Gator All-Stars!!

The Gators have earned the opportunity to complete in 12 events this coming Saturday, August 6th, at Individual All-Stars.  MVP will be sending eight Gators to Little Rocky Run, including two alternates.  Due to scratches, both alternates will be swimming in their respective events! (see notes below)

Two Gators are both #1 and #2 in their two all-star races: Emily Makin is a #1 seed in event 26 and a #2 seed in event 44, and Cassidy Bayer is a #1 seed in event 40 and a #2 seed in event 48!  

Here are the Gator all-stars:

Event 3 - boys 9-10 50 free - Donovan Kovalsky (seed 5)
Event 8 - girls 13-14 50 free - Sheridan Phalen (seed 16) and Juliana Skopp-Cardillo (alternate) -- UPDATE: a swimmer has scratched and Juliana will be swimming in event 8
Event 9 - boys 15-18 50 free - Kevin Adams-Mardi (seed 11)
Event 26 - girls 11-12 50 breaststroke - Emily Makin (seed 1)
Event 29 - boys 15-18 50 breaststroke - Kevin Adams-Mardi (seed 15)
Event 32 - girls 8&under 25 fly - Ginny Grubbs (seed 17)
Event 33 - boys 9-10 fly - Donovan Kovalsky (seed 10)
Event 40 - girls 15-18 50 fly - Cassidy Bayer (seed 1)
Event 44 - girls 11-12 100 IM - Emily Makin (seed 2)
Event 45 - boys 13-14 100 IM - Brian McNamara (alternate) -- UPDATE: a swimmer has scratched and Brian will be swimming in event 45
Event 48 - girls 15-18 100 IM - Cassidy Bayer (seed 2)

Good luck on Saturday to our all-star Gators!

Gators Storm Donaldson Run at Divisionals Before Storms

Divisional Individual Championships fall on one of the great days of the Gator swim team’s season – the Saturday of the end of season banquet.

Amelia Adams has time to smile for a photo before her race

These two weren't feeling any pressure

Many Gator swimmers awoke early on Saturday morning and headed to Donaldson Run to compete for individual greatness at Division 2 Individual Championships.  The day was brewing with storms but nothing could dampen the spirits of the mighty Gators.  And great swims always seem so much sweeter knowing that teammates, coaches, and families will be celebrating the season later on that evening at Mount Vernon Park at the annual End of Season Swim Team Banquet.

Peace, love, and Gators

TJ Heck going all in for IM

Anna "Bolger" Fracasso

Three team records were broken at Donaldson Run.  In event 3, boys 9-10 50 free, Donovan Kovalsky beat his record once again with a new record time of 31.97.  Emily Makin beat the record, set in 2012 of 36.61, for the girls 11-12 50 breaststroke with a new record time of 36.28 in event 26.  In the final event of the day – girls 15-18 100 IM – Cassidy Bayer beat her record from 2015 of 1:03.83, with a new record of 1:03.02.

Let’s hear it for some great individual swims, including these first, second and third place finishers!

First place:

Donovan Kovalsky (free)

Emily Makin (breaststroke and IM)

Taylor Makin (breaststroke)

Kevin Adams-Mardi (breaststroke)

Caroline Miller (fly)

Brian McNamara (fly)

Cassidy Bayer (fly)

Second place:

Kevin Adams-Mardi (free)

Donovan Kovalsky (fly)

Brian McNamara (IM)

Cassidy Bayer (IM)

Third place:

Sheridan Phalen (free)

Parker Fulghum (back)

Lily Penn (breaststroke)

Gavin Moore (fly)

Ginny Grubbs (fly)

Terrific team reps enjoying a light moment

Young Gators Rock the Swamp

By Special Correspondent David Ruppe

MVP Gators wrapped up another fun and exciting season of team swimming at their annual "Romp in the Swamp" internal meet on Monday with some really exciting swimming from young Gators and the usual good fun.

The Romp was open to swimmers not qualifying for the Saturday "individual divisionals" meet and was the last chance for those Gators to set new personal bests and accomplish personal goals for the season. Older Gators not swimming ran the meet, serving as timers, judges, announcers, etc .

Young Gators Rising

Many Gators cut big chunks of time at the meet. In the Girls 8&U 25 Free, Katherine Watters beat her best time by 8.81 seconds to post a 37.53, Kate Barber 7.60 (39.68), and Kip Bryant 5.84 (38.77). In the Boys 9-10 50 Free, Henry O'Shea cut 5.16 (48.46) and Daniel Williams 5.46 (55.78).  In the Boys 8&U 25 Back: Anthony Campbell 7 (42.47) and Ian Hixon 12.64 (45.20). In the Girls 9-10 50 Breaststroke, Natalie Ruppe 5.64 (103.35). And in the Boys 9-10 Fly, Charlie Bruce 10.91 (28.53).

Additionally, a number of young swimmers climbed up near the top of their ladder rankings with personal bests. In the Girls 8&U 25 Fly, five year-old Natalie Crowther improved 7.75 seconds to 30.96, ranking near the second-place, seven year-old on the ladder. In the Boys 8&U 25 Fly, seven year-old Sam Bruce,10.00 (23.54), climbed the ladder near the top eight year-olds. In the Girls 9-10 25 Fly, Cassidy Crowther (9), cut 7.11 seconds (22.16), climbing just behind the top 9 year-old Samantha Cowen.

In the Girls 8&U 25 Breaststroke, Josie Cowen 6.77 (33.60), jumped into the top five for her age group and became the top 7 year-old.  Boys 8&U 25 Breaststroke swimmer Riley Drewry, 4.59 (37.28), climbed to among the top swimmers younger than 8.

Leslie Hannah (Girls 11-12 50 Fly) and Corinne Cardman drew the loudest cheers of the meet for their determined, gutsy swims! 

The meet ended with some fun relays of mixed teams, including a team composed entirely of Fore family swimmers!

Photos Posted - Divisionals

Dave Anderson’s photos continue to inspire.  Check out his amazing photos from Divisionals here: Photos Link

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOEXPKYHjbBySmCVtjlAcfSAXKxwLkOKENxx1VwWHF-5KoBdSUE-AA8yzBijv1-Ng?key=X3V6eXFpbDFCVDlwNGluV3dMY2NnQUJpVUJaaVpR

Photos Posted - Romp in the Swamp

Romp in the Swamp photos are here, click here to revisit this great meet: Photos Link

https://photos.google.com/share/https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOQXApdO4k-H-yktNJ4RYdahByh8VDztHEb8oZTGCGw4ZrteFPuVo3Nn0Mf4tVq1A?key=TXpfX2F2NzVPVmlRUFNDYmNTU2ZLME1uTEJwMmxR

Coach Paul's Car Suffers Again!

Gators pull off the annual prank on Coach Paul!  Good luck driving that car home...

How can you NOT love these Gators?!

Mission accomplished!

Best coach in the world!

Fabulous Teens Out on the Town at the Third Annual Progressive Dinner

Gator teens were out in force on Thursday night for the 3rd annual "End of Season Progressive Dinner", and looking really great I might add!

The night started with appetizers at the Greszler's, followed by main dishes at the Bayer's, and wrapped up with dessert at the Jones's.  Looking at the sign-up sheet for food contributed by Gator families, I have to say that the chicken and rice bowl I had last night just couldn't measure up to the many amazing food choices teens enjoyed together! (Thank you Greszlers, Bayers and Joneses for hosting!!!)

Gator teens had a great night.  Here are some pictures from the evening's festivities!

Big Win at Little Hunting Park - Gators Take 7th Straight IM Invitational!

We are the champions of the world!  And by world I mean we are champions of the "individual medley (IM) in our nook of the NVSL" world.  14 teams competed this year for the coveted IM Invitational trophy and the Gators won it all!  Our combined team score was 73, with our closest competitor being a tie between Hollin Meadows and Highland Park with a score of 52 each.

All smiles

MVP competes for three trophies each year (Division Relay Carnival, Division Title, and IM Invitational) and our success is different every year.  This year the first two eluded us, mainly due to our move to the super competitive 2nd Division.  But we have bragging rights to the IM Invitational for the 7th year in a row.  This is the Gator's 8th IM Invitational victory in the last nine years.

The 14 teams are divided into three divisions: Colonial (where we reside), Minuteman, and Patriot, based on size, so that all teams have an opportunity to win their division.  MVP took the Colonial division with 108 points, with Waynewood (77), Hollin Meadows (75), Riverside Gardens (71), and Mansion House (59) coming in 2nd through 5th.  The Minuteman Division was won by Highland Park and Virginia Hills finished atop the Patriot Division.

Quick tutorial on the awarding of points.  The top eight finishers per division receive points - 10 points for first, eight for second, six for third, and then a one point drop per place -- so eighth place scores one point. Only three swimmers per team can score points (known as the "Waynewood rule" from back in the day when they dominated the IMI.

Sam Bruce's goal lies straight ahead.

End of race handshakes are important to the Gators

MVP didn't really get going until the 5th event - boys 11-12 100 IM - but when the Gator engines ramped up, there was nothing stopping us.  Gator boys took 11 points in that event and the 11-12 Gator girls took 16 points (our most significant event from a point perspective).  

Interesting factoid shared by amazing reporter/blogger, David Ruppe.  David let me in on this cool info - this year Coach Laurel Greszler has coached all five boys that finished at the top of that age bracket - Matthew Morris (NCAP, swims at Waynewood), Brian Buchanan (NCAP, swims at Riverside Gardens), Aidan Petrerich (summer mornings, swims at Hollin Meadows), Kenneth Krogh (one of our Gators), and Charles Bradburn (one of our Gators).  Way to go Coach Laurel!

With Coach Laurel's race in a Phalen cap, the Phalens believe that they now have scored a sweep of Greszlers swimming as a Phalen!!!

Boys 13-14 took 6 points, girls 13-14 grabbed 14 points, boys 15-18 secured 8 points, and girls 15-18 finished with 12 points.

Emily Makin and Cassidy Bayer repeated their 2015 success at IM Invitationals with overall event wins.

Full steam ahead!

Cameron Morey's heading home.

Elaina Phalen making it rain

 Here's how the Gators scored:

8 points were scored by: Sheridan Phalen (14) and Kevin Adams-Mardi (18)
6 points were scored by: Juliette Fore (12) and Taylor Makin (14)
5 points were scored by: Kenneth Krogh (12) and Brian McNamara (14), 
4 points were scored by: Charles Bradburn (12)
3 points were scored by: Ginny Grubbs (8)
2 points were scored by:  Gavin Moore (8), James Piland (11), and Jessie Bricker (18)
1 point was scored by: Tyler Swartz (9) andn TJ Heck (13)

Congratulations to Coach Paul, Coach Laurel, and the entire Gator team for a great performance at this year's event!

Photos Posted - IMI

Take a look at Dave Anderson’s fantastic pictures, taken at the IM Invitational! IMI Photos

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPu9uBhL_I4VfIa5Pb_XbqxYh0ifgUjWmtinm7y8oNSjizZjthuCMqmMEWBx1dIrw?key=akhISWNyWVZ5b0kyMzd1bDdkdm9XNUdzN0pGZmlB

Thoughts on the Tragedy - Remembering Mark Fracasso

Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality.

- Emily Dickinson

Eight years ago Mount Vernon Park, and the community as a whole, lost a wonderful young man, Mark Fracasso.  Mark was 15 years old and very active at MVP – as a Gator swimmer, tennis player, lifeguard, and overall nice guy that loved to be at the Park as much as possible.

Mark with his parents, Mark and Michele Fracasso, and their daughter Ali

Glen Bolger, previous Team Rep and Gator blogger, has run reflections on this tragedy every year since Mark died in an accident and Glen asked me if I would post the special blog one more time in honor of Mark and in support of the Fracasso family during Anna’s last summer swimming for the Gators.  Anna is 18 and was celebrated with fellow Seniors a couple weekends ago.  I told Glen that I would be honored to remember Mark and the Fracasso family in this special way.

Recently I reached out to Mark’s parents, Michele and Mark, to ask if they would be willing to share a picture or two of Mark for all those that knew and loved him, as well as those Gators that never had the chance to meet or spend time with him.  They were very kind to send me two wonderful pictures.  Michele shared with me a few words that provide insight into the type of Gator Mark was.  He was a humble team member, and once asked Sean Bourne (another great MVP swimmer at that time) to swim another leg at Division Relay Carnival, because he knew he was not going to swim as fast as Sean.

We will never forget you Mark.

Eight years ago my two kids were young swimmers and Carrie and I were beginning our Gator journey and just starting to get to know MVP families, and unfortunately we never had the chance to meet Mark.  But I am certain I would have liked him very much.  As I look at his pictures I see the enthusiasm, happiness, and fun spirit of hundreds of Gator kids that have come through the program, thrived, and touched my heart.

I encourage all Gator families to read the blog posted some years ago, remember the Fracasso family, reflect on the amazing community that is Mount Vernon Park, and hug each other a little tighter today.  One of my favorite reflections as my kids get older is that the days go slow, but the years go by fast.  May all of us remember that our days together are precious.

Here is the link to the Reflections: 

http://mvpgators.blogspot.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-tragedy.html

Our hearts and prayers are with the Fracasso family today and always. 

Swimmers of the Week - Parker Fulghum and Tristan Colaizzi

Two Gator swimmers deserve accolades as swimmers of the week for their performances at the last A meet of the season: Parker Fulghum and Tristan Colaizzi.

Parker Fulghum was a double winner, taking first in both the girls 15-18 free and back.  Parker touched the wall in free at 30.28 and the back at 34.82.  She also contributed to the win in the girls 15-18 200 meter medley relay with Sarah Jones, Cassidy Bayer, and Jessie Bricker.  

Parker looks so calm and collected after winning free

Tristan Colaizzi swam personal bests in both the boys 15-18 free and breaststroke.  For free, Tristan was able to drop his time to 27.37.  In breaststroke, Tristan landed in 2nd place with a personal best time of 37.82.  Tristan also swam hard in the 200 meter medley relay with his teammates, though Little Rocky Run took that particular event.  Tristan's relay team holds the MVP record for this relay, set a couple weeks ago.  With the spotlight on Tristan this week, I'd also like to recognize his boundless energy and impressive cheerleading that helps get Gators pumped up for every meet!

Tristan has overflowing energy, in and out of the pool

Congrats Parker and Tristan for a great season!

Little Rocky Run Turns Up Heat and Takes Meet

Stingrays have our number this year.  The Gators had a second match-up against Stingrays this season (the first being against the Hunt Valley Stingrays) and both were losses by pretty significant margins.  The Gators headed to Clifton on Saturday to take on the Little Rocky Run Stingrays and were defeated 235 to 185.  In spite of the loss, the Gators never fail to produce good news stories…so please read on.

Who is this Caped Gator?

Gators were decked out as Avengers on Saturday

The heat wave that has gripped the country over the last week was in full force on Saturday morning and the Gators rolled into Little Rocky Run with tents for spectators to make it a little more comfortable to watch the meet.  This gesture was even tweeted by Brian van de Graaff, local ABC meteorologist.  It was one of those meets where you hear plenty of comments about the obnoxious weather, you stay in the shade as much as possible, and you pound the water and Gatorade like a champion.

Two critical comforts on Saturday - Ice and Shade

Plus cool towels!

Three records were broken on Saturday.  Donovan Kovalsky continues to chip away at his own record each week, with a new record time in the 9-10 freestyle of 32.53, beating last week’s record of 32.86.  Kevin Adams-Mardi (18) broke his 2015 record for 15-18 backstroke with a new record time of 29.42.  His previous record was 29.94.  In relays, we have one record to celebrate.  13-14 girls broke the 100 meter medley relay record, set earlier this year, with a time of 1:01.81.  Olivia Blondin, Taylor Makin, Gabrielle Greszler, and Sheridan Phalen were in their medley groove and dropped .28 seconds off of the previous record of 1:02.09.

One of my favorite sights is seeing all those green caps charging to the wall in first, second, and third place order.  We had four sweeps on Saturday.  Starting in breaststroke, boys 9-10 gators finished with Jack Dupuis in first, Alexander North in second, and Tyler Swartz in third.  Next, Cassidy Bayer, Sarah Jones, and Elaina Phalen brought home a sweep in girls 15-18 breaststroke in that order.  We had two sweeps in butterfly – boys 9-10 took all 9 points finishing with Donovan Kovalsky in first, Tyler Swartz in second, and Matthew Makin in third.  15-18 Gator girls showed dominance again with Cassidy Bayer finishing first, Elaina Phalen in second, and Jessie Bricker in third.

Cassidy in motion.

Another amazing photo courtesy of Dave Anderson!

The races of the week go to Sheridan Phalen and Kevin Adams-Mardi.  In event 8, girls 13-14 freestyle, Sheridan touched the wall just .32 seconds ahead of her Stingray opponent to take first with a time of 28.71.  Kevin had a close one when he set the new boys 15-18 backstroke, coming in first just .55 seconds faster than his Stingray opponent with his record time of 29.42.

Individual Gator winners included Donovan Kovalsky (free and fly), Emily Makin (free and breaststroke), Sheridan Phalen (free), Parker Fulghum (free and back), Brian McNamara (back and fly), Kevin Adams-Mardi (back), Jack Dupuis (breaststroke), and Cassidy Bayer (breaststroke and fly)

Second place points were earned by Katya Zaitsev (free), Clark Bayer (free), Kevin Adams-Mardi (free), Jessie Bricker (free), George Schulte (back), Taylor Makin (back and breaststroke), Anna Fracasso (back), Shaun Nagda (breaststroke), Alexander North (breaststroke), Caroline Baker (breaststroke), Charlie Ruppe (breaststroke), Nick Dupuis (breaststroke), Tristan Colaizzi (breaststroke), Sarah Jones (breaststroke), Ginny Grubbs (fly), Tyler Swartz (fly), Caroline Miller (fly), Juliette Fore (fly), Andrew Baker (fly), Gabrielle Greszler (fly), and Elaina Phalen (fly)

Third place points were taken by Jack Dupuis (free), Nick Dupuis (free), Juliana Skopp-Cardillo (free), Gavin Moore (back and fly), Matthew Makin (back and fly), Lily Palmerino (back and fly), Kenneth Krogh (back and fly), Juliette Fore (back), Clark Bayer (back), Olivia Blondin (back), Gus Leyden (back), Tyler Swartz (breaststroke), TJ Heck (breaststroke), Lily Penn (breaststroke), Elaina Phalen (breaststroke), Sean Kovalsky (fly), Sheridan Phalen (fly), and Jessie Bricker (fly)

James Piland catching some air in relays.

Photos Posted - A Meet vs. Little Rocky Run

Get your fabulous A meet photos here! Little Rocky Run

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO__VCF-gNmuglqucK8sw134yV4ygqvobKs8sVj-_NucY0pjPcC_KP2rPbIjVY05w?key=bnVkM3dqTzI0dkY0YmtyTXlocXNnQ3lnQklieWdB

Gators are Everywhere!

Carrie and I had to leave Gator nation to come to Charleston, SC this weekend to attend a memorial service for a dear family member.  But gators are with us, literally.

Here's our Gator enjoying the view of a swamp

And....when I went for a walk this morning I came across this:

Gators are everywhere!  Go MVP!

Land Grabs and Record Captures at All-Star Relays

Team Reps wear many hats and on All-Star Relay Carnival day, one of the strangest hats of the season comes out – the “all-star relay carnival land grab” hat.  At the crack of dawn on Wednesday morning Team Rep Tonda Phalen hopped in a truck with Jamey Piland, David Ruppe, and the Gator tents and headed west to Fairfax.  They arrived just before 7AM at Greenbriar swim club, site of the 2016 All-Star Relay Carnival for an annual ritual that would seem bizarre to any alien life forms in outer space.  When the clock strikes precisely 7:00AM (not a minute earlier), the police tape drops at Greenbriar and the pool grounds open up for a race to claim real estate for your club’s relay teams.  Tonda shared with me that folks literally run as fast as they can to the best open space available, and setup tents within minutes for the evening’s festivities.  This year the Gators obtained one of the most coveted spaces at Greenbriar – right next to Clerk of Course!   And that set the stage for what would be a great evening for MVP.

Our fearless leader

 Since I brought up Clerk of Course, a quick shout-out to Kelli Makin who was our one MVP volunteer at the meet, running Clerk of Course.  Many thanks Kelli!

Rewind to a week ago and you will recall that the Gators had a big night at Division Relay Carnival at Hamlet and qualified a record 13 Gator relay teams to participate in this year’s All-Star Relay Carnival.  Those 13 teams came prepared to swim with everything they had and 5 (yes FIVE!) team records were broken at Greenbriar this year (more on that later).

67 teams competed for points at All-Stars, ranging from 44 points for a 1^st place win to 2 points for 18^th place, and the Gators finished a very impressive 12^th overall with 176 points. MVP finished ahead of two Division 2 teams – Hunter Mill (27^th place) and Donaldson Run (34^th place).  The rest of our strong division looked like this: Hamlet (6^th place), Hunt Valley (7^th place), and Little Rocky Run (10^th place).  If you are like me, you are interested to see how some of our neighbors did: well wonder no longer - Waynewood came in 23^rd with 122 points.  Riverside Gardens came in 35^th place with 76 points, Hollin Meadows in 36^th place with 72 points, and Mansion House in 38^th place with 64 points.

And their off!

So how did we swim based on how we were expected to swim?  Carrie and I had a little time on our hands on our 8 hour drive to Charleston, SC today and we analyzed the data in a variety of ways (you can only talk about your kids, job, and life for so long) and I’ve decided not to put you to sleep with the specifics.  Instead, I will just tell you that we finished almost exactly where we should have finished overall.  One example of this analysis was adding up all our seed placements and comparing to how we finished for all the relays.  The two numbers were exactly the same at 147.  

Such a cool shot.

Let’s talk about some amazing performances.  Gator girls broke three gator relay records and the boys broke two.  Here are the details:

The girls 13-14 200 meter free relay team of Juliana Skopp-Cardillo, Gabrielle Greszler, Taylor Makin, and Sheridan Phalen broke a six year old record of 1:58.32 with a record time of 1:57.83.

The girls 15-18 200 meter medley relay team of Anna Fracasso, Parker Fulghum, Sarah Jones, and Cassidy Bayer broke a three year old record of 2:09.18 with a record time of 2:08.62.  And that age group wasn’t done.  Anna, Parker, and Cassidy teamed up with Zoe Greszler to break the record for the 15-18 200 meter free relay of 1:56.37, set the previous week at Division Relay Carnival, with a time of 1:55.47.

The boys 13-14 200 meter free relay team of Nick Dupuis, Brian McNamara, Andrew Baker, and Clark Bayer broke a 25 year old record of 1:52.74, with a new record time of 1:52.29.

Getting in the zone.

I got time for one more dance move before I race.

The boys 18 & under 200 meter free relay team of Kenneth Krogh, Donovan Kovalsky, Clark Bayer, and Kevin Adams-Mardi broke the record they had set the week prior of 1:57.42 with a new record time of 1:55.44.  At just under 2 seconds, that was the most significant drop in record time of the night.

All the Gators that swam on Wednesday did really well and made Gator nation proud.  Besides the records, five additional relay teams dropped time from their seed time: girls mixed age 200 free relay (Emily Makin, Katya Zaitsev, Sheridan Phalen, and Cassidy Bayer), boys 9-10 100 meter medley relay (Matthew Makin, Jack Dupuis, Tyler Swartz, and Donovan Kovalsky), girls 11-12 meter medley relay (Juliette Fore, Emily Makin, Isabella VanDamme, and Grace McGee), boys 9-10 100 meter free relay (Jack Dupuis, Tyler Swartz, Alexander North, and Donovan Kovalsky), girls 11-12 meter free relay (Juliette Fore, Emily Makin, Isabella VanDamme, and Grace McGee).

Swimmers Take Your Mark, Wait and Boogie at the B Meet at Riverside Gardens!

By Special Correspondent David Ruppe

A whole lot happened at the Gators' final B-meet of the season, at Riverside Gardens -- just not a lot of swimming. 

The meet was cancelled for thunder after nearly two hours of freestyle, backstroke, and extended dance jams between swims. With warm-ups cancelled before the meet due to a heavy shower, some swimmers never dipped a toe in the pool. 

Gator boys waiting for a race that will never come...

Some swimmers (and spectators) at our neighborhood's reputed "party pool" did appear bored waiting for swims. 

Still, it was a amusing time, if you were watching closely or had a high quality camera lens. For instance, we saw two new dive styles in just one race, the Sprinter and the Frog:

And check out this pic:

Giving credit where it's due, the "DJ" announcing the meet was spinning some catchy tunes that got our Gators grooving, from the Chicken Dance to Cotton Eye Joe, to the Cupid Shuffle. Hatchlings pulled out all kinds of moves.

Gators who weren't dancing found other ways to amuse themselves. 

Olivias Blondin and Heck were having a foot battle.

And did you catch the kids playing a (fortunately) G-rated version of "spin the bottle?"

Some exciting things did also happen in the water. Young Tyler Swartz (9) continued to push his body to new limits, swimming his 50 free race on just two breaths. His goal is a no-breath 50 race, according to dad Matt.  

We saw him last year swim a 25 fly on no breath and pop up smiling.

After all the fun and dancing, Gators did make some significant improvements to their personal bests. Ian Hixson cut 6.33 to post 47.19 in the boys 8&U 25 free.  In the girls 8&U 25 free, Evelyn Milito cut 15.08 (42.43), Kaitlyn Herrmann 6.01 (40.89) and Alexandra Holden 9.66 (48.90). In the girls 9-10 50 free: Catie Hicks cut 5.58 (50.69) .

Smaller, yet notable cuts included Marina Soderlund improvement of 1.73 seconds (23.44) to leap into second on the girls 8&U 25 free ladder and Sam Bruce's cut of 4 seconds (31.02) to jump several places into second on the boys 8&U 25 back ladder. 

This guy put an end to the racing:

But not before Gator cameras caught a few more cool moments brought to you by Gators Lily Palmerino, Andrew Baker, and Emma Bruhl.