By By Michael S. Hill
The Atmore YMCA Stingrays combined with the Baldwin Mobile Aquatic Club to square off with the Gulf Shores Swim Team at a June 15 dual swim meet held in Daphne. Each short on numbers, Atmore and Baldwin combined teams so they would have enough warm bodies to compete against Gulf Shores.
It was a real family event for Atmore. Only three Stingrays didn't have a brother or sister teammate competing.
While coming up short overall, the Stingrays turned in solid individual performances, led by the brother duo of Myles and Jake Hollingsworth.
Myles, competing in the 12-and-under division, swam to first place finishes in the 50-yard freestyle and the 50-yard backstroke competitions. His older brother Jake, competing in the 15-18 year-old division, the seniors, took home three first-place medals. Jake sank the competition in the 50-yard freestyle, backstroke and breast stroke competitions.
In the 14-and-under division, a Jones brother took home a medal in every event. Tyler Jones won three medals, taking first place in the 50-yard freestyle, butterfly stroke and backstroke competitions. Tyler nudged out his twin, Cooper Jones, who finished second in the backstroke and freestyle events. But Cooper took first place in the 50-yard breast stroke competition.
The twins' little sister, Hannah Jones, competing in the 10-and-under division, took third place in the the freestyle and fourth in the butterfly event.
Another set of twins, Kaylie and Kerrianne Castleberry, did well in the 14-and-under division, Kaylie took first place in the 50-yard freestyle and breast stroke events, and took second in the butterfly. Kerrianne placed second in the backstroke and fourth in the breast stroke and freestyle events.
Yet another family pair, siblings Ben and Amanda Hetzel, won medals in the 12-and-under division. Amanda won first place in the 50-yard breast stroke and placed second in the backstroke and freestyle events. Brother Ben finished second in the backstroke, third in the breast stroke and fifth in the freestyle.
Sisters Megan and Hillary Rolin took home four medals between them. Megan placed second in the 50-yard backstroke, breast stroke and freestyle events in the Senior division. Hillary finished third place in the breast stroke event in the 10-and-under division.
Brandon Sharpless won three medals. Competing in the 12-and-under division, he took first place in the 50-yard breast stroke, second place in the freestyle and third place in the backstroke. His brother Aaron, battling in the 10-and-under division, finished fourth in the breast stroke event.
As for the Stingrays that were without a sibling as a teammate, Eva Currie competed in the 12-and-under division while Caitlyn Luttrell and Clare Jones competed in the 10-and-under division.
Currie took home three medals as she finished second in the 50-yard breast stroke and third in the backstroke and freestyle events.
Luttrell snagged a medal for second place in the 50-yard breast stoke, just beating out teammate Clare Jones, who won a ribbon for her fourth place finish.
June 20, Gulfshores Swim Meet
The Atmore YMCA Stingrays teamed up with Gulf Shores against the Lake Forest swimmers.
Swimming short handed, here's how the Stingrays placed in the meet:
In the 10-and-under division, Hannah Jones placed third in the 50-yard butterfly and freestyle events. Hillary Rolin took fifth in the freestyle, seventh in the butterfly and eighth in the breast stroke.
In the 12-and-under division, Amanda Hetzel finished ninth in the backstroke, 10th in the breast stroke and 11th in freestyle. Ben Hetzel took a medal for his first-place finish in the backstroke. He also placed seventh in the freestyle event.
In the 14-and-under division, Cooper Jones placed third in the backstroke and fourth in freestyle. Twin brother Tyler finished second in the butterfly, third in freestyle and fourth in the backstroke.
In the senior division, Blake Bell secured a first-place medal with his win in the breast stroke event. He also finished third in the backstroke and freestyle. Cole Norton had a consistent performance, finishing second in the butterfly, the backstroke and freestyle events. Megan Rolin placed fourth in the butterfly, fifth in the breast stroke and sixth in the backstroke.
Eva Currie turned in her best times yet in the backstoke, breast stroke and freestyle events in the 12-and-under division.