By Kacie Flowers

Special to The Post-Searchlight

The YMCA’s Bainbridge Barracuda Swim Team recently competed in the Wiregrass Peanut Invitational in Dothan, AL on November 4-5, 2017. The Barracudas were represented by six swimmers: Conner Jarrett, Gabriella (Gabby) Hathcoat, Paige Overman, Carissa White, Thad Whitaker, and William (Griffin) Perkins.

Conner Jarrett, swam the 100-yard Individual Medley, 50-yard Freestyle, 100-yard Backstroke, and the 50-yard Breaststroke. Notably, Conner was only 1 second shy of breaking the record for the 50-yard Breaststroke. He swam extremely hard and showed outstanding improvement at the meet.

Gabriella (Gabby) Hathcoat, swam the 100-yard Individual Medley, 50-yard Freestyle, 100-yard Backstroke and 50-yard Breaststroke. Gabby continues to improve her times and her future is looking bright.

A veteran of the team, Paige Overman, swam the 200-yard Individual Medley, 100-yard Backstroke, 500-yard Freestyle, 200-yard Freestyle, 100-yard Backstroke and finished with the 100-yard Freestyle. Paige continues to be a great leader for our younger swimmers and her hard work and drive is an asset to the team.

A promising young athlete, Carissa White, swam the 50-yard Freestyle, 50-yard Breaststroke, 100-yard Butterfly, 200-yard Freestyle, 100-yard and 200-yard Breaststroke, 100-yard Freestyle, and 400-yard Individual Medley. Carissa swam an impressive total of 1100 yards at the meet and broke her own Barracuda record in the 200-yard Breaststroke with a time of 3:31.79.

Another veteran of the Barracudas, Thad Whitaker, swam impressive yardage at the meet with a total of 1,750 yards in the pool. Thad competed in the 200-yard Individual Medley, 50-yard Freestyle, 200-yard Backstroke, 100-yard Breaststroke, 500-yard and 200-yard Freestyle, 100-yard Backstroke, 200-yard Breaststroke, 100-yard Butterfly and finished up the meet with the 100-yard Freestyle. Thad is our oldest male swimmer and has proven to be a force of nature as he continues to make waves in the pool.

Finally, new swimmer Griffin Perkins has entered the sport with enthusiasm and dedication since joining the team.  Griffin turned in times for the 200-yard Freestyle, 100-yard Backstroke, and 100-yard Freestyle in the Peanut Invitational. Having broken one swim record in his early career, he is eager to improve and shows outstanding promise.

All of the Barracudas swam fast and hard at this highly competitive USA Swimming event. Their times continue to improve and the team continues to grow as a result of hard work and dedication from the swimmers, parents, and YMCA staff.