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Sunkist Swim Team History
Sunkist Swim Team was first called Jackson Aquatic Club when the team was formed in the fall of 1975. Prior to JAC forming, swimmers competed throughout the Jackson metro area exclusively on summer league teams. JAC was the first swim team to offer year-round training and competition. Rick McMahan became JAC’s first full time coach and the program quickly grew from 30 swimmers to over a 100 in a few short years.
In the late 70s, JAC received national recognition with several swimmers achieving High School All American honors, Top 16 and also competing at Senior and Junior Nationals. In 1980, Julie Miller became the team’s first national champion winning the 11-12 100 backstroke at AAU National Junior Olympics.
In 1982, the team undertook fundraising activities in order to build a new Olympic-sized pool. Seed money was provided by generous sponsors and led by Kenneth Brown of Brown Bottling. Mr. Brown offered a sponsorship arrangement with the team and JAC became known as Sunkist Swim Team. The new pool was completed in the fall and a large orange “Sunkist bubble” was constructed over the pool for winter training. The pool currently known as the “Courthouse Pool” became the first indoor 50 meter facility in the state.
In 1983, Sunkist won its first state team championship, beating the legendary cross-state rival team out of Columbus that had won 18 straight previous state titles. Columbus recaptured the title the next three years, but Sunkist won again in 1987. After the 1987 victory, Sunkist dominated Mississippi swimming for the next decade and a half, winning 16 straight state championships. To date, Sunkist has won 32 state championships.
Throughout the years, swimmers for Sunkist have broken numerous state records and represented the team on the national and even world stage. In 1984, Chris Emerson became the first Sunkist swimmer to qualify for the Olympic Trials. Later that year, she reach the finals at US Senior Nationals in the 200 and 400 IMs, as well as the 400 free. Sunkist swimmers also regularly qualify for the MS Zone Team which represents Mississippi at Southern Zone Championships. Sunkist swimmers have received scholarships at the top swimming universities in the country and continue to qualify for prestigious national meets.
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Sisters Mimi and Maggie Bowen represented Sunkist at US Senior Nationals in 1994, with Mimi qualifing for the Olympic Trials. In 2001, Maggie became the first Sunkist world champion swimmer, winning the gold medal in the 200 individual medley at the FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Both Bowen girls swam for Auburn and claimed NCAA Women’s Individual Championships, with Maggie breaking several American records and leading the team to a national championship her junior year.
In 2005, Sunkist moved into the Flowood YMCA upon completion of a new state of the art short course indoor pool named the Kenneth Brown Natatorium. Olympian Lenny Krayzelburg, Olympian Ian Croker and Sunkist’s very own world champion Maggie Bowen attended the pool’s opening ceremony and sponsorship dinner.
To this day, Sunkist continues its rich tradition of swimming excellence and success. Sunkist Swim Team is a a non-profit club member of USA Swimming, offering the Jackson area the best swimming instruction, training and competition for children of all ages and abilities.
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