VALDOSTA — Stone Creek’s swim team remains Class A’s best.
Stone Creek’s swim team, the Coral Reefs, won their second straight GRPA District 3 championship last Saturday in Tifton.
The Coral Reefs won the Class A district title despite having fewer swimmers than the second-place Columbus Hurricanes. The Valdosta YMCA team was third, followed by the Columbus Tiger Sharks.
“I’m excited,” Coral Reefs head coach Laura Carter said. “This is our second year in a row winning the district. I am so proud of all of these kids.”
The Coral Reefs have been around less than two years, but have already won several meets, two district championships and have over 40 swimmers participating regularly.
Most of the swimmers who competed for the Coral Reefs at district qualified for the state meet in Augusta later this month. Shannon Eby, Brandy Eby, Sullivan Pollard, Chaker Fares, Nadine Fares, Courtney Prichard, Kaleb Prichard, and Halsey Prichard will swim for the Coral Reefs at state.
“I’m proud of all of the swimmers that qualified for state. We’re looking forward to going to Augusta, and hopefully we’ll do our best,” Carter said.
Carter is thrilled with how far the program has come in such a short time.
“The kids have done very well,” she said. “We’re blessed with some natural talent. It’s a good group of kids. They’re a dedicated group, too. You have to be if you want to get better.
But while the team has done well in meets, the program is not just about winning. The coaches are just as proud of many of the less-experienced swimmers, who have progressed immensely since joining the program.
“Seeing them better their personal times and their technique, and seeing them happy and enjoying swimming is a big deal,” Carter said. “It’s important that they enjoy doing this.
“They’ve learned a lot. We don’t have many kids getting disqualified, and if one does get disqualified, they know why. They know when they messed up. That means as much to me as anything.”
Carter is also praised the help of her two assistant coaches, Ashley Prichard and Shannon Eby.
“I couldn’t do this without them,” Carter said. “Because I also work full-time, I have to rely on Ashley and Shannon to do a lot for me. I’ve got good people helping me. The other coaches, the parents, Stone Creek, they’ve all been a big help.”
Carter, who swam for Colquitt County High School, hopes to one day see swimming added at the local high schools, and at Valdosta State, her alma mater. She has been working to get a club team started at VSU.
The team holds practices on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and on Friday evenings before meets.
While the team is based at Stone Creek, it is not just comprised of residents of that community. Any swimmer from the ages of 6-18 is welcome to compete for the team, and the Coral Reefs have swimmers from all over Lowndes County. For information on the Coral Reefs, e-mail Coach Carter at lc2184@hotmail.com.
Local Sports
Related Photos
-
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
-
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
Discussion
Coral Reefs win Class A title
- Local Sports
-
-
VSU teams hosting summer camps
The national champion Valdosta State softball team will host two separate summer camps this summer, as well as weekly clinics throughout the summer.
The two summer camps will be held on June 11-13 and July 9-11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The camps will cost $100 each. -
David Dean Youth Camp begins next week
The David Dean Youth Football Camp is quickly approaching.
The fourth annual camp will be held May 29-June 1 at the Athletic Fieldhouse off Mary Street. -
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck Valdosta State head softball coach Thomas Macera was rewarded with a new Toyota Tacoma from Valdosta Toyota on Wednesday for his team’s 4-1 victory over the University of California-San Diego in the Division II Softball National Championship Game.
-
Valwood’s Savino, Elliott named All-State soccer
Two Valwood boys’ soccer players have been named to the GISA Class AA All-State team.
-
All-American again
Go ahead and add another award to resume of this year’s Valdosta State softball team.
Between conference player of the week awards, a national player of the week award, All-Conference and All-Region honors and four All-American awards, the national champion Blazers had plenty of individuals honored for performances throughout the season, which ultimately led to VSU’s first ever softball national title. -
Local area events coming soon
Several local area runs will take place in the coming weeks.
Monday, May 28, there will be a Memorial Day 5K, which will begin at 8 a.m. from the VECA School located on the corner of Azalea Drive and College Street. -
Tech bound
Donjahae Jones gets it done in the classroom and on the track.
One of the top students in her class, and one of the top track and field competitors in the state, Jones will be taking her talents to the Division I level after she signed a track and field scholarship with Georgia Tech on Tuesday. -
Blazers garner All-Region honors
Two Valdosta State baseball players have been named All-South Region while a third has garnered Academic All-Region, according to announcements made by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the Collegiate Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA) this week.
-
Lowndes' Phelps named tennis Coach of the Year
Lowndes tennis coach Heath Phelps has been named the Region 1-AAAAA girls’ and boys’ tennis Coach of the Year, after he guided both teams to region championships.
-
Wildcats close spring practice
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats put their finishing touches on spring practice Saturday night with the playing of their annual spring game at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
No score was kept in the game, but the Wildcats did play best-on-best, pitting the starting offense against the starting defense. - More Local Sports Headlines
-
VSU teams hosting summer camps
