2023 Gwinnett County Championship
- July 7-9, 2023
- Atlanta, Georgia
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results on MeetMobile “2023 GCSL Championship”
The Gwinnett County Swim League hosted the 50th annual Gwinnett County Championship earlier this month in Atlanta, Georgia. The summer league currently consists of around 5000 swimmers with 40 teams participating.
Winning the team title with a total of 4158 points was Flowers Crossing, who topped the Spalding Corners Sharks by a 678-point margin. This is the 2nd year in a row that Flowers Crossing has taken the title.
Team Scores (Combined):
- Flowers Crossing – 4158
- Spalding Corners Sharks – 3480
- Chateau Elan Swim Team – 3032.5
- Hamilton Mill Hammerheads – 2771
- Thunderbolts – 2589.5
Among the top competitors at the meet was 15-year-old Baylor Stanton, who represented the Connemara Swim Team. Stanton touched first in the 50 backstroke at 21.74, marking a new county record by over half a second. The previous mark was established last summer by Ben Irwin, who won the event in 22.38. Stanton then went on to grab another victory in the 100 IM in another record-breaking time of 49.19, dipping below Nate Stoffle‘s previous mark of 49.92 from 2021.
Rounding out his individual victories was the 50 fly, where Stanton logged a 22.08 to be a fraction of a second shy of Doug Reynold’s long-standing record of 21.49. Stanton was also a member of the winning 200 freestyle relay, where he was joined by Jack Dunbar, Riley Curtis, and Nolan Patterson to set a new Gwinnett County record time of 1:23.82.
Stanton trains and competes year-round with Gwinnett Aquatics. Earlier this month at the U.S. National Championships, he punched his ticket to the 2024 Olympic Trials with a time of 4:25.19 in the 400 IM.
15-year-old Hailey Dopson also had a phenomenal meet, as she too won all three of her individual races. Dopson’s weekend was highlighted by her 100 freestyle, where she recorded a personal best time of 51.51 to top runner-up Emma Reiser by about half a second (51.99).
Carson Waters, 14, won the 50 backstroke and 50 fly. In the 50 fly, he neared the County record of 23.73 with a winning time of 23.82, while in the 50 back he posted a best time of 25.58 to take 1st by almost a second.
12-year-old Kate Breiding of the Evergreen Eels won three events of her own, as well as contributed to two winning relays. She swam a personal best time of 26.04 in the 50 freestyle, while in the 100 free she dropped almost two seconds to post a 56.88. Her 3rd victory came in the 50 backstroke, where she again established a new best time at 29.99.
Fresh off Nationals, it must feel real good to break these records.
The beautiful thing about summer league in Georgia is that most club kids compete, in addition to non-club kids. It’s what summer league should be about – as evidenced by the huge pipeline in the middle school and high school swim teams. Other states and areas could learn a thing or two – build it up and keep it going!
That the GA talk🤫‼️
Baylor’s such a stud
Snellville rocks.