The swim team competed against Clinton High School on Thursday night.  Top 3 finishers were:

 Upper School:

Briley Bube – 2^nd in 50yd Freestyle, 2^nd in 100yd Backstroke

Ria Eda – 1^st in 100yd Breaststroke, 2^nd in 200yd IM

Senior Olivia Farmer – 1^st in 200yd IM AND 100yd Butterfly

Junior Emily Morgan – 2^nd in 200yd Freestyle, 2^nd in 100 Butterfly

These 4 girls finished 1^st in the 200yd Medley Relay and 2^nd in the 200yd Freestyle Relay.

 Middle School:

Ella Greene – 3^rd in 100yd IM, 3^rd in 50yd Backstroke

Wyatt Noe – 3^rd in 100yd IM, 3^rd in 50yd Butterfly

Noah Taylor – 3^rd in 50yd Backstroke

Colin Willis – 2^nd in 50yd Backstroke

Winston Woodard – 2^nd in 100yd IM, 2^nd in 50yd Freestyle

Noah Taylor, Wyatt Noe, Winston Woodard & Colin Willis placed 2^nd in 200yd Medley Relay

The swim team will be back in action on Saturday, December 14 in the Ray Bussard Invitational at UT's Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

The swim team was back in action this weekend at the Student Aquatic Center on the University of Tennessee campus.   Top 3 finishers in the meet are as follows:

Upper School:

Briley Bube (9) – 2^nd in 100yd Butterfly AND 100yd Breaststroke

Olivia Farmer (12) – 3^rd in 100yd Freestyle

Emily Morgan (11) – 2^nd in 200yd Individual Medley

Caitlyn Perkey (9) – 1^st in 200yd Freestyle and 2^nd in 100yd Backstroke

The 200yd Medley Relay of Emily Morgan, Briley Bube, Caitlyn Perkey & Olivia Farmer finished 2^nd.

The 200yd Freestyle Relay of Briley Bube, Ria Eda, Olivia Farmer & Caitlyn Perkey finished 2^nd.

Middle School:

Alex Sponcia (8) – 1^st in 1M Diving

Noah Taylor (7) – 3^rd in 50yd Freestyle

Wyatt Noe (7) – 1^st in 50yd Butterfly, 2^nd in 50yd Backstroke, & 3^rd in 100yd Freestyle

Colin Willis (8) – 3^rd in 50yd Backstroke

The middle school and upper school swim teams were back in the water on Sunday evening against Berean Christian and CAK.  Top 3 finishers at each level were as follows:

Upper School:

Briley Bube – 2^nd in 200yd Individual Medley & 3^rd in 100yd Freestyle

Ria Eda – 3^rd in 100yd Backstroke

Olivia Farmer – 3^rd in 100yd Butterfly & 3^rd in 500yd Freestyle

Caitlyn Perkey – 1^st in 500yd Freestyle & 2^nd in  50yd Freestyle

200yd Medley Relay team of Olivia Farmer, Briley Bube, Caitlyn Perkey & Emily Morgan finished 3^rd

400yd Free Relay team of Emily Morgan, Ria Eda, Briley Bube & Caitlyn Perkey finished 2^nd

Middle School:

Wyatt Noe – 3^rd in 50yd Freestyle & 3^rd in 50yd Butterfly

Alex Sponcia - 1st in 1M diving

Noah Taylor – 2^nd in 50yd Freestyle

200yd Medley Relay team of Noah Taylor, Wyatt Noe, Winston Woodard & Colin Willis finished 2^nd

200yd Free Relay team of Colin Willis, Wyatt Noe, Noah Taylor & Winston Woodard finished 2^nd

The middle school and upper school swim teams traveled to the Claire Donahue Aquatics Center in Lenoir City over the weekend. Lenoir City and Knox Central topped the Rams in both divisions.  Those who swam their way to a top 3 finish were:

Upper School:

Briley Bube (Fr) – 3^rd in 200yd Freestyle, 2^nd in 50yd Freestyle AND 100yd Breaststroke

Olivia Farmer (Sr) – 3^rd in 100yd Backstroke

Caitlyn Perkey (Fr) – 1^st in 200yd Individual Medley, 100yd Butterfly AND 100yd Freestyle

Middle School:

Ella Greene (6^th) – 3^rd in 50yd Freestyle AND 50yd Butterfly

Wyatt Noe (7^th) – 2^nd in 50yd Butterfly, 3^rd in 50yd Breaststroke

Colin Willis (8^th) – 3^rd in 50yd Butterfly

Winston Woodard (7^th) – 1^st in 50yd Freestyle

Noah Taylor (7^th), Ethan Noe (7^th), Colin Willis (8^th) & Winston Woodard (7^th) finished 2^nd in the 200yd Free Relay

GCA 7th-grader, Alex Sponcia, is making school history as he has become the first GCA swimmer to take part in competitive diving.  Alex, who began swimming lessons as a preschooler, has been an integral part of summer swim teams and the GCA swim team.

With his natural ability, athleticism, and courage, diving was an appealing option for Alex.  "I have always enjoyed the water and doing flips. Combine those two things with the thrill of jumping off of the high platforms, diving seemed like a good idea. Plus, my mom says I am fearless."

Alex began diving during the 2018-19 school year and has already made significant strides in his mastery of a variety of dives.  He reflected, "The most difficult dive I have encountered to date is the Front 2 1/2. It is difficult because it is hard to make the complete rotation which causes me to land incorrectly in the water which usually means a little pain."

Despite the occasional pain and ongoing challenge to increase in difficulty levels of new dives, Alex is undeterred.  When asked about his future goals, Alex had a ready response.  "My future goals are to be able to perform high difficulty level dives off of the 10m platform and make it to Nationals."

Alex, we're so very proud of you and can't wait to watch as you continue to progress in this sport!