GREATER PENSACOLA AQUATIC CLUB

More than 115 new and returning GPAC swimmers met Saturday at UWF’s aquatic center to begin the 2013-2014 season. The team hosted an all-ages team time trial to give new swimmers experience in a competition setting, and veteran swimmers a chance to post some early season best times. To begin the morning, swimmers arrived to receive their team t-shirts and caps, as well as their new team water bottles.  After the gear was issued, the swimmers gathered to take the annual team photo. It was great to see so many...

GPAC’s Brooke Ferrara, in her third consecutive appearance on the Southeastern Swimming Zone Team, took the medal stand six times, four for relays and twice individually, at the 2013 Southern Zone Age Group Championship held in Greenville, SC July 30-August 3. Ferrara, 15, was the lead-off swimmer for both the 400m freestyle relay and the 200m freestyle relay for Southeastern Swimming that won gold. Her swim in the backstroke leg of the medley relay was just .38 seconds off her best time posted at Southeastern Championships two weeks prior, and...

Brooke Ferrara has been selected to represent Southeastern Swimming at the Southern Zone Championship held in Greenville, SC from July 30th to August 4th.   The Zone Championship Meets feature the top regional swimmers from around the United States divided into the four designated zones: Central, Eastern, Southern, and Western.  Southeastern Swimming Athletes earning a position on this team have achieved the highest level of age group swimming and will experience a highly competitive meet at a world class swimming facility.   The Southeastern All Star team is selected using...

Bringing one of the largest squads in several years, thirty four swimmers traveled to Nashville to represent GPAC at the 2013 Southeastern Swimming Long Course Championships July 18-21. GPAC finished in the top 16 of all teams, led by a tremendous meet by Braden Barkley, with support from several senior-level swimmers, some 11-12 year-old distance swimmers and strong relays. Barkley, 10, cleared nearly 100 points himself with top-eight performances in all seven of his events. Braden swam life-best times in all of his individual events, grabbing the bronze medal in...

In manner similar to the fireworks shows two days earlier, the GPAC swimmers put on a fabulous display of performances over the weekend at the GPAC Season Finale swim meet held at the University of West Florida aquatic center, saving some of the best and brightest for last. GPAC swimmers Braden Barkley, Paige Bridges, and Steffen Mount were the stand-out performers for the team, winning their respective age groups’ high-point award for the meet. Braden, 10, captured his first high-point award this season, winning seven out of his eight individual...

A summer road trip is one of those classic American experiences that almost all young people have in common. Twenty one GPAC solidified their swimming team experience as they loaded a bus, waved goodbye to mom and dad, and arrived in Savannah, Georgia the weekend of June 21-23 to mix business and pleasure on their first GPAC team trip. Departing early Thursday morning, a mix of GPAC’s best 11-and-over swimmers headed out in a charter bus for Savannah. After a long bus ride, a few stops and a Coach Phil-directed...

The last days of the school year coupled with the rising temperatures signals the beginning of summer in Pensacola. And it is the GPAC tradition to welcome the summer with the annual Tom Lalor Invitational. This year’s meet, marking the midpoint of the long course season for the GPAC team, saw vast improvement from just over a month ago for a majority of the swimmers who competed. GPAC hosted over 15 teams and 375 swimmers from across the Southeast, including some terrific teams from Louisiana.  GPAC claimed the team title...

  GPAC’s first home meet of the long course season was a massive success for the 86 GPAC swimmers who attended.  Although some had already experienced long course racing this year with meets in April, many were crushing times from last summer.  Naturally, GPAC claimed the team victory at the meet, but also boasted four high-point winners: Brooke Ferrara, 15, William Henderson, 10, Renee Henderson, 10, and Walker Parra, 11.  GPAC went on to set 40 new SES qualifying times, and 84% overall best times! “This was a great turn...

  Taking advantage of the second long course meet this month, thirty-three GPAC swimmers traveled to Laurel, MS to, once again, claim top honors as a team and drop tremendous time. Posting overall 77% best times, the swimmers combined to drop over 20 minutes in their events! “It was exciting to see the swimmers perform so well,” said Head Coach Philip Kraus.  “We knew the swimmers were dropping a lot of time, and it was fun to watch.” Leading the way for GPAC were the Henderson brothers, James, 12 and...

 Forty GPAC swimmers made quick work of the season-opening Sprint With the BEST meet in Biloxi, rewriting twelve meet records, posting several new Southeastern cuts and taking the team title. “This meet has proven to be a great way to reacquaint the swimmers with long course racing,” said Head Coach Phil Kraus.  “It’s fun for the swimmers to set meet records and walk away with a team victory to which they all contributed.” Seven GPAC swimmers of all ages combined to set twelve new meet records.  Coulson Barfield, 13, edged...