Pack’s move to Florida & return to the pool pays off with regional berth, plus 7 more make the all-area team
-
Suwannee’s Ainsleigh Pack is the LCR’s Girls Swimmer of the Year. (COURTESY)
LIVE OAK – Two years ago it would have been hard to picture Ansleigh Pack here.
For starters, the Suwannee High junior was still living in Oregon, suffering through the impact of the covid-19 pandemic.
But as rough as the pandemic was – taking away the swimming pool, her first love, as well as in-person classroom instruction – ultimately, covid-19 is what has led Pack to here, to North Florida, to Suwannee High, to becoming the Lake City Reporter’s Girls Swimmer of the Year.
A tactile learner that thrives on hands-on, in-person learning environments, that loss of quality education for Pack and her two younger sisters helped lead to the cross-country move that opened up the door to success. When a friend offered her father, a University of Florida graduate, a job back here, the family loaded up and moved to rural North Florida.
“It’s honestly been great ever since,” Pack said. “I love it here.”
All that was left was for Pack to get back into the pool and back into swimming. Swim season was already over by the time the family arrived here in 2020. That following summer, the lack of a car for her to use further kept Pack away from the pool and away from SHS swim.
That ended last fall when she was finally able to join the team.
The absence from the pool meant there was a lot of work to do.
“There were so many things I needed to work on,” she said. “I had to relearn a couple of things, especially my normal stroke last year was freestyle and breaststroke. I hadn’t done breaststroke in forever and I had to relearn a couple of things because it had been so long and I just wasn’t used to it.”
But Pack said Suwannee coach Doug Morgan was key in helping her, not only in getting back into form, but unlocking the potential within her, the potential that was unleashed this year.
“Coach Morgan is just a phenomenal coach,” Pack said. “He saw my potential and knew what I needed to be great.”
Morgan, though, said Pack is responsible for achieving her own success. The Suwannee coach said the junior’s hard work and dedication has been the biggest reason for her achievements in the pool as she qualified for regionals this year in the 100 freestyle (finishing 16th in 1:01.68) and 200 freestyle.
“She doesn’t ever take a minute off,” Morgan said. “It’s always high-intensity. Working before school, after school.”
But in addition to intense workouts, both Pack and Morgan said the junior also is all-in on her teammates, trying to bring out the best in all of the Bulldogs.
Morgan said that is evident even in the hallways of the school and in class as she tries to motivate others and bring more people out to the pool and the team.
Once she gets them there, the dedication remains.
“She’s just an all-around great team person,” Morgan said.
The devotion to her teammates — to her family members as she calls them — includes celebrating their individual accomplishments. Pack said those could be small things like cutting a second or two off of a swim or winning a heat at a meet.
“It was a big deal to me,” Pack said. “I wanted them to feel special. I think that’s really what drove me this year is I wanted to make the people on my team proud and I wanted to make my coach proud and my parents proud. Most of all, I wanted to make myself proud. I wanted to show that, no matter what, nothing is impossible. I can do what I want to do. I think that was my biggest thing is not only did I have the support of my coach, my parents and my teammates, but having that drive this year to going the distance.”
That support of others is one her greatest strengths in the pool, said Pack, who is definitely a people person. That “socialness” extends to members of other teams on meet days, too. Pack said while some refuse to talk to others before a swim, she greets all the other competitors and wishes them well. The reward comes back when they start rooting for her to succeed too.
In fact, a friend at Yulee made the state swim meet this year.
When the two talked after the season, they discussed their goals for next season. Among Pack’s is qualifying for the state meet herself.
“And she said, ‘Well then you’re going to make it to state. You’re going with me next year. We’re going to do it together,’” said Pack, whose goal this year was to make it to regionals, which led her to tears when she received the call from Morgan letting her know she had qualified. “So that’s the goal. Next year is my senior year and I want to leave my mark in the best way possible.”
In addition to state, Pack’s desire to leave her mark means she has Niki Boyle and Suwannee team marks in her sights as well. Boyle, who is the only SHS girl to ever qualify for the state meet, owns basically all the school records with “pretty unbeatable records.”
But, after overcoming a year-plus out of the pool and a move across the country, Pack knows there is no challenge too great. Especially not when she has so many in her corner, from her family, coaches, teammates and even competitors.
“If they’re rooting for you, you can do better,” she said. “If you have those people and that family around you, they’re going to push you and tell you that you can do better. Mixed with your drive, you are pretty much unstoppable, especially in the water.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
Ainsleigh Pack
Suwannee, junior
The LCR’s Girls Swimmer of the Year qualified for regionals individually in the 100 freestyle, placing 16th in Region 1-2A (1:01.68) after finishing 10th in District 3-2A (1:04.89), as well as the 200 freestyle relay thanks to an eighth-place finish at districts (2:09.51). Pack also swam the 50 freestyle (11th, 28.93) and 200 medley relay (eighth, 2:34.12) at districts.
Trinity Yates
Suwannee, senior
Swam on the Bulldogs’ 200 freestyle relay team that qualified for regionals after placing eighth in District 3-2A (2:09.51). Yates also swam the 50 freestyle (29th, 36.11), 100 freestyle (25th, 1:22.39) and 200 medley relay (eighth, 2:34.12) at districts.
Hannah Mantooth
Suwannee, sophomore
Swam on the Bulldogs’ 200 freestyle relay team that qualified for regionals after placing eighth in District 3-2A (2:09.51). Mantooth also swam the 100 butterfly (14th, 1:32.46) and 200 medley relay (eighth, 2:34.12) at districts.
Oliviah Schneider
Suwannee, freshman
Swam on the Bulldogs’ 200 freestyle relay team that qualified for regionals after placing eighth in District 3-2A (2:09.51). Schneider also swam the 200 IM (12th, 2:54.48), 100 breaststroke (12th, 1:24.71) and 200 medley relay (eighth, 2:34.12) ) at districts.
Casey Fair
Columbia, sophomore
Swam on the Tigers’ 200 medley relay team that qualified for regionals, placing 15th (2:14.26) in Region 1-3A after finishing fourth in District 2-3A (2:17.83). Fair also swam the 200 freestyle (eighth, 2:14.36) and 200 freestyle relay (fifth, 2:05.41) at districts.
Izzy Glenn
Columbia, senior
Swam on the Tigers’ 200 medley relay team that qualified for regionals, placing 15th (2:14.26) in Region 1-3A after finishing fourth in District 2-3A (2:17.83). Glenn also swam the 100 breaststroke (fifth, 1:20.66), 100 freestyle (ninth, 1:02.66) and 200 freestyle relay (fifth, 2:05.41) at districts.
Annabelle Glenn
Columbia, freshman
Swam on the Tigers’ 200 medley relay team that qualified for regionals, placing 15th (2:14.26) in Region 1-3A after finishing fourth in District 2-3A (2:17.83). Glenn also swam the 500 freestyle (13th, 7:49.05), 100 backstroke (19th, 1:51.08), and 200 freestyle relay (fifth, 2:05.41) at districts.
Callee Lones
Columbia, sophomore
Swam on the Tigers’ 200 medley relay team that qualified for regionals, placing 15th (2:14.26) in Region 1-3A after finishing fourth in District 2-3A (2:17.83). Lones also swam the 100 butterfly (eighth, 1:18.48), 200 IM (ninth, 3:03.02), 200 freestyle relay (fifth, 2:05.41) at districts.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Shawn Rost, Columbia
Guided the lone swimmer in the area to the state meet. Ian Disosway placed 19th in Class 3A in the 100 breaststroke after taking second at districts and seventh at regionals. That wasn’t his only event, as Disosway also advanced to regionals in the 200 IM after finishing third at districts. For the girls, Rost saw his 200 medley relay team qualify to regionals as well thanks to a fourth-place finish at districts. His Columbia squads also topped Suwannee by combined team scores twice this season.