The Compass

Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: Sports

Swimmers go as Physical Education teacher Lisa Watson shouts "go." The bi-annual swim meet was held on Feb. 20 during the student noon lunch hour and there was a surprising huge turnout compared to the previous eight years that the event has been held.

Gainesville State College hosted its bi-annual swim meet competition on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at the GSC swimming pool.

The events were categorized by ages, ranging 18 to 34 for males and females. Among the 11 events were 25, 50, 100 and 200-yard relays varied by breast, back, freestyle and butterfly swimming strokes. The competition also featured a 100-yard Medley relay, which combined all four strokes into one event.

Danielle Furtado, Sarah Beth Mitchell and Tiffany Loggins were the top swimmers in the age 18 to 24 for the women. Brandon Mullican, Blake Lance, Ric Gilstrap, Michael Clark, Daniel Porter and Eric Budrock were the winners for the men.

Increase in popularity of the event, which has been held every fall and spring since 1999, has been evident. Lisa Watson, director of the meet and a GSC Physical Education professor, claimed this spring's meet was the largest held so far.

"This is probably the biggest turnout we've had," Watson said.

"We usually had the majority of participants come out from our swimming classes but it seems word of mouth has spread and has led to a continuous growth of participation every semester."

Freshman Cory Howe, a Business Administration major, competed in the 25 and 50 yard breaststroke relay race.

"I absolutely loved it," Howe said. "I was surprised by the turnout this spring. There had to have been two times as many people here competing compared to last year. It gave me the opportunity to briefly meet and compete with many other students whom also have a love of swimming like I do."

With safety a priority, lifeguards were hired in case of any emergencies.

"The swim meet broke the barrier of my usually regular lifeguard boredom and made my lifeguarding more expedient." said Daniel Williams, a Computer Science major and one of the meet's lifeguards.

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