Gators dominate Smoky Mountain Invitational
In a dominant performance among a field of more than 30 Knox area community swim teams, some 1,400 swimmers ages 6 to teenagers, Village Green’s Gators won annual Smoky Mountain Invitational meet in Alcoa Saturday and Sunday, July 15-16.
“Our season is shaping up really well and I think everybody was pleased about the victory,” said Sarah Fortney, in her fourth season as Gators head coach who has coached with the team seven years. “Smoky Mountain is one that we always really enjoy because we have a really good number of summer-only swimmers.
“The Smoky Mountain meet is limited to swimmers who only compete in the summer,” she added about the 117 Gators who competed in Alcoa.
Village Green won both its League 1 championship and the Overall championship in Alcoa.
“Our 11-and–up swimmers swam phenomenal. Between individual and relay we had 10 wins on Saturday and four wins on Sunday,” Fortney said.
Meanwhile, Fox Den Foxes came in second at Smoky Mountain. “Farragut had a lot of good swimming going on,” Fortney said.
Finishing the GKAISA League 1 regular season with a 4-2 dual meet record, The Gators’ Smoky Mountain performance also serves as preparation for the upcoming Greater Knoxville Area Interclub Swimming Association “City Meet” this weekend at UT.
“We’re really excited to wrap up the season with a bang for sure,” Fortney said about the 130 Gators swimmers scheduled to compete at UT Friday through Sunday, July 28-30.
Joining the Gators and Foxes in “City Meet” are the Sugarwood Stingrays and Concord Hill Piranhas, both Farragut community teams.
