The wait is over — GPAC is back in the pool! The 2026-2027 short course season got off to an exciting start on August 29 at the UWF Aquatic Center with our annual Team Day and first intrasquad meet of the season.

New Season, New Gear, New Energy!

The pool deck was buzzing as more than 136 new and returning swimmers came together to kick off the year. Swimmers picked up their new team gear, caught up with teammates, welcomed our newest members, and gathered together for the annual team photo. With 136 swimmers taking to the blocks, there was plenty of excitement and plenty of racing. For many of our swimmers, it was the first opportunity of the new season to see where their hard work in practice would take them.

Fast Swimming from the Start!

Our swimmers wasted no time showing what they could do. Each athlete had the opportunity to race every stroke, along with the individual medley, making for a busy and exciting day of competition. The results speak for themselves: GPAC swimmers completed 578 individual swims, with 355 of those swims resulting in best times. That's an impressive 61% best-time rate to open the season! A huge congratulations to everyone who jumped in, raced hard and started the season on a high note.

Outstanding Efforts

The following swimmers achieved 100% lifetime bests:
Theodore Blankschaen, Callie Coleman, Madison Crisco, Laiken Dinger, Laila Elgoweini, Abigail Fischer, Lucas Ganta, River Gaut, Claire Gibowski, Haydee Claire Hamilton, Lia Han, Mia Han, Keagan Harrison, Brayden Heath, Hailey Herron, Rory Herron, Tess Kellner, Grace Laughlin, Benjamin Lawson, Eme Mason, Jace McLaughlin, Judah Newton, Thien Chan Nguyen, Thien My Nguyen, Noah Odom, Arthur Phillips, Nathalia Ramos, Laliyah Roland, Galen Schwartz, Leeya Soileau, Ruby Stewart, Bella Valdez, Conor Valdez, Kyson Varble, Ellie Wernette, Grayson Whitman, Sophia Whiteman, and Oliver Winkler. (40)

The first meet also brought some exciting milestones as swimmers reached new motivational time standards. These achievements are a great indication of the progress our swimmers are making and the goals they are working toward.
Congratulations to the swimmers who earned new motivational time standards:

B- Evan Beattie, Bliss Biedebach, Max DeVasConCellos, AJ Gillespie, Callie Harris, Keagan Harrison, Brayden Heath, Tootsie Phillips, Henry Ramos, Lane Robinson, Maliyah Roland, Clark Thompson, Bella Valdez, Oliver Winkler (14)

BB- Theodore Blankschaen, Skylar Chiasson, Jacob Fischer, Hailey Herron, Addyson LaRue, Nicholas Lypko, Thien My Nguyen, Brady Nguyen, Vale Purdy, Galen Schwartz, Conor Valdez, Noah Odom. (12)

A- Joshua Guello, Arthur Phillips, Justin Washburn (3)

AA- Addison Adams (1)

AAA- Ethan Anderson (1)
    There was no better way to begin the 2026-2027 season than with a day filled with team spirit, new faces, personal bests and plenty of excitement. We are thrilled to have our returning swimmers back on deck and excited to welcome so many new members to the GPAC family. We also want to give a big thank you to our officials, timers and meet operators-in-training. Your time and support helped make our first meet of the season run smoothly and gave our swimmers the opportunity to race, compete and have fun. One meet down, and a whole season ahead! If this first meet is any indication, GPAC is in for an exciting 2026-2027 season. We can't wait to see what this team accomplishes next!