GTSA Stands Tall at FLAG's

              This past weekend 1,000 of the state’s best 14&under swimmers met in Sarasota to compete in The Florida Age Group Championships (FLAG’s).  GTSA was one of over 60 teams that were represented at the 4 day meet.  We had a team of 8 swimmers, 6 of which competed in individual events.  Amazingly, 4 of those 6 swimmers scored points in an individual event (Gabby Donahue, Jayson Reddick, Morgan Tankersley, & Belle Whitfield).  The 3 ladies combined for 7 top 3 finishes in the state (Belle-1, Gabby-2, & Morgan-4)!  Those finishes earned each of them spots on Florida Swimming’s All Star Team.  That team will compete in a meet at Indian River State College in April. 

                The total team effort earned GTSA 139 points on the weekend, which was good enough for a 28^th place finish.  The team also had plenty of best times.  On the weekend GTSA went personal bests about 75% of the time, including 100% best times from William Aneiros.  Although the entire weekend was a complete success it ended with a real bang.  Morgan Tankersley finished the 200 Backstroke in a time of 1:59.84.  That time qualified her for USA Swimming Winter Junior Nationals, and is the 4^th fastest swim in state history for a 14 year old girl.  Make sure to congratulate Morgan and the rest of your GTSA swimmers that represented our team so well at FLAG’s.  GTSA returns to action at Area 3/5s in two weeks!