them would like to do to support the Gator Swim Team at this coming meet.  I have already been receiving requests for specific duties and I truly thank those who have contacted me so early.  After the holidays there will be a Parent's Meeting to discuss the Great Times Meet.  At this meeting we will discuss what is needed for the meet and how you can help.  Please keep in mind that the effort that you put into helping with the meet will help your swimmer have a Great Great Times Meet.

We'll drink a cup o' kindness yet for auld lang syne -- Happy Holidays and God's blessings to you and yours

Dan Rau
Meet Director

GET READY FOR GREAT TIMES - The Gators are accepting entries for our home meet Feb. 3-5. Invitation - Sign Up to Work

MISC. TEAM INFO - This just in from DeAnna Arevalo:

CAMP FRANKLIN NEWS - There are sign up sheets on the bulletin board for volunteers to help with serving breakfast and lunch and another sign up sheet for a few food donations. Thanks for your help parents!!

MEET SIGN-UP SHEET is now in the file box for the Winter Warm-up at the Rec-Plex January 20-22. Sign-up deadline is Friday, December 16th.

TEAM PICTURES will be taken for each practice group within the next week.

• Age Group 3 - Thursday Dec 15th at 3:30
• Age Group 2/Age Group 1/Senior - Thursday Dec 22nd during Camp Franklin.

These are just 'unofficial' team photos that will be posted on the website. There will not be any availabhle to purchase. Feel free to bring your own camera and take pics if you would like any for yourself.

SPLASH-A-THON is this Friday the 16th. Pizza party afterward for all participants.

MEET RESULTS and LINEUPs are now available: Carbondale Results - Ozark Open Lineup - Swimfest Lineup

SPLASHATHON- Here is info for the Splashathon on Friday, Dec. 16. Swimmers who get the required amount of donations will be able to attend a party after practice. Splashathon prizes:

• $100 collected - T-shirt
• $250 collected - Hoodie
• $500 collected - Warm-up
• $1,000 collected - Parka

GATOR GEAR UPDATE - Swimsuits, fins, and warm-ups have been ordered. PLEASE get your money to DeAnna this week. Fins are $20, girls suits are $47, boys jammers are $33, boys briefs are $31, and warm-ups are $56. These charges are being turned into Karl to be included with the December billing, but it would be greatly appreciated if you turned the money into DeAnna before the orders arrive. You will not be able to get your merchandise until you have paid for it. Hoodies will be ordered at the beginning of next week. Price will be determined at the time of the order.

Gators in Paducah 11/5 (photo courtesy Marcio Vieira)

NEW GATOR HANDBOOK - The Gator handbook has been updated for 2005-2006. Be sure to view or download the new edition here (170k pdf)

PRACTICE SCHEDULE: (effective 9/26/05)

• Age Group 3: 3:45 to 4:45 Monday thru Thursday / Saturday am 8:00 to 9:00
• Age Group 2: 4:30 to 6:00 pm Monday thru Thursday 5:45 to 7:15 pm Friday 7:30 to 9:00 am Saturday
• Age Group 1: 5:30 to 7:30 pm Monday thru Thursday 4:00 to 6:00 pm Friday 7:00 to 9:00 am Saturday
• Senior prep: 5:30 to 8:00 pm Monday thru Thursday 5:00 to 7:00 am Thursday 4:00 to 6:00 pm Friday 7:00 to 9:00 am Saturday
• Senior : Same As Sr Prep except 5:00 to 7:00 am Tuesday and Thursday

Because of the large influx of new swimmers ( younger ) the single lane from 4:00 to 5:30 was not going to be near enough to accommodate them.This schedule also allows each group to have the pool by themselves for the entire practice. It also allows for me to have several coaches avaliable to coach the younger ones each day. - Coach Steve

OZARK time standards (pdf) for 2005-2006

MAKE YOUR SUMMER TEAM BETTER - Swim with the Gators this winter. More Info (pdf)

GOAL MEETINGS - Coach Steve will be having goal meetings with the swimmers and parents starting Oct 8th and will have a sign up sheet posted at the pool .He will be starting the meetings at 9:40 am and will continue throughout the day.It is important that the parent(s) are in attendence for the meeting.

URGENT MESSAGE - The Gator Swim Team is collecting personal items for students of the Pass Christian School District in Pass Christian, Mississippi. Some of us visited this community while participating in the Junior Olympics. Debra Rau has been in contact with the Mississippi State Department of Education and this school district that took a direct hit from hurricane Katrina. The Gator Swim Team is collecting shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, etc. The items will be delivered by Debra and Madison Rau when they go to the Pass Christian Schools October 13th-15th. From September 26th to October 7th a box will be located at the bubble for collection or please feel free to contact Debra Rau or Deanna Aravelo. Your help will be greatly appreciated and go to those who need it most at this time. - Dan Rau

PRACTICE SCHEDULE NEWS FROM COACH STEVE: (effective 9/26/05)

I am changing the practice schedule wholesale, accross the board.

• Age Group 3: 3:45 to 4:45 Monday thru Thursday / Saturday am 8:00 to 9:00
• Age Group 2: 4:30 to 6:00 pm Monday thru Thursday 5:45 to 7:15 pm Friday 7:30 to 9:00 am Saturday
• Age Group 1: 5:30 to 7:30 pm Monday thru Thursday 4:00 to 6:00 pm Friday 7:00 to 9:00 am Saturday
• Senior prep: 5:30 to 8:00 pm Monday thru Thursday 5:00 to 7:00 am Thursday 4:00 to 6:00 pm Friday 7:00 to 9:00 am Saturday
• Senior : Same As Sr Prep except 5:00 to 7:00 am Tuesday and Thursday

Because of the large influx of new swimmers ( younger ) the single lane from 4:00 to 5:30 was not going to be near enough to accommodate them.This schedule also allows each group to have the pool by themselves for the entire practice. It also allows for me to have several coaches avaliable to coach the younger ones each day. - Coach Steve

MEET SIGNUPS are due by end of practice Sept. 15th for Paducah Oct 1-2 and Nashville Oct 14-16.

ALL NEW SWIMMERS should start Sept. 26th at Central pool (tryout & placement week) for October start. But, we will also have ongoing team placements throughout the year.

OZARK time standards (pdf) for 2005-2006 are in place, effective 9-1-05.

HURRICANE RELIEF topics developing, see Parent Link (new message from Lizz Maguire)

NEW ORLEANS IN OUR HEARTS AND PRAYERS - (8/31) Our hearts and prayers are with the hurricane victims and especially those in New Orleans, where many Gator families just recently spent a wonderful week at Junior Olympics, and the family of Barbara and Mark Kinder, who generously hosted a picnic for the team at Lake Pontchartrain. Donations are needed at redcross.org. Barbara reports:

Thank you to everyone for all your thoughts and prayers for my family in New Orleans. Obviously if you are watching the news you know things are really bad down there. Tomorrow 7 more of my family members will arrive in Missouri in addition to the 3 already here. I only wish they would all come up but they need to stay with their homes. My mom and dad are traveling 8 hours tomorrow. Please pray for them. They are both wheelchair bound and this is very difficult for them. I am thrilled they are coming to our comfortable home since it looks like they will be without electricity for weeks or months.
Thank you for your continued prayers,
Barbara

FINS for sale, see Parent Link.

GATORS IN THE NEWS

• Kinder, Troxel excel at nationals (Southeast Missourian)
• Troxel, Kinder perform well in AAU nationals (Southeast Missourian)
• AAU Junior Olympic Full Results

MAKE YOUR SUMMER TEAM BETTER - Swim with the Gators this fall/winter/spring! More Info (pdf)

GATORS WIN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS - For the second consecutive year, Gators are the Southeast Missouri Swim Conference Large Division Champions! Meet Results - High-Point Winners - Gator Photo Gallery - SMSC High Point Photos

SUMMER LEAGUE AWARDS - Congratulations to all swimmers on a great summer season! Coaches thanked all swimmers and also recognized the following athletes:

• 15-18 girls: Most Dedicated Hannah Kinder, Most Improved Joanna Taleno
• 15-18 boys: Most Dedicated Steffan Troxel, Most Improved Nick Welker
• 13-14 girls: Most Dedicated Mary Catherine Ford, Most Improved Audrey Glover
• 13-14 boys: Most Dedicated Raymond Woldtvedt, Most Improved Jacob Buchenmyer
• 11-12 girls: Most Dedicated Lizzie Schmidt, Most Improved Jessica Hagerty
• 11-12 boys: Most Dedicated Wyatt Larson, Most Improved Caleb Coots
• 9-10 girls: Most Dedicated Morgan Maguire, Most Improved Molly Kinder
• 9-10 boys: Most Dedicated Kristian Troxel, Most Improved Matthew Parker
• 7-8 girls: Most Dedicated Helen Wojdylo, Most Improved Elizabeth Kiefner
• 7-8 boys: Most Dedicated David Carmen, Most Improved Jared West
• 6-under girls: Most Dedicated Lindsay Parker, Most Improved Madison McClintock
• 6-under boys: Most Dedicated Robbie Cline, Most Improved Brogan Davis

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED to assist at the USA meet this weekend at Carbondale. Gators are co-hosting the event.

LINEUPS are now online for the SMSC Championships and USA Division I Long Course Championships

SWIM TEAM BANQUET for all swimmers and their families - 6 pm Sunday, July 24, at Grace United Methodist Church . Potluck - bring a dish or two.

LAISSEZ LE BON TON ROULEZ (LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL) - The Kinder family would like to "pass a good time" by hosting a crawfish boil for families down in the Big Easy for Junior Olympics. It will happen on Wednesday afternoon August 3, from 4-7pm at the Ponchartrain Lakefront. We will be set up near the large water fountain along Lakeshore Drive. Come and join us in a spicy feast of sucking heads and pinching tails of some fine Louisiana crawfish. And oh, by the way, if you can't take the heat bring your own happy meals. (Bring your own drinks & chairs too!)

GATOR MASTERS SWIMMERS CLEAN UP AT CARBONDALE - Usually busy officiating at meets, Gator parents Karl Larson and Dan Rau get a different perspective as Masters swimmers participating in the Ed & Ruth Shea Challenge Classic in Carbondale, IL, on July 17. Photos, details.

RESULTS from the July 12 Gator home meet and the July 9 Scott City meet are now online.

PHOTOS from the Scott City meet are online.

GATOR GEAR - DeAnna Arevalo sends this message:

I am collecting money and passing out Gator Dad, Mom and Gal shirts this
week. Also taking orders and collecting money for CHAMPIONSHIP SHIRTS
($12). Sikeston is doing these shirts. I do not know what they look like.
Names of swimmers will be on back of shirt. We have to collect the money
for these and pay Sikeston next week. If you do not order and prepay, I
will not be ordering you a shirt.

Orders are being taken for JO SHIRTS . These need to be ordered by Friday
July 15th. Cost will be determined and money will be collected the week
after championships.

LINEUPS are now online for Scott City (revised 7-7-05) and Indianapolis. Gator results are also now online for Jasper and Nashville.

JUNIOR OLYMPICS HOUSING OPPORTUNITY - Unique opportunity to share house in New Orleans during JOs. See Parent Link

Gaor Coach Steve Franklin conducts one of FOUR SWIM CLINICS being offered to SMSC swimmers. The dates are Monday June 27, Wednesday July 6, Wednesday July 13 and Monday July 18. Steve will cover Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Fly at these clinics. The clinics will occur at the normal Sikeston evening practice from 7:00 to 8:30 PM at the Sikeston Jaycee Pool (map). Swimmers from all SMSC teams are invited to attend. (Photo courtesy Andy Kendig)

JULY 12 MEET - Our second summer home meet is Tuesday afternoon, July 12. Parents, please sign up now to help!

RIDE/ROOM NEEDED for swimmer to USA-Indianapolis meet July 8-10. See Parent Link

MEET PHOTOS from June 21, 2005, are now online in the photo gallery. Meet results

SUMMER MEET INFO - Please check the summer meet info for parents now appearing on the online voluinteer signup form.

POOL BASH - On Saturday evening, June 18, from 7-8 pm there will be a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Central Pool. All current and former Gators and their families are encouraged to attend. See also: Another Night of Gold (Southeast Missourian, 6-16-05)

SIGN UP TO HELP at our home swim meet scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, June 21. (Sign up sheets are on the bulletin board at Central Pool). Online volunteer signup form.

JUNIOR OLYMPICS will be held Aug. 2-5 in New Orleans. Info and entry forms are available at the AAU site. Entries must be received by July 8th. (Parents are responsible for entering their swimmers.) Qualifying standards are "BB" times for 100-meter and shorter events, and "A" times for longer events. Swimmers placing 1st-3rd in events at the JO Qualifier meet in Poplar Bluff on June 25 also may enter. See also: Gator JO hotel info.

Summer League swimmers, please check the SMSC website for full meet information and results.

MEET SCHEDULE CHANGE - The USA swimmers did not get into the Rec-Plex meet scheduled for June 3-5 and will swim at Jasper, Indiana, instead. Here is the meet info.

MEET RESULTS for the Saluki International May 20-22 are now online.

CONGRATULATIONS to Gator Hannah Kinder, who placed third in state in two events at the Missouri High School 2005 Girls Swimming & Diving Championships held May 20-21 at the Rec-Plex. Hannah swam her 50 free in 24.34 and her 100 free in 53.21, breaking 1999 Central High School records in both events. Way to go, Hannah!!! Final results (MSHSAA) - See also: Southeast Missourian article

GATOR GEAR - GATOR GAL and GATOR MOM shirts will be ordered on Friday May 27th. Lots of
cool summer colors and styles available. DeAnna Arevalo will be at the pool this week between 4 and 5:30 if you are interested in ordering. We are trying to get 24 of each to keep our cost around $11-12. GATOR SUMMER 2005 shirts will be available this week at the pool. Cost is $10. Another GATOR suit order wil be placed soon if you missed the last one. Call DeAnna if you have any questions. (651-6571)

SUMMER PRACTICE TIMES have changed to the following times: (updated 5-18-05)

• May 23-25 at the Bubble/Central Pool
  Senior/Age Group I - 1:30-4:30 pm *
  Age Group II and Summer League - 4:00-5:30 pm
  
  
• May 26-27 at Capaha
  Senior/Age Group I - 1:30-4:30 pm *
  Age Group II and Summer League - 4:00-5:30 pm
  
  * Those who cannot make the early practice can come in from 4:00 to 6:00 pm
  
  
• May 31-June 3 at Capaha
  Senior/Age Group I - 9:00-12:00 pm
  Age Group II and Summer League - 5:00-6:30 pm
  
  
• Back at the Central Pool the following week (June 6):
  Morning practice for year-round swimmers (long-course)
  7:00 to 9:00 am - Age Group I and up M-Sat
  Age Group II will be able to come and swim long-course two times a week
  (not sure which two days yet, It depends on the water aerobics schedule).
  
  
• Summer League (short course)
  9:00 - 11:00 am M-F
  Older swimmers 9 to 11 am, younger swimmers 9:30 to 11:00 am
  

JO HOTEL UPDATE - Our Junior Olympic hotel coordinator Karl Larson reports that our hotel has 11 rooms available out of 20 originally reserved. Visit our JO web page for more information.MESSAGE FROM THE NEW TREASURER - Karl Larson, our new treasurer, sends out this message to Gator parents.

SWIM WITH THE GATORS THIS SUMMER! - Click here to download a pdf form to join the Gator Swim Team for Summer League. Return the form to Coach Steve at Central Pool. Registration sessions will be held from 5-7 p.m. May 16-18 at Central Pool. The Summer League program is open to swimmers age 5-18, all skill levels. The fee is $135 and includes all meet entry fees for the “Summer League Schedule”, a GATOR T-Shirt, a GATOR swim cap, and all AAU fees (excluding fees for the 2005 Junior Olympics). Contact Coach Steve Franklin, gstcoach@aol.com or 573.545.3304.

MESSAGE FROM THE NEW TREASURER - Karl Larson, our new treasurer, sends out this message to Gator parents.

MEET SIGNUP SHEETS are now available. Please print, check the meets you will attend and turn in to Coach Steve asap. USA Swimmers - Summer League Only

SPECIAL GATOR! Susan Beth Scott finds success in meets for swimmers with disabilities
(Southeast Missourian, 5-10-05)

MAY 6-8 MEET RESULTS (html) - Complete Results - Pentathlon Results - Gator Results - Photos

SMALL CLUB Championship meet results are now online.

PHOTOS from the Small Club Championship Meet are now online.

OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHY to Gator swimmer Madeline Siefert and family. Maddie's father passed away on Wednesday, April 27. Cards may be sent to 422 N. Mt Auburn, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 or 216 Fairlane, Mayfield, KY 42066 Visitation is 5-8 p.m. Monday, May 2, at Seabrle Funeral Home, DuQuoin, IL.

IN THE NEWS - Rehabilitation therapy helped Troxel find his talent (Southeast Missourian 4-26-05); Gators celebrate achievements at spring banquet (Southeast Missourian 4-26-05); Gator Swimmers David Welker, John Wolpers and Hunter Givens, Assistant Coach Jen Goldsberry and Gator Board Member Mark Coots participated in the 21st Annual Steamboat Triathlon (complete results, pdf)

GREAT JOB MASTERS SWIMMERS! - Gator Coach Steve Franklin and Gator Debbie Janisse competed in the 2005 YMCA Masters National Swimming Championships April 21-24, 2005, in Indianapolis. Coach Steve racked up 1st places in the 400 and 200 free relays (setting national YMCA records!), 2nd in the 200 medley relay, 4th place in the 200 free, 100 IM, 100 free, 5th in 100 back, 6th in 50 free and 200 IM, and 7th in the mixed 200 relay. Debbie was 4th in the 50 free, 6th in the 100 IM, 100 free and 200 breast, 7th in the 100 breast, and 5th in the mixed medley relay. Results

WANTED: Flippers, see parent link

INTERVIEWS NEEDED - Wendy Ray, health reporter for KFVS, is doing two special reports relating to busy kids and parents in the month of May and she’s looking for interested families. The first story will focus on the struggle to find enough time in the day for school, sports, extra-curricular activities, homework, and family time…and then make sure your children get enough sleep on top of it. The second will take a look at sports-related injuries, and how children can avoid getting the kind of injuries adult athletes face. These stories would include interviews with health experts and advice for all busy families. I would like to put out the call to any Gator family who might be willing to participate in either/both of these stories. Please contact me at ksweeney@kfvs12.com or Wendy at wray@kfvs12.com. Swim families don’t often get a lot of “love” on tv and I thought this might be a great opportunity to highlight the dedication and long hours our sport requires.
Thanks for your time,
Kathy Sweeney Meadows

GATOR BANQUET / BOARD CHANGES - Fellowship Hall at Grace United Methodist Church was packed the evening of April 14 with Gator swimmers and parents who enjoyed a great potluck dinner. Thanks to everyone who contributed. New board members were elected/re-elected. Alicia Scott and Sherrie Troxel were re-elected, and Greg Luehmann was elected as a returning former board member. Thank you to retiring board member Mary LeGrand. Karl Larson is taking over the treasurer's position for Mark Coots. Many thanks for Mark for a job well done! President Alicia Scott also reported on several Gator board initiatives, including a fulltime assistant coaching position, a possible satellite program at Perryville and obtaining additional pooltime at a new facility (in addition to our lanes at Central Pool).

SWIM AWARDS - Coach Steve recognized our sectional swimmers and Steffan Troxel's accomplishments at World Trials. The Gator team had a seven swimmers qualify for sectionals in individual events (Steffan Troxel, Kris Metje, David Welker, Adam Ansberry, Sam Gramling, Hannah Kinder, Kati Luehmann), two national Top 16 swimmers (Steffan Troxel, Sam Gramling), and one division high point winner (Morgan Fraser). Coach presented the following swimmer awards at our Spring 2005 banquet. He also said all his swimmers deserved an award for sticking it out at his difficult practices! If anyone has photos from the banquet/awards they would like to share with the webmaster, please email them.

Most Valuable

• 8 & Under - Madeleine McDonald, Colton Blagrove
• 9-10 - Kyleigh Troxel, Kristian Troxel
• 11-12 - Morgan Fraser, Sam Gramling
• 13-14 - Maria Esswein, Caleb Statler
• Senior - Kati Luehmann, Steffan Troxel

Most Dedicated

• 8 & Under - Gabby Vieira, Luc Helwege
• 9-10 - Morgan Maguire, Ramsey Scott
• 11-12 - Alyssa Coots, Wyatt Larson
• 13-14 - Mary Ford, Caleb Statler
• Senior - Ashly Ducharme, John Wolpers

Most Improved

• 8 & Under - Elizabeth Kiefner, Chase Hagerty
• 9-10 - Shannon Nyut, Ramsey Scott
• 11-12 - Sydney Stein, Caleb Coots
• 13-14 -Kelly Ennis, Sam Gramling
• Senior - Hannah Kinder, Kris Metje

2005 Outstanding Gator Award

• Male - John Wolpers
• Female - Ashly Ducharme

WORLD CLASS - Congratulations to Gator Steffan Troxel, who placed 15th in the 800M free at the 2005 World Championship Trials held April 1-6 at Indianapolis. Steffan also achieved another world championship trial cut in the 1500 free. His time would have put him 22nd. Way to go, Steffan!!

OFFICIALS CLINIC - On Saturday, April 9, at 9 am a USA/AAU officials clinic will be conducted at Grace Bible Church. See Alicia or Mike Scott if you are interested.

BANQUET - On Thursday, April 14, at 6 pm we will celebrate the short-course season with an awards banquet at Grace United Methodist Church ( near the pool). The event will be potluck and also include the annual parents meeting. - Alicia Scott

SPRING/SUMMER meet schedule for 2005 is now online.

POOL RULES/COURTESY IMPORTANT - Coach Steve sends this important notice:

To all parents,

USA Swimming has rules to help meets progress as smoothly as possible. One of them is that no parents will be allowed on deck regardless of the age of the swimmers involved. Without these rules in place meets would be nothing but mass confusion. I know I was not there to help the swimmers to their places, but I had other coaches in line to do that for us (Gators). In the future, please abide by the rules whether you agree with them or not. It doesn't put Gators in a good light when poor manners or public disagreements occur in front of our swimmers. We are all guilty of it at times, but I hope we can become more level headed in the future and promote our team spirit in a better way.

Steve Franklin
Head Coach
Gator Swimming

MEET RESULTS for HEAT and Sectionals are now online.

DIRECTIONS to the meet March 11-13: Take I-270 north to McDonnell Blvd exit. Go north on McDonnell Blvd. (which changes to Howdershell). Proceed on Howdershell approx. 1 mile. Turn left at the stoplight for Wildcat Lane, across from McDonald's.

SECTIONALS - Good luck to Gators swimming at sectionals Mar 3-6 in Topeka, KS. Here's the lineup.

OZARK CHAMPIONSHIPS results are now online, along with some photos courtesy of Sydney Stein.

REVISED - Iron Swimmer Results and NEW - Gator lineup for Great Times.

SMSC NEWS - Check the SMSC website for news about summer Southeast Missouri Swim Conference/AAU Swimming. Gator parent Andy Kendig has taken over duties as the SMSC webmaster. There will be an AAU stroke & turn officials clinic (note: this is not the same as USA Swimming certification) on Feb. 19 and a SMSC board meeting March 13.

GREAT TIMES RESULTS - Gators - Meet Manager - Team Manager

TRI-STATE CHAMPIONSHIP meet entries (Carbondale Feb. 12) have been posted here. Please let Coach Steve know by Wednesday Feb. 2 if you are or are not going. A few Gators will be going to the Ozark Qualifier meet - that lineup is coming soon.

GREAT TIMES WORK ASSIGNMENTS are posted here. Please check your scheduled times!

GATOR GREAT TIMES INVITATIONAL Fev. 4-6, 2005 Meet Invitation - Meet Info

PSYCH SHEET ADS are completed. Here is the final ad list. There will be a sample book for proofing in the file cabinet on Friday 1/21 ONLY. If anyone has emergency corrections only, please let me know by 6 pm on Friday, Jan. 21.

MINI MEET on Saturday 1/22 will start at 7 a.m. Age Group 2 parents are invited to a parent meeting following the meet (probably around 10 am). Info (pdf)

Monday. Jan. 17 - GATOR ADS for the 2005 Great Times Meet Psych Sheet are being completed and the ad list (we have a total of 73 ads) has been updated. Please CHECK HERE to be sure we have your ad(s)! There can be no changes after Tuesday, Jan. 18.

Are you DAZED OR CONFUSED after the Swimfest meet? WORRIED about the upcoming home meet and your role in it? Your Gator Board is here to help. Please feel free to contact any of us if you have questions. Meanwhile, we're scheduling a Gator Mini Meet, most likely for early Saturday morning, Jan. 22. Warmups will be early (exact time and date to be announced soon), and coffee and doughnuts will be available for parents. Plan now to attend, have some fun, learn to work a stop watch, find out more about the Great Times Meet or just get to know some newer or older Gator families.

FYI - USA SWIMMING'S website has lots of information for swimmers but it also has a section for PARENTS that includes helpful information, including SWIMMING 101 and 10 COMMANDMENTS FOR SWIMMING PARENTS.

A WEDDING RECEPTION for Coach Jon & Jenny Lowrance will be held on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005, at Grace Cafe, 835 Broadway. Drop-in times are at 5 pm, 6 pm and 7 pm. Come when you can! Jon & Jenny are registered at Target, Sears and rei.com. Jon & Jenny's new address is 909 Normal, Cape Girardeau, MO. 63701

BEST TIMES (not including the Swimfest) to date so far are now online here. The Q1 and Q2 time standard designations are based on Ozark 2005 Time Standards (Adobe pdf file) and are used as qualifying times for Ozark championship meets.

REFRIGERATOR NEEDED - Coach Steve is looking for a used refigerator or inexpensive new one. If anyone has such an item he will gladly purchase it. He needs it by Friday.

JUNIOR OLYMPICS will be held Aug. 2-5, 2005, in New Orleans, and Gators have already made some room reservations because the popular venue is expected to draw more competitors this year and rooms may be harder to find. Here''s more information about the meet and how to book your room early...

THE GATOR LINEUP for the Arctic Blast meet Jan. 15-16 is now online. Iron Swimmer results have also just been posted.

GREAT TIMES MEET online job signup form is now online. We need timers!

AD CHECKLIST - GATOR ADS for the Great Times psych sheet are in production. There are 58 ads in all to date. Please check this list to be sure I have your ad. If you sold an ad and it's not on the list, or if you sold someone a Swimathon sponsorship with an ad credit and that ad is not on the list, please let me know immediately. Also, please be sure you also have turned in a signed Ad Order Form for EACH ad (including Swimathon credits) or it cannot be produced (some of you have NOT turned these in yet!). Thanks!

PADUCAH SWIMFEST warmup times are finally available! Download the warmup chart (Adobe pdf) here (sorry I have had a computer meltdown and I do not have time to type this all out!) Friday warmups are from 3:20pm-3:40pm, meet starts at 5. The only other information I have about this meet is this, apparently for Saturday and Sunday: "9 and 10 , 11 and 12 are in the morning 8 and under , 13 and 14 , Senior in the afternoon ."

GREAT TIMES MEET INFO: Invitation/Meet Information (pdf) - Great Times Invitational, February 4-6, 2005, Hosted by Gator Swim Team, Central Municipal Pool, 205 Caruthers, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701, USAS SANCTION #4862. Facility: Pool is 25 yards by 50 meters. It is equipped with a Colorado Fully Automatic timing system with a horn start. Continuous warm-up/warm-down space is provided during the competition. Directions: From I-55/Exit 96. Head east off the exit (William Street). Take a left at Kingshighway (approx.1.5 miles from interstate). Take a right at Independence (1st light). Take a left on Clark Street. Central Pool is on your right (the bubble covering the pool is in view).

GREAT TIMES ADS are due Wednesday Jan. 5. Please turn them in on time! Also, please be sure to sign the spiral BUSINESS BOOK in the file cabinet with your name and the businesses you sold ads to if you plan to contact the same businesses next year. The BUSINESS BOOK is not missing in action. It's in the file cabinet. Someone keeps moving it to the folder at the front from its original location on top of all the files. Sorry to those of you who are searching for it and can't find it. The city took down the acrylic wall holders by the bulletin board where we used to put it.

TOP TIMES have been updated for 2004: Short Course Yards - Long Course Meters

COACH STEVE has sent Christmas greetings and two weekend workouts for Seniors and Age Group I in case they can get to the pool!

STARTING JAN. 3 - Age Group II B will be in Age Group II and will practice from 5:30-7 pm.

GATOR WARM-UPS - DeAnna Arevalo is picking up Gator warmups at Horizon today (12/21/04). Parents who ordered them please call DeAnna at 651-6571 to arrange pickup. She does not live far from the pool so parents may need to pick up at her house - she will give you directions.

GREAT TIMES ADS - It's time to sell ads for the Great Times Meet Psych Sheet! Ads are due Jan. 5th. Info and ad order forms are in your file folder. You can download additional ad order forms here (pdf). Please return ads to the AD ORDERS folder in the file or email them to julie@webcurrent.com. Each ad must have a completed and signed ad order form in order to be processed. If you earned ad credit during the swim-a-thon, please indicate that on the ad order form. Also, please sign the business book (also in the file cabinet) to indicate which businesses you are contacting this year. Thanks!

PARENT MEETING - A Mandatory Parent Meeting will be held at 6:30 pm Dec. 29 at Grace United Methodist Church. We will meet while the kids are enjoying the Camp Franklin movie. Plan to attend to get essential information about your role in the Great Times Meet in February. All parents work each day of this meet. Come choose your duty!

GATOR GEAR UPDATE - Warmups are in and are at Horizon to be embroidered. Horizon should have them back to DeAnna Arevalo by the 22nd or 23rd. Please call DeAnna at 651-6571 to arrange pickup.

TEAM NEWS - Camp Franklin - December Board Minutes (pdf)

OZARK OPEN results are now online.

GATOR GEAR UPDATE - Warmups are in and are at Horizon to be embroidered. Horizon should have them back to DeAnna Arevalo by the 22nd or 23rd. Please call DeAnna at 651-6571 to arrange pickup.

USA SWIMMING OFFICIALS CLINIC - 9 am Dec. 18 at Grace Bible Church. Directions:

• Take I55 exit #99 towards CAPE GIRARDEAU/JACKSON - go 0.2 mi
  Continue on I-55-BUS NORTH - go 0.1 mi
  Turn  on WEDEKIND RD - go 0.2 mi
  Turn  on OLD CAPE RD E - go 0.1mi
  Arrive at 5303 OLD CAPE RD E, JACKSON, on the left

CONGRATULATIONS to Gator senior Steffan Troxel for outstanding swims at the U.S. Open Dec. 2-4. Steffan placed 14th in the 1500-meter free in 16:15.96. He also achieved a Junior National cut in the 400-meter free time trial in 4:06.51 and came very close in the 200 free time trial in 1:57.82 (Junior National cut is 1:56.49).

LINEUPS for the Ozark Championship and Paducah Swimfest have been updated.

PADUCAH SWIMFEST - This meet is held at JR's Executive Inn, which has an indoor 25-meter pool. Here's a link to the hotel website. Make your reservations now!

GATOR GEAR PICKUP - DeAnna Arevalo has fins, hoodies, and suits, and will be at the pool on Thursday Dec. 9 from 5:00 to 5:30 pm for pickup and again Monday Dec. 13 from 5:00 to 5:30 pm out front.

OFFICIALS CLINIC DEC. 18 - Anyone interested in becoming a stroke and turn judge should see Alicia Scott. We will be hosting a clinic on Sat., Dec. 18, from 9-noon at Grace Bible Church.

RIDE/ROOM needed for championship meet Dec. 10. See Parent Link.

GATOR GEAR - DeAnna Arevalo is ordering Gator warmups like Coach Steve's. Jackets are $28 and pants are $26. Embroidery will be around $5. A signup sheet will be on the bulletin board. Orders must be in by Friday,
Dec. 3, for Christmas delivery. We are still waiting for the suit order to come in, and team towels also may be ordered in the near future.

SWIMFEST DEADLINE - Coach needs to know by 8 am on Wed. 11/24 who is going to the Paducah Swimfest Jan. 7-9, 2005. Here's the lineup so far ...

MEMPHIS MEET CANCELED - The meet in Memphis is canceled, and we are going to go to the meet in St Louis at the Rec-Plex Dec. 10-12. Coach Steve needs to know who wants to go by Monday night, 11/22. This meet has qualifying time requirements: Gator Qualifiers

Now online - Carbondale Results

RIDE NEEDED - Please see ParentLink for details.

WEDDING BELLS! Congratulations to Assistant Coach John Lourance and his new bride. They are registered at JC Penney, Target and Sears.

PARENT TIP - Kiefer currently has a sale on swim bags. In particular, they have Kiefer green backpacks similar to Speedo backpacks for $19.95, which are 1/2 price.

GATOR GEAR UPDATE - fins have been ordered. Hoodies and Gator Gal shirts will be ordered 11/5/04. There were a few people who need to indicate their size for the hoodies.

SWIM-A-THON - Please collect any monies raised for the swim-a-thon and turn it into Coach Steve or Alicia Scott this week. Make sure you have correct information for any corporate sponsor you may have secured so we can acknowledge them. The canned food drive was a huge success and we all had a great time Saturday night at the hayride. Thanks so much to the Kendigs for hosting and Sherrie Troxel for organizing it. Great job to all the swimmers who swam early Saturday morning and all the parents who "supervised".

PADUCAH MEET NOV. 6 - Gator Lineup

HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING UPDATE - Membership Approves Swimming & Diving Proposal

HAYRIDE FUN - Gators will hold a hayride from 5-7 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Kendig's farm in Sikeston. Here's a map that shows you how to get there! (32k Adobe pdf). Parents are encouraged to bring their folding "swim meet" chairs. More info about what else to bring coming soon...

GATOR GEAR UPDATE - Team suits will be ordered Tuesday, Oct. 26. There were a few swimmers who did not put their size next to their name. We will post their names on the bulletin board... please add your size! It's not too late to order fins, T-shirts, and hoodies, orders for which will be finalized at the end of this week.

A SWIMATHON cover letter is available here for printing in Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word formats.

GATOR GEAR - Orders are being taken this week for team suits (black Speedos with the Gator emblem on the front for girls and on the hip for boys, cost TBA), fins ($20) and hooded sweathshirts ($25-$30) or long-sleeved T-shirts. We are also looking to order team towels and possibly other Gator gear around Christmas. Check the bulletin board at the bubble for signups/more information. If you have ideas or questions, contact DeAnna Arevalo (651-6571).

Nashville photos - Nashville Results

SMSC Championship photos from summer are now online at semosports.com.

Panhandle Swimming Hurricane Relief Fund - The City of Mobile Swim Association has set up a fund to aid swim team families who lost homes or businesses and teams whose training facilities were damaged by Hurricane Ivan.

NEW GATOR TEAM SUITS (black with Gator logo) will be ordered on Friday, Oct. 22. If you already know your size, please give Coach Steve your order. A try-on kit for sizing will be available at practice this week.

Swimathon Info/Pledge Sheet (Adobe pdf)

The PARKWAY PENTATHLON meet Nov. 6-7 has been taken OFF the Gator schedule due to cost. A new meet has been added:

• Saturday Nov. 6 (one day only) at Paducah - Double dual meet with Paducah and Salukis. More info to come.

NASHVILLE RESULTS for Gators are coming soon. Complete results are available at the NAC Website

CONGRATULATIONS CHRIS THOMPSON for his 8th place finish at the Fina Short Course World Championships.

NEW WEB SECTIONS

• GATOR PHOTO ALBUM - scenes from the meets and other team activities.
• GATOR PARENT LINK - This is a new web page designed to help parents link up for rides and other connections. To have your question or response posted here, just send an email to webmaster@gatorswimteam.org and we will add it asap. Your webmaster is first off the block with a ride request.

THE 2004-2005 GATOR HANDBOOK was distributed at the Oct. 6 parent meeting. Download it here:

• Gator Handbook (120k pdf)

NASHVILLE HOTELS are filling up fast, We do not have a block of rooms. Several parents are finding their best deal at Travelocity. The Centennial Sportsplex pool is near Vanderbilt University. NAC Hotel & Travel Sponsors lists hotels and their proximity to the pool.

SWIM-A-THON - A Gator Swim-a-Thon has been set for Oct. 29-30. Each family should achieve a goal of $100. Sponsorships are as follows:

• GOLD - $500 - These sponsors will have their names on the Swim-a-Thon shirt, and will be mentioned in all publicity for the event.
• SILVER - $250
• BRONZE - $100

Prizes will be awarded in several categories. These prizes may be trophy awards or merchandise. A grand prize (to be announced) will be awarded to the top fundraiser. Swimmers: explain to potential donors that this fundraiser will help provide needed equipment for the team (for example, we own and must periodically upgrade/replace our computer, printers, software, touchpads, starting system, etc.) Sign up your pledges. Donors may pledge per lap (200 laps or 2-hours maximum) or just pledge a donation. Explain that you will collect after you have completed your swim. The swim will be completed during Saturday's practice time (Oct. 30), although you may swim your Swim-a-Thon laps at any time if needed.

FALL SERVICE PROJECT - The Gators will be sponsoring a food drive to help the local food bank program, FISH. On Friday, Oct. 29, team members will be stationed at the entrances of local groceries with small "wish lists" provided by the food pantry. These lists will outline types of foods the pantry is most in need of. Swimmers will distribute the list to each shopper, and ask them to consider buying an item on the list for FISH, and leaving it with the team members on their way out of the store. Shoppers may also give monetary gifts to the food bank if they so desire. We hope to be quite successful in this drive as a kick-off for the Swim-a-Thon to be held the next morning during practice.

MEET SIGNUP SHEET - Please be sure to turn in your meet sign up sheets to Coach Steve asap. See coach if you do not have this form or if you need another one. The meet signup sheets were distributed into everyone's file folders at the pool.

Congratulations to Steffan Troxel, a Gator senior swimmer named to USA Swimming's 2003-04 Men's Scholastic All-America Team. The Scholastic All-America Team is comprised of high school student-athletes, who have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, and have competed in an individual event in the 2003 ConocoPhillips Summer Nationals, 2003 Summer Speedo Champions Series (sectionals), 2003 U.S. Open, 2004 ConocoPhillips Spring Nationals, 2004 Spring Speedo Champions Series (sectionals), 2003 National Disability Championships and 2003 Open Water National Championships.

PARENT MEETING - We plan to hold a parent meeting at 6 p.m. on Wed., Oct. 6, at Dexter Bar-B-Que. Dexter Bar-B-Que has donated to the Gators on several occasions and we would like to say thanks and support them. Parents should order dinner (if they so desire) and go into the room on the right of the building that will be set up for us. We plan to start the meeting that will include discussing the Handbook and expectations for the year around 6 p.m.

Many thanks to 2000 Olympic Bronze Medalist and American Recordholder Chris Thompson for sharing his time, tips, drills and swimmer's wisdom (as well as autographed swim caps and postcards) during his visit to Cape Girardeau and Paducah Oct. 2-3 (details below). Chris was a late addition to the team roster at the 2004 World Championships Oct. 7-11 in Indianapolis, and we especially appreciate the time he spent with us in the face of last-minute training preparations. Gator Coach Steve Franklin was Chris's coach in Oregon when Chris was 12-14 years old. He credited Coach Steve for steering him toward distance events and for providing him with excellent training in fundamentals.

Good luck, Chris! Your new Gator friends are rooting for you!

HIGH SCHOOL DUAL PARTICIPATION UPDATE - CONTACT YOUR PRINCIPAL TODAY!
News from Ozark Swimming: (for complete text visit www.ozarkswimming.org/news.htm)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL PARENTS (not just those with high school students) REGARDING HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING/DIVING  9-27-04

We are very close to seeing the elimination of dual participation restrictions for swimmers and divers one way or another and if MSHSAA member schools follow their board's strong suggestions, it could happen in a few short weeks! 

A few minutes of your time can make a tremendous difference.  Every parent, regardless of the age of their swimmer/diver, is being asked to contact their school district representatives.  (Those of you with younger children actually have even more to gain than those with high school age children--changing these rules now will mean your athletes will have opportunities available to them which have previously been denied to those already in high school.)   

Please contact your high school and junior high principal and ask them to vote yes in this Special Election of the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) By-law #235 amendment.  Every high school and junior  high principal in Missouri will be sent a ballot on October 6 th and will have one vote, regardless of whether or not their school offers swimming/diving.  Ballots must be returned to the MSHSAA office in Columbia with a postmark deadline of October 22nd.

PARENT MEETING - We plan to hold a parent meeting at 6 p.m. on Wed., Oct. 6, at Dexter Bar-B-Que. Dexter Bar-B-Que has donated to the Gators on several occassions and we would like to say thanks and support them. Parents should order dinner (if they so desire) and go into the room on the right of the building that will be set up for us. We plan to start the meeting that will include discussing the Handbook and expectations for the year around 6 p.m.

Meet and Train With 2000 Olympic Bronze Medalist Chris Thompson!

Gator Swim Team Sponsors Clinic

Gator Swim Team is sponsoring a clinic with 2000 Olympic Bronze Medalist CHRIS THOMPSON at the meet on Saturday Oct. 2 in Paducah and in Cape at the bubble on Sunday, Oct. 3, from 2-4 pm (possibly until 5 pm). Cost is $20/person. (Steve coached Chris when he was in Oregon!) Thompson will give a talk, answer questions, and then do a session in the water. Don't miss this exciting opportunity! To sign up, contact Coach Steve Franklin for full details. 573-264-3422 (home) or 573-986-9016 (mobile).

Chris won the bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. He broke the American record to win bronze in 1500m free and became only the second American to break 15 minutes in the event.

Personal Info : Chris fractured both elbows in a training accident in early May 2004 … oldest son of Dr. Thomas and Nancy Thompson; younger brothers Benjamin and Nicholas and sister Kathryn who is a U.S. Nationals qualifier … became just second American to break 15 minutes in 1500m free, doing so at 2000 Olympic Games to win bronze ... bronze medal swim at 1999 Pan Pacific Championships was the then-fastest time by an American since 1984 … is an assistant coach with the Ann Arbor Swim Club.

Download a printable PDF about this event.

Check out Chris Thompson's bio at usaswimming.org.

NEW TIME STANDARDS - OZARK TIME STANDARDS have been updated for 2005 and are effective 9-1-04.

WELCOME NEW GATOR COACHES - We have three new assistant coaches. Please help us welcome them to our organization!

• Gator Babies - Age Group III and IIB - T.J. Goldsberry and Jen Goldsberry
• Age Groups II and I - John Lourance

POOL RULES

• Central Pool has asked for our parents and swimmers to stay out of the office area between the locker rooms and if they need something just to ask for it.
• The lifeguards are in charge of pool rules and as such need to be held in high regard. If they tell anyone to do something it needs to be taken care of. If not, Coach Steve will deal with the offenders himself.

FALL RECRUITING is at hand. Stay tuned for ways to swim free this year.

SWIMATHON info will be out soon. Tentative date is Halloween weekend.

CHECK WITH COACH to see what group you are in now if you have not started back yet.

FIN ORDER - a fin order will be placed this Friday, Sept. 3. Call DeAnna Arevalo at 651-6571 if you need them and have not already ordered.

FALL 2004 OUTLOOK - Gators are back in the water at Central Pool for training after a brief summer break (see the training schedule, below left). After Labor Day, Gators will practice at Perryville's indoor pool (map) until Central reopens, projected for Sept. 27, weather permitting. For planning purposes, we are listing a TENTATIVE meet schedule for 2004-2005 as follows:

Fall 2004 Meet Outlook . . . (subject to change)

• Oct. 2 - dual one-day meet at Paducah's new pool, Paducah, KY
• Oct. 15-17 - Nashville, TN
• Nov. 6-7 - Parkway Sprint and Distance Pentathlon, Parkway North High School, St. Louis, MO
• Nov. 19-21 - Saluki Carbondale 500, Shea Natatorium, Carbondale, IL
• Dec. 2-4 - U.S. Open, San Antonio, TX (qualifiers only)
• Dec. 10-12 - Indianapolis, IN
• Dec. 18 - Parkway Mile Meet, Parkway North High School, St. Louis, MO


2005 Meet Outlook . . . (subject to change)


• Jan. 5-7 - Paducah Swimfest (possible alternate meet at Memphis, TN)
• Jan. 14-16 - RSCA Rockwood Arctic Blast, Marquette High School, St. Louis, MO
• Feb. 4-6 - Gator Great Times Meet, Central Pool - mark your calendar now!
• Feb. 12-13 - Ozark Qualifier - TBA
• Feb. 25-27 - Ozark Championship, Rec-Plex, St. Peters, MO (qualifiers only)
• Mar. 3-6 - Sectionals, Topeka, KS (qualifiers only)
• Mar. 11-13 - HEAT Meet and 8 & Under Championships
• April 30-May 1 - (tentative) UCSC Small Club Championship, University City High School
• May 6-8 - Gator Senior and Pentathlon, Central Pool, Cape Girardeau

HELP WANTED - ASSISTANT COACH - Gator Swim Team is looking for an assistant coach. Main responsibilities are working with beginners and helping with the age group program. Contact Steve Franklin for full details. 573-264-3422 (home) or 573-986-9016 (mobile).

SALUTE TO GATOR ZONE ATHLETES - Congratulations to AAA 11-12 Gator swimmers Sam Gramling and Morgan Fraser (photos at right) , who competed at the 2004 MV Central Zone Championship Meet Aug. 6-8 in Topeka, Kansas. Sam's top swim was a 3rd place finish of 2:14.55 in the 200M freestyle. He also placed 9th in the 400M free and 200M IM, 13th in the 50M and 100M free, and 17th in 100 back. Morgan placed 6th in the 50M breaststroke in 38.49 and 11th in the 100 M breaststroke. Complete results here.

JUNIOR OLYMPIC RECORDS - Congratulations to Gator AAU Junior Olympic swimmers and especially to Steffan Troxel, who shattered AAU Junior Olympic Games national records in 1500 meter and 400 meter Boys 15-18 Freestyle at the 2004 games in Des Moines Aug. 2-6. Steffan was featured in an article in the Des Moines Register, which also ran a photo of Gator Kati Luehmann diving off the starting block. Gators joined other swimmers from the region as Team Ozark and brought home many best times and medals from the event. Below, the Ozark team starts off the meet with a cheer and somersaults into the pool. Photo courtesy Andy Kendig. Results are located here.

Team Ozark starts off the 2004 AAU Junior Olympic Games with a cheer and somersaults.

GATORS SUCCEED AT SECTIONALS - Congratulations to Gator sectional swimmers Steffan Troxel and David Welker, both of whom placed at finals in the Central Section Region VIII Championships held July 21-24, 2004, at Wichita, Kansas. Steffan placed 2nd in the men's 1500 Free, 4th in the 800 Free, 5th in the 400 Free, 10th in the 400 IM, 10th in the 200 Fly and 11th in the 200 Free; David placed 18th in the 1500 Free, 26th in the 800 Free and 26th in the 200 Back. Meet Results are available here.

 

Gators with Championship banner, Wyatt Larson, Sam Gramling and Jennifer Willett

GATORS WIN SMSC AAU CHAMPIONSHIP! - Congratulations, Gators, for an outstanding championship meet! In addition to winning the meet, three Gator swimmers -- Wyatt Larson, Sam Gramling and Jennifer Willett --also earned conference high point trophies for their age group. Full results are located on these links to the SMSC website: Meet Summary - Final Results - SCY Conference Records - SCY Top Times Report - Meet Photos

Conference Championship Results 7-24-04
Final Score
Large Division - Gator Swim Team 941, Kennett 767.5, Jackson 467, Scott City 282.5, Perryville 199.5
Small Division - Sikeston 214.5, Poplar Bluff 176, Charleston 171, Ste. Genevieve 88, Farmington 59
Number of swimmers (383) - Kennett 74, Gators 70, Jackson 53, Perryville 37, Scott City 33, Ste. Genevieve 31, Sikeston 31, Poplar Bluff 23, Charleston 17, Farmington 14. Number of new conference records - 22

FORMER GATOR COACH Jason Cravens sends a report from the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials.

LINEUPS for SMSC Championships and USA Division I Long Course Championship meets are now online. Please contact Coach Steve if you have questions or need changes. Scott City results are also now online.

SWIM PARTY - Next Monday, July 26, we will have the year-end summer swim party for all Gator
swimmers and their families from 8-10 pm at the pool. Come have fun as we celebrate the summer swim season. Each family should bring snacks or finger foods to share. Coach Steve and Joanie will have some awards, too.

GATOR TEAM PICTURES will be taken on Tuesday, July 20, starting at 7:30 am at the pool.

JO ROOM(S) UPDATE - All available Gator rooms are now booked.

Jackson Results are now online. Next meet is at Scott City (July 17), Gator warmups at 8:15 am, meet starts at 9 am. Directions to the pool:  From I-55, take the Scott City exit, turn under the bridge onto Main St.  (Burger King will be on your left.)  Turn left onto Ruth St. (Casey’s is on the left.)  Follow this street into the Scott City Park Entrance.  (The road into the park is ONE-WAY, so do not enter from the other side.)  Parking is limited, so arrive early.

GATOR T-SHIRTS are available to be picked up July 1 around 10 am at the pool. Cost is $10 for year-round Gators who ordered a tank or tee. There are a few extras available for sale. We will be taking orders for a nice golf-style cap with the Gator logo embroidered on it. Cost will be $15.

JO QUALIFIER results are now online.

GATOR T-SHIRTS - Anyone who is interested in ordering a Gator T-shirt ( tank or tee) should contact Coach Steve or Alicia Scott (335-0580) by Monday if they haven't already done so. Cost will be approx $10 or less depending on the number ordered. Also anyone who is interested in ordering Speedo bags please see Alicia. If 12 people are interested we can get a good rate.

SIKESTON RESULTS 6-12-04 - Final Score - Gator Swim Team 1198, Scott City 685, Sikeston 571, Dexter 124. Number of swimmers (189) Gator Swim Team 61, Sikeston 55, Scott City 51, Dexter 22. Number of new conference records - 8. Full meet results

GATOR T-SHIRTS - Anyone who is interested in ordering a Gator T-shirt ( tank or tee) should contact Coach Steve or Alicia Scott (335-0580) by Monday if they haven't already done so. Cost will be approx $10 or less depending on the number ordered. Also anyone who is interested in ordering Speedo bags please see Alicia. If 12 people are interested we can get a good rate.

GATORS WIN AT FARMINGTON! (6-5-04) - Final Score - Gator Swim Team 758.5, Jackson 510.5, Scott City 265, Ste. Gen 121.5, Farmington 106.5. Number of swimmers (204) Gator Swim Team 64, Jackson 54, Scott City 40, Ste. Gen 31, Farmington 15. Number of new conference records - 11. Complete meet results.

BREASTSTROKE TECHNIQUE - Join Coach Steve for an online breaststroke lesson ...

VIDEOGRAPHERS NEEDED - Please see Coach Steve if you have a video camera and can help videotape swimmers at practice for training purposes. A tripod would be helpful.

SIGN UP FOR SUMMER LEAGUE! See practice schedule below:

PRACTICE SWITCH TO CAPAHA POOL begins May 25, when Central Pool will close for spring maintenance/bubble removal. Here's the practice schedule:

• CAPAHA May 25-June 5
• Age Group 2 and under - 4:30 pm - 5:45 pm and Summer League swimmers
• Age Group 1 and up - 4:30-7 pm (dryland first half hour)
• Saturday morning practice times TBA
• CENTRAL POOL - Beginning June 7
  • 7-9 am - Senior/National Prep
  • 7:30-9 am - Age Group 1
  • 7:30-9 am -Tues. and Thurs. only - Age Group 2 and Summer League swimmers welcome
  • 9-11 am - M-F Summer League

NEW TEAM SUITS - Coach plans to place an order for new team suits (solid hunter green Speedo) on Monday, May 17. He has try-on sizes at the pool and will also bring them to the Saluki meet. Cost is $35 for female suits ($37.50 size 34 and up) or $22.50 for male jammers ($24 size 34 and up). Male briefs cost less, around $18. See Coach for details.

JUNIOR OLYMPICS hotel information - Click here to view information on the Quality Inn & Suites hotel where Karl Larson has reserved 10 rooms for Gators going to JOs. More info. Contact Karl if you would like to claim one of these rooms.

Gator Long-Course Kick-off and Pentathlon April 30-May 2
ALL RESULTS - Pentathlon Top 8 Results - Pentathlon - All Results - Gator Results

GATORS IN THE NEWS -Congratulations to David Welker, the first local participant to cross the finish line in the recent Steamboat Classic triathlon. David is featured in a Southeast Missourian article published April 29, 2004. In its 20th year, the Steamboat Classic includes a 500-yard swim at the pool, a 15 1/2-mile bicycle ride and a five-mile run. Other Gator participants also fared well in the event: Welker finished 2nd in the male 19-under division; Jameson Kuper placed 3rd; and team participants Nicholas Welker, Hunter Givens and Kris Metje finished first in the youth team division.

CONGRATULATIONS, COACH STEVE for strong finishes at the 2004 USMS Short Course National Championships held April 22-25 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Coach finished 3rd in the 200 IM, 5th in the 200 free, 8th in the 50 and the 100 free, 9th in the 100 IM and 10th in the 100 fly in his age group. Way to go, Coach!

AWARDS BANQUET APRIL 16 - Congratulations award winners! Gator coaches honored three boys and three girls in each age group with Most Dedicated, Most Improved and Most Valuable awards. Steffan Troxel and Angela Welker were honored with Coach Steve's new special recognition award, which will be on permanent display at Central Pool. Coach said he will be focusing on recruitment and retention this summer. Gators who recruit a new team member who swims for a month can swim free that month! See Coach for more information.

SPRING/SUMMER MEET SIGNUP SHEET - All Gator swimmers must return a Spring/Summer Meet Sign-up Form to Coach Steve as soon as possible. Parents please sign and return one form for each swimmer in your family.

KIWANIS PARK CLEAN-UP DAY - 9 a.m. Saturday, April 24. Gators are helping to support the Cape Girardeau Kiwanis Club, sponsor of our Great Times Meet, by assisting with their Friends of the Park Day at Kiwanis Park (Rotary Drive off of Perryville Road and Lexington Avenue), cleaning up trash, planting flowers, etc. Participants will receive a free T-shirt, and Coach Steve offers participants early release from Saturday morning practice.

POOL PARTY FOR JOANIE - Some parents have arranged a private pool party in celebration of Coach Joanie's upcoming nuptials and all Gators are invited. It's from 5:30-7:00 p.m. this Saturday, April 17, at the bubble. We'll have the pool to ourselves for fun, frolic and water polo, and of course to honor Coach Joanie with our best wishes. Y'all come!

JUNIOR OLYMPICS HOTEL INFO - Karl Larson has reserved a total of 10 two-bed, non-smoking rooms at the Quality Inn and Suites in Des Moines,Iowa, for Junior Olympics at a price of $74 per room per night. The rooms are booked for August 1-7, but arrival and departure dates can be adjusted by each family or person who books a room(s). To reserve one or more of these rooms, Contact Karl personally via email or phone and he will give you the confirmation number. Contact Karl at k_larson@semo.net or call 573.339.7853 and leave a message. Booking of rooms must be done by June 30, when any reservations not claimed will be released.

GATORS WIN! - Gator Swim Team was runaway winner of the 2004 Small Club Championship meet April 2-4, 2004, at University City, with total Gator team points tallying more than every other team combined! Results

AWARDS BANQUET APRIL 16 - Mark your calendars! We have scheduled a Gator awards banquet/parents meeting for Friday, April 16, at Grace Bible Church at 5:30 p.m. This will be a potluck dinner. We will post a sign-up sheet or a list of things to bring on the bulletin board soon. Directions to the church: Go towards Jackson on Kingshighway/ Hwy 61. After passing under I-55(exit 99) turn left on Wedekind Rd. At the stop sign go left on Old Cape Rd E. Pass the auction barn and Garden Hill Nursery. Grace Bible Church will be on the right across from Klaus Park. If pictures are helpful go to Mapquest.

REVISED LINEUP for Small Club Championship

THIS JUST IN! Coach Steve has released Division One Championship results and the lineup for Small Club Championship meet coming up April 3-4. Please let him know before Tuesday afternoon, March 23, if you are entered in the meet and aren't planning to go, or if you are not in the meet and want to go! Also, Coach has announced the USA Swimming summer meets and the Southeast Missouri Swim Conference has posted its AAU summer schedule. Check our Calendar page for Gator meets.

GREETINGS FROM OLYMPIC MEDALIST CHRIS THOMPSON - This message is from a swimmer Coach Steve used to coach in Oregon. He is currently the American Record holder in the Mile and was the Bronze medalist in the last Olympics in the Mile:

Greetings,
Steve recently contacted me and told me he had a really good group of swimmers going to a championship meet this coming weekend. I just wanted to write and wish you all the best of luck. You have a great coach and my career has been a success because of all that he taught me when I was first coming up in the sport. He knows his stuff and you all will do great with him at the helm. As for the meet, just remember to swim tough, follow you race plan, and have a lot of fun. Don't get too worked up over your competitors and events, just go out there and get the job done. You've done the work, and if you've honestly put your best effort into your training, there is no reason why you shouldn't swim well. Have a great meet and best of luck to all of you. I'm sure I'll meet some of you in the fall if/when we get something set up for me to head down there. Again, all the best to all of you...
Chris Thompson

SEND YOUR LEGISLATORS A POSTCARD - Many of us got yellow cards in the mail about HB920.  I collected some cards over the weekend and would be willing to collect some more and give them to Jason Crowell.  People who live in Jason's district could fill out the card and put it in the Rau folder.  I will collect them next Thursday night (2/19) and send them in. - Dan Rau. Editor's Note: HB920 would allow high school athletes to participate in club teams at the same time. Additional instructions (74k Adobe pdf) are available from Ozark Swimming.

GREAT TIMES MEET Feb. 6-8, 2004 - Complete Results - Gator Results

* * * PARENT MEETING NOTICE * * *
A meeting to discuss the Great Times meet will be held on Tuesday, February 3, at 6:00 pm in the Junior High School auditorium (building next to Central Pool).   PLEASE attend in order to hear important information about the meet. Specific information will be given concerning each area of responsibility. It is imperative that timers especially attend this meeting. The deadline to sign up to work at the meet is Friday January 30. REMINDER - If you don’t sign up by the 30th, you could be assessed $25 per each day of the meet. Your presence is critical to the success of the meet!

UPDATED GREAT TIMES LINEUP - Coach has again updated the Gator lineup for Great Times. Please check your events!

HOTEL INFO for upcoming meets:

• Ozark Challenge Feb. 21-22: Drury Inn & Suites at Creve Coeur, ask for Gator Swim Team rate of $72.99 by Feb. 6. 800-325-0720
• Ozark Championship Feb. 27-29: Holiday Inn by RecPlex (ask for Gator Swim Team rate of $69) call 800-767-3837; Drury Inn 800-325-0720 (ask for Gator rate of $72.99 by Feb. 13)

SIGN-UP SHEETS for the Great Times Meet are now posted on the bulletin board.   Please sign up for the area in which you wish to work for the meet.   Remember that each family is required to provide one person for one session per day of the meet. Meet sign-up info (34k Adobe PDF) is also in your family's file folder.

GATOR IN THE NEWS - Jameson Kuper makes us proud in a Southeast Missourian feature article published Jan. 8, 2004.

AD REMINDER: Psych Sheet ads are due Wednesday Jan. 7th!

FEB. 6-8 GREAT TIMES MEET invitation is now online.

GATOR-WEAR AVAILABLE - The following extra Gator-wear is available for immediate purchase (call Alicia Scott at 335-0580):

• Black long sleeve T-shirt with Gator logo, $12, one XL, two youth medium, one adult large, one adult small available
• Black hooded sweatshirt with Gator logo, $23, one large, one XL available.
• Grey hooded sweatshirt with Gator logo, $18, youth medium, adult small, adult large available
• Flannel shorts, $10, one M, one L, two XL available
• Boys Gator suit size 28, $25
• Green shorts, youth medium, $10
• Short sleeve grey Gator shirts, $7, three adult large, three adult medium, 1 adult small available.

OZARK ALL-STARS - Congratulations to Sam Gramling and Caleb Coots, named Ozark All-Star Team members in the 11-12 boys division for the 2004 Midwest All Star Invitational meet to be held Jan. 16-18 in Lawrence, Kansas.

GATOR BOWLING - Monday 12/22 at West Park Lanes following afternoon/evening practice.

AD SALES ARE BEGINNING for Great Times Meet Psych Sheet - Information and ad forms are being placed in your family's folder inside the Coach Steve's file cabinet. Sign up for the businesses you would like to approach in the book on the wall by the Gator bulletin board. Returning families have until Christmas to mark their businesses from last year. New families should sign up after Christmas. Please return all ads to Julie Wolpers by Jan. 7th. (You can put them in the Wolpers file folder in the file cabinet.)

GATOR-WEAR IS IN - If you ordered Gator-wear, you can pick it up Monday afternoon 12/22 at the pool.

OZARK OPEN - Steffan Troxel was the High Point Winner at the meet in the Open Mens Division, Jameson Kuper was 2nd, David Welker 10th, Kris Metje 20th, Caleb Statler 25th, John Wolpers 34th, John Fisher 35th. Sam Gramling was 4th overall in the 11-12 Boys Division, Caleb Coots was 13th . Katie Luehmann was 46th in the Womens Open and Morgan Fraser was 21st in the 11-12 Girls Division. SWIMMERS OF THE MEET: Kris Metje, Sam Gramling and Morgan Fraser. Congratulations, Gators! Ozark Open Results

NOTE TO PARENTS - Details about upcoming events from Team President Alicia Scott.

PARENT MEETING SUMMARY - Look for sign-up sheets for the Dec. 19-20 lock-in. Parents are needed to chaperone, drive to the movie, cook breakfast. Great Times meet sign-up sheets and Psych Sheet ad forms will be available soon. Alicia Scott will be placing another order for Gator-wear sweatshirts, flannels, etc. Contact her if you want to order.

PARENT MEETING SUMMARY - Highlights coming soon. Look for sign-up sheets for the Dec. 19-20 lock-in. Parents are needed to chaperone, drive to the movie, cook breakfast. Great Times meet sign-up sheets and Psych Sheet ad forms will be available soon. Alicia Scott will be placing another order for Gator-wear sweatshirts, flannels, etc. Contact her if you want to order.

HOW TO GET THERE - Directions to the Dec. 6-7 swim meet are on the Meet Info page.

SWIMMERS OF THE MEET - Congratulations to Alex Ann Troxel and Peyton Waggoner, chosen by Coach Steve as "Swimmers of the Meet" for their performance at the Carbondale/Saluki Swim Meet Nov. 21-23.

GATOR PARENTS will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, at the Cape Junior High School auditorium to discuss the upcoming December lock-in and the Great Times meet. See you there!

HOTEL INFO

• for the Dec. 6-7 meet: Karen Baker has reserved a block of rooms for Gators for Saturday night, Dec. 6, at Pear Tree Inn in Fenton for $54.99. Call 1-800-DRURY-INN by Monday, Dec. 1, to confirm your room.
• for the Dec. 12-14 meet we have rooms at the Drury Inn at St. Peters for $59.99/night. Call to reserve your room before Dec. 5.

OFFICIALS NEEDED - Parents, find out how easy (and fun!) it is to be a stroke and turn judge. A training session is scheduled for December 20 at the Grace Methodist Church at the corner of Broadway and Cauthers starting at 9:00 AM. Several of our stroke/turn judges are planning to become starters/referees so more stroke/turn judges will be needed. Plan now to attend!

FIND YOUR FILE - Coach Steve's official file cabinet is at Central Pool in the hallway right before the entry into the pool. Each team member has a file inside. Parents need to check their file often to sign up for meets and receive information. Inside your file, you'll find meet info sheets for upcoming meets (ie/ the Parkway Pentathlon sheet for Dec. 6-7 is in there now), as well as your event lineup and Carbondale info if you are attending that meet. To sign up for the Dec. 6-7 meet, simply put your swimmer's name(s) at the top of the info sheet, write down any special situations (such as you can only swim one day), sign and date the sheet and put it back into the file cabinet in the MEET ENTRIES folder. Coach will enter only those swimmers whose sheets are in the file. Coach will have an official "meet entry" form later. Coach will also distribute awards via your file folder.

MEET SCHEDULE - Coach has updated the meet schedule for the rest of the short course season (through April 2004). Please mark your calendars!

PADUCAH ENTRIES - If Coach Steve did not hear from you earlier, you are signed up and will be billed meet entry fees for the Paducah Swimfest Jan. 2-4.

PHOTOS are now online from the Parkway B-C Meet courtesy of Madison Rau's grandfather. Thanks to Dan Rau for emailing them in. Gators, please feel free to help us fill our website scrapbook by emailing your digital photo favorites to the webmaster.

NEWS FLASH: Meet Entries for Paducah - Coach must submit entries for an upcoming meet in Paducah (rescheduled for January 2-4, 2004) by THIS Friday morning, Nov. 7. IF he does NOT hear from you before 9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6, he will assume you ARE going to the meet. Contact him ASAP before 9 p.m. on Thursday to let him know if you are not going.

Hotel Info - For the Parkway B-C Meet Nov. 8-9, a block of 10 rooms are being held at the Drury Inn & Suites at Highway 270 and Olive at the rate of $59.99/night. Gator parents should call by this Friday, Oct. 31 to reserve their room for Friday, Nov. 8, and/or Saturday, Nov. 9. Call 800-325-0720 and mention this confirmation number - 82080 - to secure our rate.

For the Saluki meet Nov. 21-23, we have been unable to secure a block of rooms. Please secure your own room for this meet. Here are a few Carbondale hotels to check who may still have some rooms available: Super 8 - 618-457-8822; Motel 6 - 618-457-5566; Best Inn - 618-529-4801.

Meet photos online - Thanks to Gator parent Tim Gramling, who has provided our first set of meet photos from Nashville for the website.

'New Coach Is One of the Group' - read about Coach Steve Franklin and the Gators in the Southeast Missourian. (originally published October 2003).

Meet entries due - Coach needs to know who is going to go to the PKWY meet on Nov. 8-9 . Only those swimmers who have less then an "A" time are able to attend. Swimmers/parents should let Coach Steve know if they plan on attending this meet by this Friday, Oct. 17. Coach also needs to know by Oct. 17 those who will be attending the Saluki 500 meet on Nov. 21-33.

New Team Swimsuits - We will have swimsuit try-ons Saturday, Monday and Tuesday (Oct. 11, 13, 14) during warm-up stretching. New GATOR team suits and optional warmups will be ordered on Wednesday, Oct. 15. Be sure to order yours! Prices are:

• Girls size 22-30 - $35.50
• Girls size 32 and up - $38.50
• Boys jammers - $22.50
• Mens jammers - $24 (size 32 and up)
• Extra $5.50 for silkscreen Gator logo
• Warmups adult tops $43, adult pants $27
• Warmups youth set - $ 61.50

Oct. 4, Intrasquad Meet, Team Photo, Pizza & Bowling Party - Saturday intrasquad meet at Central Pool starts at 7 a.m. A team photo is scheduled for at 9 a.m. (for the newspaper). We will meet at 11:30 a.m. at Jackson Bowling Lanes for pizza and bowling. Team will provide pizza. (Please let Celia Willett, Janet Statler or Sherrie Troxel know if your family will attend so we can order enough pizza!) Bowling will start around 1 p.m. (possibly sooner if lanes open up) and costs $2.50 per game, including bowling shoes and a drink.

USA Memberships - Team Treasurer Mark Coots needs to know if your swimmer(s) will be renewing their USA Swimming memberships. Contact Mark at practice or by phone at 573-624-2400.

PARENT MEETING And GST Pizza Party - A Parent Meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003, with a pizza party beginning at 7 p.m. on deck at the Cape Central Pool bubble for all swimmers.

FALL PRACTICE RESUMES - Gators say farewell to Coach Jason Cravens, welcome new head coach Steve Franklin
8/18/03

NEW COACH - GST announces the hiring of Steve Franklin as the new Head Coach of the Gator Swim Team. Coach Franklin invites all Gators to begin practice on Thursday August 21. National Prep and Senior Prep athletes should report to Central Pool at 4:00pm. Age Group 1 and Age Group 2 will begin at 6:00pm. All practice schedules are subject to change and will be updated by Coach Franklin. Gators bid farewell to Coach Jason Cravens, head coach since April 2001, who has moved on to pursue opportunities in South Florida. Best wishes, Coach Jason!

Summer 2003 Highlights

TEAM OZARK FINISHES 8TH @ ZONES
Fraser, Troxel post top 8 finishes
8/11/03

The Indianapolis Natatorium played host to over 1700 swimmers this past weekend at the Central Zone Championships. 6 Gators were a part of Ozark Swimming's contingent of 90 swimmers. AAA times were required to be a part of the competition which was one of the fastest age group meets in the country this year. Over 80 meet records were broken over the weekend with Ozark Swimming breaking 4 of them including: 15-18 Men's 200 Free Relay (Langenfeld, Kovacs, Holtkamp, Byars), Liz Smith 13-14 Girls 100 Breast, Denise Letendre 13-14 Girls 200 IM, Cassie Luhrsen 15-18 Women's 1500 Free. Steffan Troxel led the way for the Gators by earning medals in both the 1500 Freestyle (5th) and the 800 Freestyle (6th). He also scored in the 200 Free (12th), 400 Free (10th), and 400 IM (24th). Morgan Fraser medaled in the 10&under girls 50 Breast (7th) with a personal best 42.02. Fraser also scored in the 100 Breast (11th) and the Ozark 200 Free Relay. Jameson Kuper continued his excellent breaststroke swimming with scoring efforts in both the 100 Breast (17th) and 200 Breast (12th). Jennifer Willett and Kati Luehman both scored on Ozark Relays! Ozark Swimming finished 8th out of 15 LSC's in attendance.
2003 Central Zone Championships

GATOR CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON RECAP
6 Gators to Represent Team Ozark at Central Zones
8/3/03

The 2003 summer championship season was a very successful one for the Gator Swim Team.  While the GST competitive season is complete, a few swimmers are still awaiting the opportunity to represent our LSC at the upcoming Central Zone Championships.  Zones is like an All-Star meet for our USA Swimmers and requires AAA times to be a part of the team.  GST will send 6 swimmers to represent Team Ozark and Coach Jason Cravens will be part of the Ozark Coaching Staff as he oversees the 15-18 age group.  Gator representitives are Morgan Fraser, Kati Luehmann, Jennifer Willett, Emily Younghouse, Jameson Kuper, and Steffan Troxel.  Team Ozark leaves St. Louis on Wednesday morning August 6 with competition scheduled for August 7-10.  Follow all the action online at www.centralzones.org

Gator Swim Team kicked off the championship season in Carbondale, IL by co-hosting the Ozark Long Course Championship with the Saluki Swim Club.  26 Gator USA Swimmers joined together to finish 2nd in the combined team standings.  The runner-up finish was the highest finish ever for the team in an Ozark Championship and improved on our 3rd place finish in 2002.  The highlight of the weekend was the final night of swimming where every Gator finalist seemed to be supercharged as the GST held off the challenge of Rockwood Swim Club and claimed the 2nd place trophy.  The individual swim of the meet was posted by David Welker as he dropped 40 seconds in the 1500 Free to qualify for the Central Sectional Championships.  All 26 Gators scored and their amazing team spirit played a valuable role in the successful weekend.

The following week was a busy one for the GST.  The Central Sectional Championships took place from July 23-26 in Oklahoma City, OK.  Four Gators qualified for the regional senior competition which included top talent from all over the Midwest.  Steffan Troxel led the scoring attack for the GST finishing as high as 8th in the 1500 Free.  Jameson Kuper also scored by finishing 12th in the 200 Breast.  Emily Younghouse and David Welker posted lifetime bests during the week and gained valuable experience at the next level as they completed their first Long Course Sectional meet.  Jameson Kuper was named GATR Swimmer of the Meet as he posted multiple lifetime bests all week long.  GST finished 22nd out of 46 teams improving from last year's 24th place finish. 
Gator Results - Central Sectional Championship

Jackson Swim Team hosted the SMSC Championship on Saturday July 26th.  GST hopes were high coming off the impressive victory on July 12th over defending champion Kennett at Central Pool in Cape Girardeau.   63 Gator SMSC swimmers took to the waters in Jackson but came up just short of the championship by finishing runner-up to Kennett for the second year in a row.  Jenny Powell led the way for the Gators finishing in a tie for the High Point trophy in the girls 8&under division.  Gator relays in the 9-10 boys, 11-12 boys, and 13-14 girls set conference records with their first place finishing times.  Kyleigh Troxel, Caleb Coots, Caleb Statler, Ashly Ducharme, Jordan Seabaugh, Alex Anne Troxel, Nicholas Welker, Hunter Givens, and Peyton Waggener posted individual event wins.  Also of note, three Gators who compete for opposing SMSC teams were named high point winners.  Congrats to Morgan Fraser (9-10 girls), Jennifer Willett (11-12 girls), and Kati Luehmann (13-14 girls) for great swim meets.  The SMSC season was very successful as the GST went undefeated in regular season conference meets on the way to fielding our largest team yet at the SMSC Championships!
Gator Results - SMSC Championship

AAU Junior Olympics -  With the team competitions complete, the post-season all star competitions got underway in Detroit Michigan last week.  The AAU Junior Olympics is an all-star competition for our SMSC swimmers.  BB times or top 3 finishes in the JO Qualifier were necessary to qualify for the meet.  GST sent a small contingent of swimmers to the annual competition but they made a big splash representing Team Ozark from July 29-August 1.  Morgan Fraser won three events (50 Breast, 100 Breast, 50 Free) in the 10&under girls division.  Jennifer Willett won the 100 Free in the 11-12 girls division and qualified for Zones in both the 50 and 100 Freestyle events.  Caleb Statler won the 13-14 200 Fly to round out the Gator first place finishes.  Medals were handed out to the top 8 finishers in each event.  Other Gator medalists included:  Anne Wolpers, John Wolpers, John Fisher, Caleb Coots, Ashly Ducharme, and Holden Zacharias. 
2003 AAU Junior Olympic Results

Congrats to all Gators for being a part of our most successful championship season ever!   Stay tuned to this website for details regarding the upcoming 2003-04 short course season.  Enjoy the end of summer break rest up as the GST gets back in the water in early September. 

GATORS FINISH 2ND @ OZARK CHAMPS!
Team Effort Highlights Final Night!
7/20/03

Gator Team Spirit was high on the final night of swimming at the 2003 Ozark Long Course Championships.  Riding a total team effort from the outset, the GST put together a great final session of swimming to post it's highest finish ever in an Ozark Championship.  The eventual Ozark Champions from Parkway were in solid control of the team standings coming into the evening but the battle for second was in the balance.   The Gators took charge early with solid 15&over 400 IM's but the Rockwood Swim Club answered back immediately by dominating the scoring in the 14&under age group.   The two teams swam at a very high level for the rest of the evening with the Gator Swim Team prevailing by a small margin.  Coach Jason had this to say about the team performance, "I was amazed at the wave of excitement that took hold of the team from the first race of the session to the last.  The kids really came together and pushed each other to amazing results.  The evening will be one I remember for the rest of my coaching days and I am so proud of how our kids took advantage of every opportunity to lay it on the line for the team."   Congrats to all Gators who took part this weekend and look for more championship action from the GST this week as the team focuses on Sectionals (July 23-26) and the SMSC Championship (July 26).  Full Ozark Championship Meet Results will be available at www.swimsaluki.com.
Gator Results - Ozark Long Course Championship

 

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