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GKAISA champs soak in all the joy ... How ’bout them VG Gators!

‘City Meet’ records, 2, fall with Village Green; Concord Hills 5th behind 6 records led by Chou, Hall

July 16, 2025 by Alan Sloan

KNOXVILLE — Led by a pair of meet records from 14-year-old Emmy Zimmer, the Village Green community swim team ended a 13-year Greater Knoxville Area Interclub Swimming Association reign of dominance.

Head coach Sarah Fortney led her VG Gators to the program’s first GKAISA championship since 2011, unseating powerhouse Knoxville Racquet Club and capturing 2025 Tom Schumann Memorial GKAISA Meet.

Its 2,175 points — with Emmy setting meet records in the Girls 13-14 50-Yard Freestyle (23.67) and 50-Backstroke (26.50) — proved to be a big cushion after the finals Saturday, July 12, in Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center on the UT-Knoxville campus.

KRC finished a distant second at 1,902.50.

Meanwhile, six meet records — earned by 18-year-old Andrew Chou and Landon Hall, 16: two each individually and together in a pair of Boys 15-18 relays — paced the Concord Hills Piranhas to a fifth-place showing (1,487.50).

Village Green

Coach Fortney said Emma’s records were among some “outstanding” Gators performances.

“These kids really stepped up in the prelims,” added Fortney, in her 13th season as Gators head coach.

“We had an outstanding Thursday and Friday, so we set ourselves up to really do something special. We talked about that this morning, but it was all them.

“Going into today, we knew we had a shot if we swam really focused and we swam really confident — so we did it.”

Though not winning the GKAISA meet in 14 years, “I think we’ve had several really good years, so I think we were inching closer and being more competitive,” Fortney said. “Then, we’ve just got a really special group this year.”

Other Gators champions were Boys 8-Under 25-Freestyle, Jacob Leicht, (16.28); Boys 13-14 50-Free, Preston Dreiser, (23.85); Boys 9-10 100-Freestyle Relay (59.17), Waylon Gustafson, Baylor Brown, Reagan Hung and Charlie Clement; Boys 8-Under 100-Medley Relay (1:26.13), Jacob Leicht, Nicholas Pacitti, Graham Fortney and Parker Brown; Boys 11-12 200-Freestyle Relay (1:52.43), Cooper Owen, Daniel Downs, Luke DeLarco and Bo Gary.

Girls 13-14 200-Freestyle Relay (1:43.63), Rhett Grubb, Gretchen Grubb, Addie Brock and Emmy Zimmer; Boys 13-14 50-Backstroke, Liam Finley (27.63); Boys 13-14 200-IM, Liam Finley (2:05.50); Boys 8-Under Boys 15-18 100-Freestyle, Kuba Shaw (44.94); Boys 13-14 100-Freestyle, Liam Finley (50.40); Girls 13-14 100-Freestyle, Emmy Zimmer (52.48); and Boys 11-12 200-Medley Relay (2:03.67), Lawrence Hung, Luke DeLarco, Cooper Owen and Bo Gary.

Concord Hills

Chou set the City Meet records in Boys 15-18 50-Backstroke (22.08) and 50-Butterfly (21.45), along with being a leg on the meet record 200-Medley Relay team (1:30.09) with Evan King, Landon Hall and Kolby Leach; and on the 200-Freestyle Relay meet record team (1:22.74) with Christopher Rector, Landon Hall and Hayden Hall.

Landon Hall, meanwhile, set individual meet records in winning the Boys 15-18 50-Breaststroke (25.61) and 200-IM (1:48.28).

“This season has been such a joy to coach and to be a part of,” Piranhas head coach Annie Abraham said. “I am truly so proud of each and every single one of our swimmers. CHP broke six records at the city meet this year, and we as a team could not be more proud of those who achieved the goals they set for themselves.”

Abraham labeled fifth-place as “an incredible finish that reflects the heart, hard work and dedication of every swimmer on our team.”

Other Piranhas winners were: Girls 15-18 200-Freestyle Relay (1:37.16), Karley Wolfgram, Millie Stoewer, Emily Dubes and Anna Whitley; Mixed 13-14 200-Free Relay (1:44.04), Kings Lorusso, Sam Duby, Sophia Guglielmo and Ryan Nettles; Boys 15-18 50-Free, Hayden Hall (20.82); and Boys 13-14 50-Breaststroke, Ryan Nettles (28.93).

Sugarwood, FDCC

The Sugarwood Stingrays claimed seventh-place in the field of 27 (982 points), while Fox Den Red Foxes were 19th.

Stingrays winners were Mixed 11-12 200-Free Relay (1:50.66), Lauren Hackett, Sam Vineyard, John Long and Myla Dru Saffles; Girls 11-12 50-Butterfly, Myla Dry Saffles (28.07); Girls 11-12 50-Breaststroke, Lauren Hackett (31.89); Girls 13-14 200-IM, Caroline Hackett (2:13.45); and Girls 11-12 200-Medley Relay (2:04.76), Karley Roberts, Lauren Hackett, Myla Dru Saffles and Mabelle Zhang.

Other top finishers

• Mixed 9-10 100-Freestyle Relay: Sugarwood, third.

• Mixed 15-18 100-Free Relay: Concord Hills, second and third.

• Boys 9-10 100-IM, Reagan Hung, Village Green, third.

• Girls 11-12 100-IM, Lauren Hackett, Sugarwood, second.

• Boys 11-12 100-IM, Luke DeLarco, Village Green, third.

• Girls 13-14 200-IM, Sam Duby, Concord Hills, third.

• Boys 13-14 200-IM, Ryan Nettles, Concord Hills, second.

• Girls 15-18 200-IM, Emma Hackett, Sugarwood, second.

• Boys 15-18 200-IM, Christopher Rector, C-Hills, third.

• Girls 8-Under 25-Freestyle, Riley Anne Tipton, Village Green, second.

• Boys 8-Under 25-Free, Bradley Chandler, Sugarwood, second; Jack Duby, Concord Hills, third.

• Girls 9-10 25-Free, Kira Lobodina, Concord Hills, second.

• Boys 9-10 25-Free, Charlie Clement, Village Green, second; Levi Schoolfield, Sugarwood, third.

• Boys 11-12 50-Free, Bo Gary, Village Green, third.

• Girls 15-18 50-Free, Anna Whitley, Concord Hills, third.

• Boys 15-18 50-Free, Kuba Shaw, Village Green, second.

• Boys 8-Under 100-Medley Relay, Village Green Gators B relay, third.

• Boys 9-10 100-Medley Relay, Sugarwood, second; Village Green, third.

• Boys 11-12 200-Medley Relay, Concord Hills, third.

• Girls 15-18 200-Medley Relay, Village Green, third.

• Girls 8-Under 25-Backstroke, Riley Anne Tipton, Village Green, third.

• Boys 8-Under 25-Backstroke, Jacob Leicht, Village Green, second.

• Girls 13-14 50-Backstroke, Addie Brock, Village Green, second.

• Girls 8-Under 25-Breaststroke, Kathryn Pacelli, Fox Den Red Foxes, third.

• Boys 9-10 25-Breaststroke, Levi Schoolfield, Sugarwood, third.

• Girls 15-18 50-Breaststroke, Karolina Nosarzewski, Village Green, second; Kendall Hudgens, Village Green, third.

• Boys 15-18 50-Breaststroke, Evan King, C-Hills, second.

• Boys 8-Under 50-Freestyle, Parker Brown, Village Green, second.

• Girls 9-10 50-Freestyle, Kira Lododina, Concord Hills, second-place finish.

• Boys 9-10 50-Freestyle, Charlie Clement, Village Green, second.

• Girls 13-14 100-Freestyle, Caroline Hackett, Sugarwood, third.

• Girls 15-18 100-Freestyle, Anna Whitley, Concord Hills, third.

• Boys 15-18 100-Freestyle, Hayden Hall, Concord Hills, second.

• Boys 8-Under 25-Butterfly, Bradley Chandler, Sugarwood, third.

• Boys 9-10 25-Butterfly, Waylon Gustafson, Village Green, third.

• Boys 11-12 50-Butterfly, Cooper Owen, Village Green, second.

• Boys 13-14 50-Butterfly, Ryan Nettles, Concord Hills, second place finish.

• Girls 15-18 50-Butterfly, Karley Wolfgram, Concord Hills, second.

• Girls 8-Under 100-

Freestyle Relay, Village Green, third.

• Boys 8-Under 100-Freestyle Relay, Village Green, second.

• Girls 9-10 100-Freestyle Relay, Village Green, third.

• Boys 11-12 200-Freestyle

Relay, Concord Hills, third-place.

• Boys 13-14 200-Freestyle Relay, Village Green, second.

• Boys 15-18 200-Freestyle Relay, Village Green, third.