TNT Swimming’s Kyle Simpson won seven medals, including gold, silver and bronze while competing at the 2007 Southern Zone Age Group Swimming Championships held Aug. 1-4 in Houston.

Kyle’s gold medal performance in the 11 to 12 boys’ 100-meter butterfly resulted in a time of 1:03.10. The time falls within the top 20 fastest times ever recorded by United States Swimming in that event for boys his age, according to TNT Head Coach Jan Mittemeyer.

“I know that I can speak for our entire team, as well as Kyle’s parents when I say that we are all very proud of him,” said Mittemeyer. “It was a real pleasure watching him put that race together and he deserves a real pat on the back for the great job that he did.”

Simpson, 12, of Daphne, participated at the elite age group championship meet as a member of Southeastern Swimming’s All-Star team, composed of the top age group swimmers from Alabama, Tennessee and the Florida Panhandle.

The Southeastern team finished second place in the overall team scoring, competing over the four-day course of the meet with 14 other All-Star teams made up of swimmers from Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.

In addition to his gold-medal swim, Simpson also won a silver medal in the 50-meter butterfly and a bronze in the 50-meter backstroke. He also won medals in the 200-meter medley and 200-meter freestyle relays, finishing fourth; as well as the 100-meter backstroke and 100-meter freestyle, finishing fifth.

In addition to his current first-place national ranking in the 100 butterfly, Simpson is tentatively ranked in the National Age Group Top 16 in the following events: ninth, 100 backstroke; 10th, 50 backstroke; and 11th, 50 butterfly.

“It feels good to see kids like Kyle coming out of our program, one which emphasizes fun, as well as effective stroke mechanics and competitive skill development; who can compete successfully at all levels, including nationally,” said Mittemeyer.

TNT recently won its second consecutive first-place trophy in the small team division at the 2007 Southeastern Long Course Championships, held last month in Nashville, Tenn.

TNT Swimming offers year-round instruction, coaching and competitive opportunities to swimmers of all ages and ability levels at the Bounds Family YMCA.

For information about the program, call Mittemeyer at 251-591-3544 or visit www.swimtnt.com.

(Submitted by Jan Mittemeyer)