With one meet under their belt, the Goshen High School swim team has already accomplished goal number one.

The Eagles competed in a swim meet at the CrossPlex in Birmingham late last week. All three swimmers, Bryce Tatum, Addi Bruner and Dallas Daughtry, reached their qualifying times and will compete in the sectional swim meet in November.

“It’s very beneficial,” said head coach Shane Tatum. “Normally at this time of the year, you’re kind of seeing where you’re at. Since they did produce some qualifying times in the first meet, in means we are ahead of where we were last year. So, I’m looking for big things from them this year.”

The Eagles have their same three swimmers from last year. Having Tatum, Bruner and Daughtry on the squad for the second straight season brings familiarity to the pool.

“It allows me to know when to push them and when to kind of stay off them,” Tatum said. “Coaching them for the last three or four years, I have been able to get the tells of when maybe they’re a little too tired. Being familiar with them and their training helps out a lot.”

The meet at the Crossplex had both club and high school teams, giving Tatum and the Eagles the opportunity to see swimmers they may see at sectionals.

“It was a combination of a lot of things,” Tatum said. “There were high school teams from north Alabama and central Alabama. There were also some club teams there. In high school swimming, there is kind of a mixture of everything. At those meets, the high school athletic association allows us to get qualifying times. We were able to compete against some of the kids that we will see at sectionals.”

The Eagles will compete in the Sectional Meet in November. Their next event will be later this month at Auburn University. With their first goal already accomplished, Tatum and the Eagles are shooting for number two.

“Meeting their qualifying times is the big thing because it kind of gets it off their shoulders,” Tatum said. “Now we are going to try and lower that time so that when we do go to sectionals we get a good-seeded position in that first day. That will be our goal.”

Goshen’s meet at Auburn University will take place October 19 – 21. Sectionals will be November 16 and 17 at Bishop State in Mobile.