By Xypher Pino

Senior swimmer Allysia Alfred represented both Greensboro College and her home country of Saint Lucia in the 33rd OECS Swimming Championships. This competition features representatives from Eastern Caribbean countries such as Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, and Grenada. From Nov. 7 to 9, swimmers came to the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to participate in various competitions.

“When I found out that I made the national team for Saint Lucia, I was so excited and happy,” said Alfred. “My entire life I have lived in Saint Lucia and I am very honored to represent.”

Swimming has been a major part of Alfred’s life. When she was recruited by Greensboro College to be part of the swim team, it was the perfect opportunity for her.

“I expected to continue my swimming career after high school, but when Coach Jim Sheridan recruited me to attend GC, it was great,” she recalled. “He reminded me of my own swimming coach back at home. The campus felt just like I was home. The area is super nice; the small class sizes are great; it was the perfect fit.”

Alfred trained heavily with the GC swimming team to prepare for this swim meet. During practice, she noted how Coach Korey McCulley kept her inspired throughout the process.

“During practices, my coach motivated me a lot,” she said. “He kept on telling me, ‘Allysia, you are representing your country. This is an absolute honor. You got this.’ I give a lot of credit to him for sure, and I felt really confident coming into the competition.”

Alfred competed in a total of 11 events. She earned a personal best time in all events and placed an impressive top 10 in each. Thanks to her efforts, Team Saint Lucia placed No. 2 in the whole competition, coming in just behind Team Grenada.

“Three days of racing is really tiring,” Alfred said. “Swimming in that many events gets you drained, but keeping a positive mindset and hyping yourself up kept me going. I learned a lot about myself during this competition, particularly that I am a very hard-working, determined and positive-minded person.

“Competing and performing good was great, but honestly my favorite part about the competition was simply being back home and around my culture. It was fun to meet new people from different countries, and of course, seeing my old friends and making great memories with them was wonderful.”

Greensboro College is proud of Allysia Alfred for showing out and representing what the Pride is all about.